Emerson Fittipaldi

Interesting facts

His name comes from the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, and racing ran in the family long before him: his father organized Brazil's first Mil Milhas endurance race in 1956, modeled on Italy's Mille Miglia. After Jochen Rindt was killed at Monza in 1970, Fittipaldi was promoted to Lotus team leader and won the United States Grand Prix in only his fifth start, and in 1972, at just 25, he became the youngest world champion in F1 history, a record that stood for 33 years. At the peak of his career in 1976, he walked away from a competitive McLaren to join his brother Wilson's own team, Copersucar, a move that stalled his career, and he later admitted it cost him his marriage and personal life as well. Leading almost the entire 1989 Indianapolis 500, Fittipaldi was passed by Al Unser Jr. on lap 196, fought back using lapped traffic, and when the two ran side by side into turn three, Unser hit the wall while Fittipaldi held on for the win. His 1993 Indy 500 victory caused a stir when he drank orange juice on the podium instead of the traditional milk, promoting his own orange groves; dairy-country fans booed him a week later in Milwaukee, and he publicly apologized, donating five thousand dollars of his winnings to the American Dairy Association. In 1997, while still recovering from an earlier racing injury, his private plane lost power and crashed into his own orange farm near Sao Paulo, and surviving the accident deepened the Christian faith he had adopted the year before. Fittipaldi kept a close friendship with Beatles guitarist George Harrison, visiting him shortly before his death, and in 1994 he served as one of the pallbearers at Ayrton Senna's funeral. Emerson Fittipaldi raced in Formula 1 from 1970 to 1980, across 11 seasons as a Brazilian driver. He won the World Championship 2 times, in 1972, 1974. He scored a total of 281 championship points over his career.