Emerson Fittipaldi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Emerson Fittipaldi
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Fittipaldi in 2020
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| Born | 12 December 1946 São Paulo, Brazil
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| Spouse(s) |
Maria Helena
(m. 1970; div. 1982)Teresa Hotte
(m. 1983; div. 2002)Rossana Fanucchi
(m. 2012) |
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| Children | 7, including Emerson Jr. | ||||||
| Relatives |
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| Formula One World Championship career | |||||||
| Nationality |  Brazilian |
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| Active years | 1970–1980 | ||||||
| Teams | Lotus, McLaren, Fittipaldi | ||||||
| Entries | 149 (144 starts) | ||||||
| Championships | 2 (1972, 1974) | ||||||
| Wins | 14 | ||||||
| Podiums | 35 | ||||||
| Career points | 281 | ||||||
| Pole positions | 6 | ||||||
| Fastest laps | 6 | ||||||
| First entry | 1970 British Grand Prix | ||||||
| First win | 1970 United States Grand Prix | ||||||
| Last win | 1975 British Grand Prix | ||||||
| Last entry | 1980 United States Grand Prix | ||||||
| Champ Car career | |||||||
| 195 races run over 13 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 1st (1989) | ||||||
| First race | 1984 Long Beach Grand Prix (Long Beach) | ||||||
| Last race | 1996 Michigan 500 (Michigan) | ||||||
| First win | 1985 Michigan 500 (Michigan) | ||||||
| Last win | 1995 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix (Nazareth) | ||||||
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Emerson Fittipaldi (born December 12, 1946) is a famous Brazilian former racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1970 to 1980. Emerson won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles. He achieved these wins in 1972 and 1974. He also won 14 Grand Prix races during his 11 seasons in Formula One.
After Formula One, Fittipaldi moved to American open-wheel racing. He won the IndyCar World Series in 1989. He also won the famous Indianapolis 500 race twice. He is considered one of the greatest racing drivers ever.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Emerson Fittipaldi was born in São Paulo, Brazil. His parents, Wilson Fittipaldi Sr. and Józefa "Juzy" Wojciechowska, were also involved in motorsports. His father was a journalist and radio commentator. His mother was from Russia.
Emerson was named after an American writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Both his parents raced cars after World War II. His father even started the first Mil Milhas race in Brazil. Emerson and his older brother, Wilson, loved racing from a young age.
Racing Adventures
At 14, Emerson raced motorcycles. By 16, he was racing fast boats called hydroplanes. One day, his brother Wilson had a scary accident in a hydroplane. It flipped over at 70 miles per hour! Luckily, Wilson was okay. This made both brothers decide to stop boat racing. They chose to focus only on racing cars.
In 1967, at age 20, Emerson won a 6-hour race in Brazil. A year later, he won a 12-hour race. The brothers then started racing Formula Vee cars. Emerson won the Brazilian Formula Vee title when he was 21.
Starting in Europe
In 1969, Emerson went to Europe. He wanted to show off his racing skills. After getting some podium finishes and wins in Formula Ford, he joined a Formula Three team. He won nine F3 races and became the 1969 champion.
Formula Two Challenges
In 1970, Fittipaldi moved up to Formula Two. He joined the Lotus team. He finished in the top three four times. He ended the season in third place overall. This was very impressive for a new driver.
Formula One Success
Joining Team Lotus
Emerson Fittipaldi joined Team Lotus in 1970. He was a third driver at first. After a sad accident where their main driver, Jochen Rindt, passed away, Emerson became the lead driver. This was only his fifth Formula One race! He proved he was ready by winning that race in the United States.
In 1972, Emerson was amazing. He won five out of 11 races. He became the Formula One World Champion at just 25 years old. At that time, he was the youngest F1 world champion ever. He held that record for 33 years!
Moving to McLaren
In 1974, Emerson left Lotus to join the McLaren team. He won three races that year. He also finished on the podium four other times. He won his second Formula One championship in a very close battle. He also helped McLaren win their first team championship. In 1975, he won two more races and had four other podium finishes.
Racing for His Brother's Team
After his big success, Emerson made a surprising choice. He left McLaren to race for his older brother Wilson's team, Fittipaldi Automotive. He stayed with the team for five seasons. However, the cars were not fast enough to win races. He only managed to get two more podium finishes.
Emerson decided to retire from Formula One at the end of 1980. He was only 33 years old. He had been racing in Formula One for ten years. He later said that his last two years were not happy. He was too busy trying to make the team work.
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Fittipaldi driving the Lotus 72 in 1971
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Fittipaldi in the Lotus 72D in 1972
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Fittipaldi at Silverstone in 1974
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Fittipaldi in the McLaren M23 in 1974
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Fittipaldi driving for his brother's team in 1976
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Fittipaldi Copersucar in 1978
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IndyCar Racing
After leaving Formula One, Emerson took a break from racing for four years. In 1984, at 37 years old, he started racing in the American CART series. He spent his first year getting used to IndyCars.
In 1985, he won his first CART race. He stayed with Patrick Racing for five years. During this time, he won six races.
Indianapolis 500 Wins
In 1989, Fittipaldi had an amazing year. He won five races and became the CART champion. One of his biggest wins was the 1989 Indianapolis 500. He led most of the race. In the final laps, he had a dramatic battle with Al Unser Jr. Their cars touched, and Unser Jr. spun out. Emerson kept control and won the race. Even after the crash, Unser Jr. applauded Emerson.
In 1990, Emerson joined Team Penske. He continued to be a top driver. He won at least one race with Penske for six years in a row. In 1993, he won his second Indianapolis 500. He took the lead from Formula One champion Nigel Mansell and held it to the end.
After his 1993 Indy 500 win, Emerson broke a tradition. Instead of drinking milk in victory lane, he drank orange juice. He owned orange groves in Brazil and wanted to promote them. Fans were not happy about this. He later apologized and did drink milk. But some fans still remembered it. In 2008, when he drove the pace car at the Indy 500, some fans still booed him.
In May 1994, Emerson missed a practice session for the Indy 500. This was because his close friend, Ayrton Senna, had a fatal crash. Senna was also a Brazilian Formula One champion. Emerson was one of the people who carried Senna's coffin at the funeral. Emerson almost won his third Indy 500 that year. But he hit a wall with 15 laps to go while leading.
In 1996, at almost 50 years old, Emerson had an injury at a race. This ended his career as a full-time driver. He finished his CART career with 22 wins.
Later Career and Life
After retiring from full-time racing, Emerson still stayed involved. He was a team principal for Brazil's A1 GP team. In 2005, he made a surprise return to racing in the Grand Prix Masters event. He finished second in that race.
In 2008, Emerson and his brother Wilson raced together in the Brazilian GT3 Championship. Emerson also started writing a blog for McLaren's website.
Awards and Recognition
- He was added to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001.
- He was also added to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 2004.
Personal Life
Family Connections
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Emerson is the younger brother of former Formula One driver and team owner Wilson Fittipaldi. He is also the uncle of racing driver Christian Fittipaldi.
Emerson has seven children. His son, Emerson Jr., born in 2007, is also a racing driver. He finished third in the 2021 F4 Danish Championship. Emerson's daughter Tatiana married racing driver Max Papis. They have two sons.
His daughter Juliana has two sons and a daughter. Her sons, Pietro and Enzo, are also racing drivers. Pietro made his Formula 1 debut in 2020. Enzo joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 2022. Pietro signed to race full-time in IndyCar for 2024.
Other Interests
In 1997, Emerson was flying his private plane over his orange farm in Brazil. The plane lost power and crashed. He had serious back injuries. This crash strengthened his Christian faith.
Emerson was friends with Beatles guitarist George Harrison. He was with Harrison shortly before he passed away in 2001.
In 2016, Fittipaldi started a car company called Fittipaldi Motors. They worked on a sports car project, the Fittipaldi EF7. However, the car was never produced.
In 2022, Emerson ran for the Italian Senate. He represented South America. He was not elected.
Images for kids
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Twin-engine racing Beetle developed by Wilson and Emerson Fittipaldi
See also
In Spanish: Emerson Fittipaldi para niños
