Fittipaldi – Indianapolis 500 Qualifying


#51: Pietro Fittipaldi, Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda

INDIANAPOLIS (May 22, 2021) – Dale Coyne Racing with RWR driver Pietro Fittipaldi put in a spectacular four lap run to take home fastest rookie honors in Saturday’s qualifying session for the Indianapolis 500 by placing himself 13th on the starting grid for next week’s race.

After four days of practice in which the Indy 500 rookie improved with every session as he gained more and more experience around the 2.5-mile oval, Fittipaldi was the 15th driver to take to the track in Saturday’s qualifying session. 

The #51 Military Salutes Nurtec ODT driver immediately posted a lap over 231 mph and followed it up with three more laps in the 230mph range to guarantee himself a spot in his first Indianapolis 500. 

His four-lap average initially placed him fifth and he was 11th once all cars had made their first attempt. By the end of the 5 hour and 50 minute session, Fittipaldi was 13th. He will be starting on the inside of Row 5. 

Position: 13th
Lap 1: 231.542mph
Lap 2: 230.942mph
Lap 3: 230.598mph
Lap 4: 230.306mph
Four lap average: 230.846

Pietro Fittipaldi Quote:
“We knew we had a good car yesterday; the #51 Nurtec ODT Honda was very consistent but today is a new day. All the pressure and the hype, it’s four days of practice that are just building up to it. The nerves were there, it’s my first Indy 500 qualifying and it’s super intense. You have to go out and be committed and hold it wide open, flat out for four laps and we did that. The car was amazing, the Dale Coyne Racing with RWR team has done a great job. I’m just very happy to be here and super excited. We were thinking of going back out at the end to try and get into the Fast 9, I think the car had it in it, but at the end of the day we’re happy with where we qualified, and we didn’t want to risk it.”

Fittipaldi will get a two-hour practice session on Sunday, May 23 at 5pm ET to work on his race setup as well as a final practice session on Carb Day (May 28, 2021) at 11am ET. All sessions will be streamed on Peacock.

The 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place on Sunday, May 30 and with be broadcast live on NBC starting at 11:00am ET.