Giancarlo Fisichella will return to the Australian Grand Prix after being confirmed to join the S5000 championship.
The series plays support to the upcoming Grand Prix, a particular race in which Fisichella has tasted success at by winning the 2005 rendition with the Renault Formula One team.
“I am very excited about coming back to a city and a street circuit which mean so much to me,” Fisichella said.
“My Grand Prix win will stay in my heart forever as well as the warmth of the many Australian fans who come every year to Melbourne for a great motor sport spectacle.
“It is also a full comeback to an open wheeler for me, after 10 solid years of GT racing and for this I can’t wait until I am going to be behind the wheel of a S5000.”
Fisichella has been a part of the AF Corsa Ferrari Endurance team since his retirement from Formula One in 2009, having tremendous success including having won two separate 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2012 and 2014 in the GTE Pro category.
“We are excited to welcome Giancarlo to Australia and this is another great coup for the S5000 class at the Australian Grand Prix,” said Australian Racing Group CEO Matt Braid.
“Giancarlo is loved by all Formula 1 fans for not only his success on the track, but his passion for the sport. While he might have stopped racing Formula 1, he is still very active, and we feel that he is going to adapt very quickly to the S5000s.
“It will be great to rekindle an old F1 rivalry too, seeing Giancarlo and Rubens Barrichello back at a Formula 1 event, in single seater race cars. It is everything that public want to see and we are pleased to bring this to the Melbourne fans.”