Young Brazilian star Emerson Fittipaldi Jr is the latest to sign up with MP Motorsport for a twin-pronged assault on the Eurocup-3 series and the Formula Regional Middle East Championship (FRMEC), with his first FRMEC races coming up this weekend.

The son of two-time Formula 1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi made his Eurocup-3 bow with guest appearances in the final two rounds of the 2023 season but has decided on a full-time participation in the series for this year, teaming up with leading Dutch outfit MP Motorsport. Young Fittipaldi had his first acquaintance with the Dutch team when he tested for MP in the post-season FIA F3 tests at Jérez and Barcelona.

By way of preparation for his regular season, Fittipaldi Jr will take part in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship, again with MP. In the series that will run throughout January and February, the 16-year-old will have the recently announced Nikhil Bohra and Bruno Del Pino as his teammates. Del Pino will also be one of Fittipaldi Jr’s Eurocup-3 teammates.

“I’m really excited about the prospect of racing with MP Motorsport in both the Eurocup-3 and the FRMEC”, said Fittipaldi. “Both series are extremely competitive, which will help me in my quest to progress further up the single-seater ladder. I’m anxious to get going at Yas Marina this weekend and take on a lot of other talented young drivers. The new Eurocup-3 calendar is looking good too, starting off with dates at Spa, the Red Bull Ring, Portimão, and Paul Ricard – some of the best tracks in Europe!”

“We are truly pleased to welcome Emmo aboard for our Eurocup-3 and FRMEC challenges”,  said MP Motorsport’s team principal, Sander Dorsman. “Emmo demonstrated notable qualities last year that drew our attention. Now he’s part of the MP Motorsport fold, and we aim to extract the best of his talent all year – starting this weekend in the Emirates. With Nikhil and Bruno, we have a strong line-up for our busy 15-race FRMEC schedule.”

Following a successful career in karting, Fittipaldi stepped up to single-seaters in 2021, finishing third in the Danish F4 series. In 2022, the Brazilian teenager progressed to Italian F4 while also taking in a part programme in German F4. Fittipaldi’s main programme in 2023 was the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, in which he became a points scorer in his debut season.