Christian Fittipaldi: racing in an F1 dynasty

F1: Beyond The Grid

karenellenbevan

Leisure, Sports, Technology, Automotive

4.8 • 5.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 November 2024

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Nephew of two-time Formula 1 World Champion Emerson and son of Brazilian F1 team owner Wilson, Christian Fittipaldi was destined to follow in his family’s footsteps and race in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Speaking to Tom Clarkson in his home city of Sao Paulo, Christian reflects on his three seasons on the grid with the Footwork and Minardi teams in the early 1990’s. He talks about what it was like growing up in such an iconic racing family and the pressure he experienced carrying the Fittipaldi name, how he recovered from two serious crashes at Magny Cours and Monza, and why he walked away from F1 at the end of 1994 despite opportunities to stay.

Plus, Christian describes how Ayrton Senna’s death at Imola in ‘94 affected him personally and whether he felt a weight of expectation to be the next Senna.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	We had engine for breakfast, chassis for lunch, and then a set of tires for dinner.
0:07.0	That was the conversation 24-7 at home.
0:10.0	The Fittipaldi family is a Brazilian racing dynasty.
0:15.0	It began with two brothers driving in Formula One during the 1970s, Wilson and Emerson.
0:22.1	Emerson became a two-time world champion while Wilson went on to run his own Formula One team.
0:28.6	Following in their footsteps in the 1990s was Christian Fittipaldi, Wilson's son and Emerson's nephew.
0:36.3	No pressure then.
0:43.3	I remember when I was growing up and doing my first goal cart races. When I finished second, I hadn't finished a good second.
0:46.3	I had lost the race.
0:47.3	And when I won, it was sort of, okay, he should be winning.
0:51.3	He's the son of Wilson, the nephew of Emerson, so naturally he should
0:55.2	be winning, he should be on top of his game.
0:58.6	Christian's own Formula One career didn't live up to Emerson's. He scored a handful of points
1:03.5	for the Minardian footwork teams before moving to the USA to race successfully in IndyCar and
1:09.5	other series. But with several opportunities to stay, did he walk away from Formula One too quickly?
1:16.6	I think I gave up on my Formula One dream too soon.
1:20.6	And I looked at my dad and I said, yeah, we always dreamed about Formula One, but you never know what the world can bring us. Maybe we'll go to America for one year and then we'll come back to Formula One.
1:32.3	And yes, we accomplished that, we went to America, but I had lost that F1 momentum.
1:38.3	And the door is naturally closed for me.
1:44.9	Hello and welcome to F1 Beyond the Grid with me, Tom Clarkson.
1:51.6	The Fipaldies have been a racing institution for more than six decades.
1:56.4	The family's legacy continues to this day through Enzo and Pietro.
	...

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