Charouz’s Enzo Fittipaldi has returned to Formula 2 this season after his scary accident in Jeddah last year that saw him suffer a fractured right heel. Since then, the Brazilian has undergone major training to recover. F1 Feeder Series was able to speak to him along with selected media about his preparation for 2022, as well as a welcome return to Imola.

By Tyler Foster

Enzo Fittipaldi, the grandson of the two-time World Champion Emerson, started the 2021 season in Formula 3 with Charouz. After a podium in Hungary, he was promoted mid-season to Formula 2 to take the place of David Beckmann. In his third race in F2 at Jeddah, he had a strong performance in Race 2 with a seventh-place finish.

However, in the next race, Fittipaldi collided with a stationary Théo Pourchaire off the start and was subsequently hospitalised with a fractured right heel. This resulted in no further racing for the rest of the year for the Brazilian. His recovery has been surprisingly rapid and he has seemingly come back in better shape. 

“Of course, I think after the accident I came back and I feel like I’m in the best shape of my whole career up until now so I’m just feeling really good. I feel extremely strong in the car.”

“I think that training and my routine, it’s everyday – basically, training and the physical therapy in the morning and everyday was consistently training for two months. I think that obviously, I arrived extremely prepared.”

Imola

While Fittipaldi and Charouz are yet to score a point this year, it seems only a matter of time until they score points, with the Brazilian just missing out on points in all four races so far this season. For this weekend, Formula 2 makes its debut at Imola, however it will not be the first time that Fittipaldi races at this historic circuit.

Fittipaldi has tackled Imola multiple times in the past, after participating there during his time in Italian F4, and FREC. He experienced success there, having been on the podium three times with a victory. We asked Fittipaldi whether this was a track he had been looking forward to returning to.

“Yes, I am really really excited to be back here. It’s a track that I’ve won races here in Formula 4, I’ve won races here in Formula 3 Regional so, it’s a track that I know very well and I really enjoy, so I think it’s great that Formula 2 and Formula 3 will be racing here at the same time as Formula 1.”

“I think it’s a great venue. It’s a track with a lot of history. It’s also a really technical track with a lot of high-speed corners. This track’s a bit more old-school, there’s not as much margin for error.”

Header photo credit: Formula Motorsport Ltd / Charouz