Ferrucci to make IndyCar debut at Detroit

Haas Formula 1 protege Santino Ferrucci will make his Verizon IndyCar Series debut next month in the double-header race weekend in Detroit, deputising for the injured Pietro Fittipaldi at Dale Coyne Racing.

Fittipaldi had been due to share the #19 Honda seat at Dale Coyne Racing with Zachary Claman De Melo through 2018, only to be sidelined after breaking both his legs in a crash during qualifying for the FIA World Endurance Championship round at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month.

Fittipaldi's injury prompted team owner Dale Coyne to re-jig plans for 2018, drafting Claman De Melo in for the Indianapolis 500 at the end of May in exchange for freeing up the seat for the Detroit race weekend on June 2-3.

Dale Coyne Racing confirmed on Friday that Ferrucci would stand in for the race weekend at Belle Isle Park, marking the American's IndyCar debut.

"It’s a fantastic opportunity to be able to race the #19 Paysafe car with Dale Coyne Racing at Detroit, especially that I’ll be coming off a F2 race in Monaco,” said Ferrucci.

“The goal is still to be a Formula 1 driver, but to be racing in IndyCar is going to be something special. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s just unfortunate that it’s under the circumstances of Pietro’s injuries, I hope he has a speedy recovery and can come back very soon.”

Ferrucci has been racing full-time in F2 this season with Trident, recording his best finish in the series of P6 in Baku last month, and is also likely to enjoy an F1 test with Haas later this year.