MOTORSPORT – Former Formula 1 driver and team owner Wilson Fittipaldi passed away on Friday at the age of 80.
The older brother of double world champion Emerson and father of F1 and Indycar racer Christian had been ill for some time.
He had been hospitalised since Christmas Day, which was also his birthday, after he choked on a piece of meat. His family was unable to clear his airway, which triggered a cardiac arrest.
Born in Sao Paulo, he drove a wide variety of cars in his youth, encouraged by father and key Brazilian racing figure Wilson Fittipaldi Sr.
In 1966 he had a brief initial stint in Europe in F3, but it was younger brother Emerson who first made a real impact when he went to the UK in 1969, making it to F1 with Team Lotus the following year.
Wilson made a full-time move to Europe in 1970, taking advantage of the success that Emerson had been having. That year he raced in F3 against the likes of Niki Lauda and James Hunt, winning a British championship round as well as a couple of non-championship events.
At the start of 1971, he made his F1 debut in a works Team Lotus entry alongside Emerson in the non-championship Argentinian GP.
That year he also moved up to F2 with a Team Bardahl Lotus. He scored points on six occasions, notably a third place at Hockenheim, and finished sixth in the championship in a field that included the likes of Ronnie Peterson and Carlos Reutemann.
That propelled him into a seat with Bernie Ecclestone’s Brabham F1 team in 1972, as team-mate to Graham Hill. He was third in the non-championship race at Interlagos and logged seventh places in Spain and Germany, but it was a generally disappointing year.
He remained with Brabham in 1973, putting in a storming drive in Monaco before retiring … READ MORE.
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