Emerson Fittipaldi led the flood tide of world-class Brazilian drivers who cascaded into Formula 1 during the 1970s, and became the youngest ever World Champion at the age of twenty-five at the wheel of a Lotus 72. Fittipaldi had a smooth and delicate touch, balancing great natural ability behind the wheel with a sense of tactical perception which earned him a reputation as a strategic racer. Born in Brazil's bustling industrial second city, Emerson and his elder brother Wilson Jr grew up with motor racing in their blood.
Their father Wilson Sr. was a respected and experienced motor racing journalist and commentator who had first come to Europe with the Fangio/ Gonzalez bandwagon in the 1950s. Two decades later this silver-haired gentleman would return to chart the F1 progress of his two sons with an understandable sense of pride. Emerson made his name in karting and Formula Vee at home before setting out to Europe at the start of 1969 where he started racing a Formula Ford Merlyn Mk 11a. His progress through the lesser single-seater ranks was mercurial and astonishing by any standards. He instantly asserted himself as a winner, moving through into F3 - where he again proved immediately competitive - by the end of the season and was signed with Lotus for a full F2 programme in 1970.
After Piers Courage was killed in the 1970 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Frank Williams tried hard to sign Emerson to drive his de Tomaso for the balance of the season, but there was no way this was going to happen. Colin Chapman had him locked firmly into a 'Lotus only' contract and quickly affirmed his confidence in his new lad by giving him his F1 debut in a Lotus 49C at the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. He scored his Championship points with a fourth place at Hockenheim in the ¦ German race, but then the Lotus game plan suddenly changed dramatically when team leader Jochen Rindt was killed at Monza. With John Miles feeling he no longer wanted to be involved with F1 in general, and the frail Lotus 72 in particular, Fittipaldi found himself propelled into the forefront of F1 attention. In 1971 Emerson lost momentum slightly. He was quite badly knocked around in a road accident and his US GP victory had unrealistically raised expectations. He finished a strong sixth in the World Championship with a second place in Austria and a third in Britain.
In 1972, however, he stormed through to his first World Championship victory over Jackie Stewart, a success which owed as much to the well-honed Lotus 72 as it did to Emerson's driving ability In 1973 Chapman signed Ronnie Peterson to drive alongside him, a movewhich not only put Emerson's nose slightly out of joint but resulted in the two men splitting the Lotus wins and allowing Stewart through to take his third World Championship. By the end of the season Emerson had accepted a big money offer to switch to McLaren (now benefiting from plenty of Marlboro support and demonstrated the wisdom of the switch by taking his second World Championship with wins in Brazil, Belgium and Canada. For 1975 the Cosworth-engined McLaren M23 was marginally out-gunned by the more powerful Ferrari 312T, but Fittipaldi took a strong second to Niki Lauda in the Championship stakes. He then dropped a bombshell by announcing that he was quitting McLaren to join his brother's fledgling F1 team which was sponsored by Copersucar, Brazil's state-run sugar marketing cartel.
In retrospect, this move was a case of ill- judged patriotism and family loyalty and was seriously out of focus. It effectively destroyed Emerson's F1 career long before his driving talent had waned. There were a few fleeting moments of promise left, and when Fittipaldi's Copersucar stormed home a strong second to Carlos Reutmann's Ferrari 312T in the 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix at Rio, he was cheered to the end as a national hero. From then on, however, it was downhill all the way, and although Emerson stopped racing at the end of 1980 to concentrate on team management duties, the following year, lack of sponsorship caused the Fittipaldi team to sink into the financial quicksands and they finally closed their doors at the end of 1982. Emerson then moved to the USA where he became involved first in IMSA sports car racing and latterly CART single- seaters. He proved that there is life after Formula 1 by developing into one the top contenders in this category, winning the 1989 Indianapolis 500 in a Pat Patrick team Penske before joining the factory Penske team for whom he was continuing to drive through into the 1992 season.
A year or so ago, Exoto offered a 'Ford World Champion' four car bundle, and this one was back ordered until just recently. The bundle came out to approximately $75 per car, and considering the detail on this one, that's a bargain!
Their father Wilson Sr. was a respected and experienced motor racing journalist and commentator who had first come to Europe with the Fangio/ Gonzalez bandwagon in the 1950s. Two decades later this silver-haired gentleman would return to chart the F1 progress of his two sons with an understandable sense of pride. Emerson made his name in karting and Formula Vee at home before setting out to Europe at the start of 1969 where he started racing a Formula Ford Merlyn Mk 11a. His progress through the lesser single-seater ranks was mercurial and astonishing by any standards. He instantly asserted himself as a winner, moving through into F3 - where he again proved immediately competitive - by the end of the season and was signed with Lotus for a full F2 programme in 1970.
After Piers Courage was killed in the 1970 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Frank Williams tried hard to sign Emerson to drive his de Tomaso for the balance of the season, but there was no way this was going to happen. Colin Chapman had him locked firmly into a 'Lotus only' contract and quickly affirmed his confidence in his new lad by giving him his F1 debut in a Lotus 49C at the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. He scored his Championship points with a fourth place at Hockenheim in the ¦ German race, but then the Lotus game plan suddenly changed dramatically when team leader Jochen Rindt was killed at Monza. With John Miles feeling he no longer wanted to be involved with F1 in general, and the frail Lotus 72 in particular, Fittipaldi found himself propelled into the forefront of F1 attention. In 1971 Emerson lost momentum slightly. He was quite badly knocked around in a road accident and his US GP victory had unrealistically raised expectations. He finished a strong sixth in the World Championship with a second place in Austria and a third in Britain.
In 1972, however, he stormed through to his first World Championship victory over Jackie Stewart, a success which owed as much to the well-honed Lotus 72 as it did to Emerson's driving ability In 1973 Chapman signed Ronnie Peterson to drive alongside him, a movewhich not only put Emerson's nose slightly out of joint but resulted in the two men splitting the Lotus wins and allowing Stewart through to take his third World Championship. By the end of the season Emerson had accepted a big money offer to switch to McLaren (now benefiting from plenty of Marlboro support and demonstrated the wisdom of the switch by taking his second World Championship with wins in Brazil, Belgium and Canada. For 1975 the Cosworth-engined McLaren M23 was marginally out-gunned by the more powerful Ferrari 312T, but Fittipaldi took a strong second to Niki Lauda in the Championship stakes. He then dropped a bombshell by announcing that he was quitting McLaren to join his brother's fledgling F1 team which was sponsored by Copersucar, Brazil's state-run sugar marketing cartel.
In retrospect, this move was a case of ill- judged patriotism and family loyalty and was seriously out of focus. It effectively destroyed Emerson's F1 career long before his driving talent had waned. There were a few fleeting moments of promise left, and when Fittipaldi's Copersucar stormed home a strong second to Carlos Reutmann's Ferrari 312T in the 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix at Rio, he was cheered to the end as a national hero. From then on, however, it was downhill all the way, and although Emerson stopped racing at the end of 1980 to concentrate on team management duties, the following year, lack of sponsorship caused the Fittipaldi team to sink into the financial quicksands and they finally closed their doors at the end of 1982. Emerson then moved to the USA where he became involved first in IMSA sports car racing and latterly CART single- seaters. He proved that there is life after Formula 1 by developing into one the top contenders in this category, winning the 1989 Indianapolis 500 in a Pat Patrick team Penske before joining the factory Penske team for whom he was continuing to drive through into the 1992 season.
A year or so ago, Exoto offered a 'Ford World Champion' four car bundle, and this one was back ordered until just recently. The bundle came out to approximately $75 per car, and considering the detail on this one, that's a bargain!
