LIGHTS TO FLAG: Emerson Fittipaldi on F1 title glory with Lotus and McLaren, representing his family’s team and Stateside success

Emerson Fittipaldi belongs to an elite club of multiple F1 World Champions, having won the sport’s biggest prize with the now iconic Lotus and McLaren teams in the 1970s. But he packed plenty more into his career around that, from a demanding stint racing for the family team to a fruitful phase in the American CART series. In our latest Lights to Flag feature, the legendary Brazilian shares some of the highs and lows from a remarkable journey…

From bikes to boats to karts

Fittipaldi was born and raised in the sprawling city of Sao Paulo in December 1946, getting early exposure to the adrenaline-filled world of racing through the captivating words written and spoken by his father Wilson – an established motorsport journalist and commentator.

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Soon eager to hit the racetrack himself but well below the strict karting minimum age limit implemented across the country, Fittipaldi started his career on a motorcycle at 14 before taking to the water a couple of years later in hydroplane motorboat competitions.

While serious injuries were avoided, a scary crash involving his brother and fellow hydroplane competitor Wilson Jr. prompted the pair to concentrate their efforts on land rather than sea racing going forward – funded by a car accessory business they had formed together.

“I always wanted to race cars,” begins Fittipaldi. “But because of my age, I started motorcycle and hydroplane racing first. Then, when I was 17, at the minimum age, I started karting, and then, when I was 18, I started in cars. That’s how my dreams began.