Rahal hires Filippi to start season with Indy 500

Italian driver Luca Filippi will race for Bobby Rahal's team beginning with the Indianapolis 500.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will run a full season with Takuma Sato, and field a second car for Filippi in 12 races. He'll drive the No. 30 Honda.

It will be Filippi's first season in an American-based racing series. The 26-year-old spent the last six seasons in the GP2 Series, and was a test driver for Honda in Formula One from 2007 until the end of the 2008 season.

Filippi won three races last season in GP2, which is the European equivalent of the second-tier Indy Lights series. He finished second in the series standings.

Rahal is returning to the IndyCar Series this season for the first time since 2008.