Red Bull's new junior driver Enzo Fittipaldi was forced to undergo brain surgery after his horror Formula 2 crash in Jeddah last year, his brother Pietro has revealed.
Brazilian Fittipaldi, grandson of legendary two-time F1 champion Emerson, has been rising through the motor racing ranks with brother Pietro, who is reserve driver for Haas. And the 21-year-old was unexpectedly promoted to F2 last season as he joined Charouz Racing System before his move to the Red Bull young driver programme.
But his 2021 season ended with a frightening start line crash during the feature race in Jeddah. Fittipaldi was completely unsighted as he smashed into the back stalled Theo Pourchaire's car at the start of the race.
Both drivers had to be taken to hospital and Fittipaldi suffered a fractured heel which ruled him out of the final race weekend of the season in Abu Dhabi. But Fittipaldi's older brother Pietro has now also revealed that the youngster suffered a brain haemorrhage that required surgery after the crash.
“He had a massive accident last year, shattered his heel,” Pietro said. “A lot of people don’t know but when I was doing the test here last year (post-season Abu Dhabi testing) I got COVID, I stayed stuck in quarantine for 14 days, that’s when he flew back home and he actually had brain haemorrhaging and they found it out and went to the emergency room.
“He had like very severe brain haemorrhaging so they had to do brain surgery on him and everything. We thought he wouldn’t be able to come back in the beginning of the season. Obviously he was fine after but it was a very close call and he came back still with the bone not fully recovered.”
Fittipaldi did indeed return to the F2 grid with Charouz Racing System once again in March and finished P8 in the drivers' standings this season. His impressive F2 performances have caught the eye of Red Bull and he was recently added to the junior ranks of the double championship winning-team.
A series of strong finishes captured the attention of Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko before he was confirmed as their latest young signing, fittingly at the recent Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. Fittipaldi will have another full season in F2 with Carlin as he targets a dream future drive with Red Bull.
“For sure, being part of a [Formula 1] team for me has always been a dream, especially Red Bull — the championship-winning team, the best team in Formula 1," Fittipaldi said after being confirmed in the team's young driver programme.
"It’s a dream for me. So all I can do is thank Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull, Christian Horner — it’s an unbelievable opportunity. Now is the time to work hard and keep pushing.”
