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How Emerson Fittipaldi sparked Brazil’s obsession with Formula 1

Emmo’s F1 success paved the way for the Brazilians that followed him

Read time: 11.6 minutes

Emerson Fittipaldi refers to them as the “three musketeers”. Himself, his brother Wilson Jr., and José Carlos Pace - the Brazilians who blazed a trail to Europe and sparked their country’s fascination with Formula 1.  

The now 77-year-old had become hooked on racing from the moment Wilson Jr. took him to his first motorbike race in Sao Paulo. Emmo, as he is better known, helped engineer both Wilson Jr. and Carlos Pace’s karts when they began racing before becoming a Brazilian karting champion himself.   

All three would end up in F1, but Emerson enjoyed the most success. Of the 32 Brazilians to start a Grand Prix, he is one of six to win a race – Pace is another – and one of three to be crowned World Champion. 

Emerson and his brother Wilson

Emerson and his brother Wilson (R)

The first steps  

When Emmo first touched down in the UK on his flight from Brazil, he was greeted by the country’s typically British weather, bitterly cold and drizzling, but it wasn’t enough to dampen his spirits. The Brazilian stepped off the plane full of hope. He truly believed that he could make his dream a reality.  

He wasn’t the first Brazilian to take that flight from Brazil to the UK with a dream to make it in Formula 1, and he also wouldn’t be the first to realise that ambition. That honour went to Francisco “Chico” Landi, who completed six F1 Grands Prix in four years, scoring points once in Argentina. Chico was a source of great inspiration for Emmo, but he had ambitions to surpass his hero.  

“Growing up in Brazil, Formula 1 was a dream,” Emmo says. “Chico Landi was a very good Brazilian driver, who raced in Europe and Brazil. He was our idol - the first Brazilian Grand Prix driver. The motor racing world in Brazil was a small community, mainly based in São Paulo. This was just the beginning for us. 

“Like many other young Brazilians, it was my dream to come to Europe and race in Formula 1. I raced every car that I could in Brazil, and it was always in my mind that I wanted to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix.”

“God was always very good to me. I met the right people in England and had success in Formula 4, Formula 3 and Formula 2”

Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi

Two-time F1 World Champion

A risk-free investment  

It was February 1969, and Emmo had invested all his savings into a Merlyn Formula Ford car, which he hoped to use in the Formula Ford Championship – an early entry point into F1.  

Emmo had performed well in Brazil and backed himself to translate that success into the more competitive European scene, but not even he could have anticipated how quickly he’d climb the European junior ladder. He stepped up to British F3 within half a season of Formula Ford and then moved straight into F2 the season after, before making his F1 debut in July 1970, that same year, having caught the eye of Lotus boss Colin Chapman.  

“Formula Ford was very popular in England and very low cost,” he recalls. “God was always very good to me. I met the right people in England and had success in Formula 4, Formula 3 and Formula 2, before Colin gave me my first opportunity to drive a Formula 1 car.” 

Emmo's debut

Emerson makes his F1 debut at the British Grand Prix

A landmark victory  

It took just four Grands Prix for Emerson to become Brazil’s first F1 race winner, only 18 months after moving to England. 

It was a landmark victory for Brazil, which had just won its third FIFA World Cup that summer, with a team including the great Pelé. Football remained the country's number one sport, but their love for motor racing was growing, and it was thanks largely to Emmo. He had burst onto the scene with a stereotypical samba swagger, a thick mop of long dark hair, and distinctive sideburns – normally complete with sunglasses.  

“Everybody was surprised,” he says, recalling his first win. “My first win was the US Grand Prix in 1970, and it was all over the news in Brazil. A Brazilian driver winning a Grand Prix had a big impact in Brazil with the young people and with the media. Formula 1 became very popular in Brazil. First, it was football, but then it was motor racing!” 

Emerson wouldn’t win again for a little over 18 months, at which point he began to finish first regularly, having been handed a car worthy of a Championship challenge. In only his third season, he responded by becoming F1's youngest ever World Champion, and the first from Brazil, scoring five wins and three podiums from 12 rounds. 

“There was huge enthusiasm from the Brazilian people for a Brazilian to win the Brazilian Grand Prix with McLaren”

Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi

Two-time F1 World Champion

Emmo’s success had dramatically increased motorsport’s popularity in Brazil, and F1 responded by hosting a race in the country for the first time at Interlagos in São Paulo, now known as the Autódromo José Carlos Pace. The Brazilian fans were desperate to watch a driver from their country win in person, and Emerson duly delivered at the inaugural race in 1973. He won three times and took two further podiums from the opening five races before his title defence fizzled out as he finished second to Sir Jackie Stewart.

He moved to McLaren for 1974, believing that the team’s M23 was a better bet for the title than that season’s Lotus, but many of his fans and the Brazilian media weren’t convinced. McLaren were a young team, yet to win a Championship and with plenty to prove. His switch was greeted with trepidation, but Emmo quickly dispelled any concerns by winning in his second race for McLaren at home in front of the Brazilian fans.

“There was a lot of expectation because I had left Lotus, and everyone was questioning whether I was going to be successful with McLaren,” he says. “Going to Brazil and winning at home was so important. There was huge enthusiasm from the Brazilian people for a Brazilian to win the Brazilian Grand Prix with McLaren.” 

Emerson wins in Brazil

Celebration as Emerson wins his home Grand Prix in Brazil in 1974

Becoming Brazil’s second sport 

His first season with McLaren culminated in his second title – a historic first for McLaren –cementing his country’s growing love for F1 and forever establishing McLaren’s links with Brazilian drivers. But more importantly, it had given those growing up in Brazil a multiple World Championship winning driver to aspire and look up to. Emmo was proof that a Brazilian could make it in Formula 1.  

“I think my success influenced a lot of young Brazilian drivers who were dreaming of being in Formula 1,” he says. “From then, we had all of these young people looking at F1, thinking that one day they could be there. The roots of F1 were being developed. We had a very competitive karting scene in Brazil and a lot of dedication to make it. Brazil is a huge country and there were now talents coming through to F1.  

“Now, Brazilian racing drivers have nearly the same reputation as Brazilian football players. You can go anywhere in the world, and people can name a Brazilian football player. And now, you can go anywhere in the world, and people can name a Brazilian racing driver – Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Rubens Barrichello, Felipe Massa – that is a fantastic reputation to have, and I am so happy to have played a small part in this.” 

Emmo is being modest. He played much more than a small part in Brazil’s racing legacy, both as a source of inspiration and as a mentor for future McLaren driver Ayrton Senna, who would go on to become one of F1’s greatest-ever drivers.

Emerson and Senna

Emerson and Ayrton Senna met in 1976 and became friends for life

The pair first met at the Brazilian F1 circuit in 1976 when Emmo was testing his Copersucar Formula 1 car. Ayrton had been competing on Interlagos’ corresponding karting track next door and couldn’t resist the chance to meet one of his heroes.  

“He came with his father to my pit box,” Emmo recalls. “He was very shy, and I said, ‘Ayrton, come here, and I will show you my Formula 1 car’. He was very shy and very quiet, but we developed a life-long, fantastic friendship.  

“We would always watch each other’s races, even when I moved to America to race in IndyCar. Every year, at the end of the season, we would have a dinner in December in São Paulo to talk and exchange ideas. He was a very special talent, very gifted.” 

The baton had been passed, and that torch has been carried by numerous names since, most recently Felipe Massa, who retired at the end of the 2017 season. Massa’s retirement has left a void that McLaren Development driver Gabriel Bortoleto is hoping to fill. The 20-year-old from São Paulo, Brazil, won the 2023 Formula 3 title and is currently leading the Formula 2 Championship, aiming to become his country’s 33rd F1 driver and first since Massa.  

“We are looking for a Brazilian driver to race in Formula 1 because there’s been a big gap since the last one,” he says. “A lot of people have followed Gabriel in different categories since he was karting in Brazil. He is a great talent, he could be the future of Brazilian motorsport.”