Emerson Fittipaldi Born: 12th December 1946, Sao Paulo, Brazil Grand Prix starts: 144 Grand Prix victories: 14 Points total: 281
World Champion: 1972, 1974
Emerson Fittipaldi came from racing stock: his parents both raced and his father was also a well-known journalist and motorsport commentator. Along with his brother, Wilson, he founded a car spares business to raise money to further their karting careers, and Emerson was Brazilian Kart Champion by the age of 18.
He then moved to Formula Vee, a championship he won in 1967. This persuaded him to abandon a mechanical engineering course and move to England to buy a Formula Ford car. He enjoyed immediate success and graduated to Formula Three. His skill and courage soon caught the eye of Lotus supremo Colin Chapman who was looking for a new driver.
Fittipaldi made his Formula One debut at the 1970 British Grand Prix. He performed well and backed it up with solid drives in Germany and Austria. Fittipaldi was shaken but unhurt after a high-speed crash at Monza but the weekend got much worse when team-mate Jochen Rindt was killed in a practice accident. The team's third driver, John Miles; was badly shaken by the news and retired immediately. This left a relative novice as team leader but Fittipaldi got on with the business of racing and won his next race in the USA.
The 1971 season was a washout because Fittipaldi had been injured in a road accident, although he did manage three podium finishes. However, by 1972 he was ready to challenge for the title and he duly won five of the 12 races. Aged just 25, he became the youngest champion in history, and the team also secured the constructors' championship. Lotus collected the constructors' championship again the following year, and although Fittipaldi put up a spirited defence of his individual title, his season tapered off after a strong start and he was beaten by Jackie Stewart.
Fittipaldi left Lotus for McLaren in 1974. He won three more races and clinched the championship for a second time. Two wins and four second places almost gave him a third drivers' title but he eventually finished the 1975 season behind Ferrari's Niki Lauda.
He then moved to the team run by his brother but Fittipaldi couldn't compete with the likes of Ferrari, Lotus and Williams. Despite this, he stayed with the team for five years and only retired in 1980, although he continued to manage the outfit until it folded in 1982. He then returned to Brazil to run the family business.
Fittipaldi was back behind the wheel during the American CART series in 1994. He continued to compete until 1996 but a bad accident forced him to retire again. He briefly came out of retirement to race in the 2005 GP Masters.
