Emerson Fittipaldi

Lore & Background

Emerson Fittipaldi was born on 12 December 1946 in São Paulo, Brazil. He is the younger son of Italian-Brazilian motorsports journalist and radio commentator Wilson Fittipaldi Sr and his wife Józefa "Juzy" Wojciechowska, an immigrant from Saint Petersburg, Russia, of Polish and Russian descent. Fittipaldi was named after American author and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. Both of his parents had raced production cars shortly after World War II, and his father was responsible for the first Mil Milhas race in 1956, in São Paulo, having been inspired by the 1949 Italian Mille Miglia. Emerson, along with his brother Wilson, became motorsports enthusiasts as young children.

Reader's Guide

At age 14, Fittipaldi was racing motorcycles, and at 16, hydroplanes. While racing one day, his brother Wilson blew over at 70 mph (110 km/h) and landed upside down. Wilson was uninjured in the accident, but it prompted both Fittipaldi brothers to stop competing in boat racing and focus solely on racing land vehicles. In 1967, Fittipaldi won the 6 Hours of Interlagos in a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia at the age of 20, and a year later the 12 Hours of Porto Alegre.

The pair moved to racing Formula Vees, and built up a company with their parents. In his second season in single-seaters, Fittipaldi won the Brazilian Formula Vee title at age 21. He left for Europe in 1969, with the ambition to convince team owners of his talent in three months. After some podiums and his first victories in Formula Ford, Fittipaldi was first trained and then subsequently engaged by the Jim Russell Driving School Formula Three team.

He won nine F3 races on the Jim Russell Lotus 59 in the MCD Lombard Championship to become the 1969 champion. For 1970, Fittipaldi moved up to F2 by joining the Lotus semi-works Team Bardahl campaigning Lotus 59B. With six finishes in the points and four on the podium, he ended the eight-race season in third place behind Clay Regazzoni and Derek Bell. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittipaldi made his race debut for Team Lotus as a third driver at the 1970 British Grand Prix.

After Jochen Rindt was killed at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix, the Brazilian became Lotus's lead driver in only his fifth Grand Prix. He enjoyed considerable success with Lotus, winning the World Drivers' Championship in 1972 at the age of 25. At the time, he was the youngest ever F1 world champion, and he held the record for 33 years. He later moved to McLaren for 1974, winning the title once again, and helping McLaren win their first Constructors' Championship.

He surprised the paddock by moving to his brother's Fittipaldi Automotive team prior to the 1976 season, being replaced by James Hunt. Success eluded him during his final years in Formula One, with the Fittipaldi cars not competitive enough to fight for victories. Fittipaldi took two more podium finishes, before retiring in 1980. Following his Formula One career, Fittipaldi moved to the American CART series, achieving numerous successes, including the 1989 CART title and two wins at the Indianapolis 500 in 1989 and 1993.

Did You Know?

• He is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, winning in 1989 and 1993.
• Fittipaldi won his first world championship in 1972 at age 25, but he was not the youngest ever F1 champion—Jim Clark was older, winning in 1963 at age 27.