IndyCar News: F2 driver Luca Ghiotto to drive #51 Dale Coyne car

Dale Coyne Racing has signed Formula 2 veteran and current European Le Mans Series driver Luca Ghiotto to drive its No. 51 entry for the upcoming rounds at Barber Motorsports Park and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Ghiotto is an Italian race car driver with seven F2 wins under his belt. After five full seasons in the FIA Formula 2 Championship where he finished as high as third in the standings, he moved to sportscar racing where he’s competed since 2020. He’s recently served as test and simulator driver for the Nissan Formula E team in 2022-2023.

“I’m very excited to be making my NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park,” shared Ghiotto, who met up with the team in Chicago this week. “I’ve spent the majority of my career overseas but was always intrigued and wanting to try IndyCar. It will be my first time driving this car and my first time at this track, so there’s a steep learning curve and challenge ahead of me but I am very much looking forward to it.”

Ghiotto who has substantial experience aboard open wheel race cars, was also a test and reserve driver for the Williams Formula One team in 2017.

“We know it won’t be an easy first race for Luca jumping in the car like this with no testing whatsoever,” said Team Owner Dale Coyne. “That said, he has plenty of experience in different types of race cars and has proven himself over the years. We look forward to seeing what he can do in the next two races and know that he will bring experience and knowledge to the team.”

Ghiotto will get his first laps aboard an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car on Friday, April 25 starting at 3:40pm ET when drivers take to the track for the first practice session of the weekend. He will get one more practice in on Saturday morning (12:15pm ET) before qualifying that afternoon (3:30pm ET).

The Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix goes green on Sunday, April 28 at 1:40pm ET and will be broadcast live on NBC starting at 1pm ET.