When he first competed in the Indy 500, back in 2021, Pietro Fittipaldi’s pre-race ritual involved hyping himself up with music. He’d wear headphones and block out all other noise. But the 27-year Brazilian says experience has mellowed him out. Now, when he's getting into the right headspace, he focuses on what's around him.
“I really like to just enjoy the moment, feel the energy of the crowd,” he says.
Energy is a big theme for Fittipaldi this year. He’s be driving car No. 30 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, sponsored by 5-Hour Energy. His pre-race meals for the days leading up to the race are designed to keep him fueled through multiple hours of driving. He even developed a new workout regimen to help him better endure the rigors of hundreds of laps. And before races, Fittipaldi says he’ll enjoy a shot of 5-Hour Energy. He'll even have a little of it mixed into his helmet-fed hydration system for an added boost through the race. Everything helps.
Catching up with him before a race, he explains: “When you're doing over 240 miles an hour and averaging over 230 miles an hour at this track, it's unlike any other feeling that I've felt in a race car,” he says. “The adrenaline is at an all-time high.”
Drivers are crushed by four Gs of force when they take the corners. The adrenaline Fittipaldi mentioned contributes to his heart rate hitting 180 beats per minute, he says. Temperatures in the cockpit can reach upwards of 140 degrees. And yet, the most demanding aspect of IndyCar's biggest races—like the Indy 500—are the sheer concentration they require.
“The focus you need to have on the ovals is, in my opinion, much higher than the road courses,” he says. “Any little mistake is going to be very costly. You know, the track is not forgiving at all. If you get a little bit in the apron, you lose the car, you're in the wall and the crash is brutal. I mean, you're crashing at 230 miles an hour into a wall.”
Coming into the season, Fittipaldi did the opposite of what he's used to in the gym: he exercised to bulk up. In other series—and he's raced in almost all of them, in some form—the driver's best served by being lighter. But IndyCar’s driver-weight minimum, plus the car’s lack of power steering, led him to a strength training routine that emphasized heavy weights and low reps. In advance of the 2024 season, Fittipaldi packed on an additional fifteen pounds of muscle.
“They were very compact functional movements, but at a very high weight,” he says. “Just to train the nervous system to be able to take heavier loads, and as well my body, because that's what you need for the IndyCar.”
And in the days leading up to races, he eats like a long-distance runner, going heavy on carbs: “Because at the end of the day, that's what gives you energy, and that's what you need during a very long and exhausting race,” he explains.
Between the food in his stomach, the 5-Hour Energy in his water, and the adrenaline coursing through his veins, Fittipaldi has almost all the fuel he needs to focus on going fast. The rest he’ll get from his pit crew.
