Fittipaldi says ovals in IndyCar are “amazing”

Fittipaldi’s Dale Coyne Racing-Honda was just 0.0969sec off the top spot, set by Matheus Leist who has oval experience from Indy Lights, albeit not at Phoenix’s ISM Raceway.

Importantly, Fittipaldi’s fastest time came just two laps before the end of his day.

He told Motorsport.com: “It was just amazing. I did ovals five years ago but in stock cars and only on half-mile tracks, so first time I went out today, it’s a bit intimidating. It’s very fast, the steering wheel is really heavy in the middle of the corner, and on the exit, the wall is coming up pretty quick!”

The 2017 World Series Formula 3.5 V8 champion said that he had taken a very methodical approach to the test, because of the lack of room for error.

“It was all about getting up to speed slowly. It’s not like trying a roadcourse for the first time, where some corners are forgiving and you can make a mistake. Here, if you make a mistake, you’re gonna hit the wall.

“The team did a great job just to bring me into it gently. And Sebastien [Bourdais, teammate] was helpful too, gave me some good advice. So it was great toward the end, because I started getting comfortable with it.

“So I think it went OK for the first time driving an open-wheel car on an oval, and I’m happy, and I’m pleased for the team too.”

Coyne: Fittipaldi is “doing everything right so far”

Coyne couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for Fittipaldi’s performance at Phoenix, just three days after finishing the Sonoma roadcourse test just two-tenths slower than teammate Bourdais.

“Pietro’s doing great, he’s doing everything right so far,” Coyne told Motorsport.com. “The Sonoma test was great, first of all. Penske 1-2-3, then a Coyne 4-5, with a driver who’d never been there. That was good.

“And now here, he took to the oval right away. We started the day with higher downforce on, higher than we’re allowed to run on these cars, just to give him a feel for the track.

“Then we took it away and warned him the car was going to feel a lot different, and he just shrugged and said it was no big deal. He just lifted more for the corners, and went faster on the straights and he went quicker. So another great performance.”

Coyne admitted that running Fittipaldi at the Phoenix test and race was primarily to get him prepared for his Indy 500 debut, despite the tracks being so different.

“He’s still got a lot to learn about ovals, for sure,” said Coyne. “He’s got to run in traffic, obviously, but that’s why this test and the race here are good practice for Indy. That’s the big one, so here is where he can do a lot of learning beforehand.

“But yeah, so far, so good. Really good.”