Pietro Fittipaldi gets European Formula 3 deal with Fortec
Pietro Fittipaldi, the grandson of Brazilian racing legend Emerson Fittipaldi, is to contest the Formula 3 European Championship with Fortec Motorsport
The 18-year-old steps up from Formula Renault - last season he won the BARC championship for older-spec cars in dominant style, and he also took in some rounds of the ALPS series for current machinery.
Although no announcement has yet been made by Fortec, Fittipaldi tweeted the news on Wednesday afternoon.
The deal follows Fittipaldi shining in tests in a Fortec Dallara-Mercedes during December, while he also tested with Carlin.
He will be the third generation of Fittipaldi to race in F3 in Europe - his grandfather raced in Britain in 1969, and his uncle Christian in '90.
Fittipaldi is the first driver to be firmly connected with Fortec's F3 team for 2015, although the squad is also understood to be close to a deal with British F3 runner-up Matt Rao.
The team has undergone a restructure over the winter, with former Paul Stewart Racing team manager and engineer Bruce Jenkins - who was heavily involved in PSR's era of 1990s British F3 domination - taking a team manager/engineer role.
Jenkins, who subsequently went on to Hitech Racing, has returned to Britain after a few seasons in Australia working in V8 Supercars.
Former team manager Russell Dixon, who engineered Alex Lynn to pole position for the 2012 Macau Grand Prix, has stepped back into an engineering role.
2015 EUROPEAN F3 LINE-UP
Prema Powerteam: Jake Dennis, Lance Stroll, Brandon Maisano, Felix Rosenqvist
Carlin: Gustavo Menezes, George Russell, Ryan Tveter, Antonio Giovinazzi, Callum Ilott
Van Amersfoort Racing: Alessio Lorandi, Charles Leclerc, Arjun Maini
Mucke Motorsport: Michele Beretta, Mikkel Jensen, Santino Ferrucci*
Team West-Tec: Fabian Schiller
Fortec Motorsport: Pietro Fittipaldi
EuroInternational: TBA
Double R Racing: Nicolas Pohler, Matt Solomon
T-Sport: TBA
Motopark: Sam MacLeod, Markus Pommer, Mahaveer Raghunathan, Sergio Sette Camara, Nabil Jeffri*
Signature: Alexander Albon, Dorian Boccolacci
Jo Zeller Racing: TBA
Ma-Con Motorsport: TBA
Artline Engineering: TBA
* Not officially announced
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