Fittipaldi Automotive

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Fittipaldi
Full nameFittipaldi Automotive
BaseSão Paulo, Brazil (1975–1977) and Reading, Berkshire, UK (1977–1982)[1]
Founder(s)Wilson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi
Noted staffRichard Divila
Jo Ramírez
Adrian Newey
Harvey Postlethwaite
Noted driversBrazil Wilson Fittipaldi
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi
Finland Keke Rosberg
Brazil Chico Serra
Formula One World Championship career
First entry1975 Argentine Grand Prix
Races entered120 (103 starts)
EnginesFord
Constructors'
Championships		0
Drivers'
Championships		0
Race victories0
Podiums3
Points44
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
Final entry1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix

Fittipaldi Automotive, sometimes called Copersucar after its first major sponsor, was a Formula One racing team and constructor that competed from 1975 to 1982. It was the only Formula One team to have been based in Brazil. The team was formed during 1974 by racing driver Wilson Fittipaldi and his younger brother, double world champion Emerson, with money from the Brazilian sugar and alcohol cooperative Copersucar. The team raced under a Brazilian licence.[2] Emerson Fittipaldi became a driver for the team in 1976 after leaving McLaren, but was unable to replicate his earlier success with the family-owned team. Future world champion Keke Rosberg took his first podium finish in Formula One with the team.

The team was originally based in the Fittipaldis' hometown of São Paulo, almost 6,000 miles (10,000 km) away from the centre of the world motor racing industry in the UK, before moving to Reading, UK during 1977. It participated in 119 Grands Prix between 1975 and 1982, entering a total of 156 cars.[citation needed] It achieved three podiums and scored 44 championship points.

Origins

Fitti-Vee: The Fittipaldis built their first racing cars in Brazil for Formula Vee in 1967

In the 1960s the young Fittipaldi brothers,

karts and tuning engines. They went on to build customer Formula Vee racing cars and various successful one-off sports cars, including a twin-engined, fibreglass-bodied Volkswagen Beetle, as well as maintaining a car and racing accessories business.[3] They were also race-winning drivers in Brazil and in the late 1960s went to Europe, where they progressed through the junior ranks to reach Formula One, the highest international single seater racing category. The younger brother, Emerson, was the more successful; by 1970 he was driving for the Lotus team in Formula One and won his first world championship in 1972.[4] Wilson drove for the Brabham team in Formula One in 1972 and 1973, scoring a best race finish of fifth place. In late 1973 the brothers decided to start their own Formula One team.[5]

The 1974 season was spent setting up the new team, which was to have a strong Brazilian flavour. Wilson was able to persuade Brazilian sugar and alcohol cooperative

Brasilia in the presence of President Ernesto Geisel.[citation needed] Like Brabham's BT series of cars (Brabham and Tauranac
), the car's FD designation reflected the initials of the driver and the designer (Fittipaldi and Divila).

Racing history

Copersucar-Fittipaldi (1975–1977)

Copersucar-Fittipaldi FD04: Emerson qualified 5th on his debut for the family team in 1976. This was the last Fittipaldi to be built in Brazil.
See also: 1975 Formula One season, 1976 Formula One season, and 1977 Formula One season

The team, initially known as Copersucar-Fittipaldi, did not have great success in its first racing season in 1975. Wilson crashed in chassis FD01 on lap 13 of their first race, the

McLaren
, with whom he had taken his second Driver's Championship in 1974. His brother stepped down from driving to look after the management of the team.

Emerson commented: "I am aware that I will virtually have no chance of winning the world title next season....It will be a very difficult beginning, but I am very enthusiastic and I am certain that with everybody's effort we will have the first positive results in the second half of next year. I think that in the medium term of one or two years Brazil will have one of the best Formula One teams in the world."[12]

Emerson was the team's main driver in 1976 although Brazilian

Interlagos. In the race he could only finish 13th – a result which was more representative of the rest of the season during which he scored only three points. The qualifying result remained the best the team would ever achieve. The experiment of basing the team in Brazil did not last – it was too far from their engine and gearbox suppliers and did not have the large community of expert component manufacturers available in the UK. Although the first FD04 was built there, future cars would be built at the team's established base in Reading, UK, in what would become known as 'motorsport valley'.[citation needed
]

The team continued with the same setup for 1977. Fittipaldi was able to score several 4th and 5th places during the year. Hoffman only appeared twice at the beginning of the year, finishing 7th at the Brazilian Grand Prix. The new F5, liveried in yellow rather than silver, (Divila having left the role of technical director, the 'D' was dropped from the designation) was introduced mid-season.[citation needed]

Fittipaldi Automotive (1978–1979)

See also: 1978 Formula One season and 1979 Formula One season
Fittipaldi F5A: The aerodynamics modified version of the F5 was designed by Giacomo Caliri.

While it was not a great success in 1977, in 1978 the F5A, modified to implement the principles of ground effect demonstrated to excellent effect by Lotus, allowed the former World Champion to score several good results. The best of these was a competitive second place, after fighting with Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve,[13] at the team's perennial happy hunting ground in Brazil. Fittipaldi finished the year with 17 points and the team, now known as Fittipaldi Automotive,[14] came 7th in the Constructor's table – one place ahead of Emerson's old team McLaren.

The 1979 season saw the promise of the previous year fade away. Implementing ground effect successfully was becoming crucial to success on the track but understanding of the phenomenon was in its infancy and

Imola circuit that year,[16]
before attempting and failing to qualify a car for the end of season North American championship races.

Skol Fittipaldi Team (1980)

See also: 1980 Formula One season

At the end of 1979 Copersucar decided to end their sponsorship.

AmBev brand). Emerson and Wolf Racing driver Keke Rosberg raced the first part of the season with reworked Wolf chassis from the previous year. The cars, designated F7s, brought a third place for each of the drivers before being replaced by the less successful F8. The design team that year was headed by Harvey Postlethwaite, another asset gained from Wolf, and also included very young chief aerodynamicist Adrian Newey[18][19]
– both were later designers of championship winning cars for other teams.

Fittipaldi Automotive (1981–1982)

See also: 1981 Formula One World Championship and 1982 Formula One World Championship
Fittipaldi F8: The car was designed by Harvey Postlethwaite and Adrian Newey.

Emerson Fittipaldi decided to retire from racing at the end of 1980. He has since said that his last two years in Formula One were very unhappy: "I was too involved in the problems of trying to make the team work, and I neglected my marriage and my personal life", although at the time he cited colleagues' deaths as his reason.

Avon and Pirelli – including one race in which the two cars were on different brands.[22] Rosberg did manage to finish a fourth at the non-championship FOCA South African Grand Prix at the start of the year, albeit one lap down on the leaders[23] (see FISA–FOCA war
), but after that the drivers recorded a succession of DNQs and retirements. When they did finish they were normally at the back of the field and scored no points that year.

The Finn moved to

Zolder, although only after Niki Lauda had been disqualified. A final new car, the F9, was penned by the returning Divila and Tim Wright and introduced at the British Grand Prix that year, but failed to improve matters. The Fittipaldi brothers attempted to raise funds to continue in 1983, but the team closed its doors early in 1983.[25]

Aurora Formula One

A Fittipaldi F5A chassis run by

Aurora Formula One championship at the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch on 15 April 1979 in the hands of Guy Edwards, albeit actually 7th on the road behind six cars from the world championship which were not entered in the Aurora series.[citation needed] Edwards and team-mate Bernard de Dryver scored other good results in the series, including a string of podium finishes.[26]

Valentino Musetti, a British stuntman, raced an updated F5B variant in the 1980 Aurora Formula One UK championship, but with less success than the previous year.[27]

Drivers

Main article: Emerson Fittipaldi

For much of its history Fittipaldi Automotive was entirely focussed around Emerson Fittipaldi. Emerson was a double world champion renowned for a smooth and quick style when he joined the family team. Although his older brother drove in the team's first season, the suggestion that Emerson might drive for the team was always in the air and only a year later he cancelled contract discussions with his then team McLaren at a very late stage and signed with Fittipaldi. Although he remained capable of front-running performances, during his time with Fittipaldi Automotive he became an inconsistent performer. On several occasions team manager Jo Ramírez berated his driver after a sudden burst of speed indicated that he had not been driving to his full potential. By 1980 Fittipaldi's teammate Keke Rosberg thought him long past his best, and found him demotivated. Emerson retired at the end of that year after five full seasons with the family team, but returned to racing in the

Michigan 500
.

Main article: Keke Rosberg

The young Finn Keke Rosberg was struggling to get into a competitive seat when he joined Fittipaldi for the 1980 season. He had previously driven two disjointed seasons for the

ATS and Walter Wolf Racing teams but although he had won a non-championship race with Theodore, he had scored no world championship points. Fittipaldi bought the remains of Wolf at the end of 1979. Rosberg reports that Emerson, who had not previously had a full-time teammate while at Fittipaldi Automotive, wanted another Brazilian driver but was persuaded by ex-Wolf employees Peter Warr and Harvey Postlethwaite to offer the number two drive to the Finn. Rosberg himself saw a full season in Formula One with Fittipaldi as a step "towards victory". He was competitive alongside Emerson during his first season, scoring a podium in his first race with the team, the 1980 Argentine Grand Prix. Rosberg passed Emerson on the track in his second race for the team, and claims that from then on there was friction between Fittipaldi and himself. During his disastrous second season with the team, during which not a single point was scored, Rosberg engineered his release from his contract. He went to Williams, where he would win the drivers world championship the next season.[28]

Other notable Fittipaldi drivers included

Brazilian Stock Car champion Ingo Hoffmann
, who drove a handful of races as the second entry for the team.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Chassis Engines Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Points WCC
1975
FD03
 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA ESP MON BEL SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA USA 0 NC
Brazil Wilson Fittipaldi Ret 13 DNQ Ret DNQ 12 17 11 Ret 19 Ret DNS 10
Italy Arturo Merzario 11
1976
FD04
 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 BRA RSA USW ESP BEL MON SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA JPN 3 11th
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 13 17 6 Ret DNQ 6 Ret Ret 6 13 Ret Ret 15 Ret 9 Ret
Brazil Ingo Hoffmann 11 DNQ DNQ DNQ
1977
FD04
F5
 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA USW ESP MON BEL SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA CAN JPN 11 9th
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 4 4 10 5 14 Ret Ret 18 11 Ret DNQ 11 4 DNQ 13 Ret
Brazil Ingo Hoffmann Ret 7
1978 F5A Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA USW MON BEL ESP SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA USA CAN 17 7th
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 9 2 Ret 8 9 Ret Ret 6 Ret Ret 4 4 5 8 5 Ret
1979 F5A
F6A 		Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA USW ESP BEL MON FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA 1 12th
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 6 11 13 Ret 11 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 8 7
Brazil Alex Ribeiro DNQ DNQ
1980
F8
 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 ARG BRA RSA USW BEL MON FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA 11 8th
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi NC 15 8 3 Ret 6 Ret 12 Ret 11 Ret Ret Ret Ret
Finland Keke Rosberg 3 9 Ret Ret 7 DNQ Ret DNQ Ret 16 DNQ 5 9 10
1981
F8C
 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 USW BRA ARG SMR BEL MON ESP FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN CPL 0 NC
Finland Keke Rosberg Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret DNQ 12 Ret Ret DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ 10
Brazil Chico Serra 7 Ret Ret DNQ Ret DNQ 11 DNS DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ
1982
F8D

F9 		Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 RSA BRA USW SMR BEL MON DET CAN NED GBR FRA GER AUT SUI ITA CPL 1 14th
Brazil Chico Serra 17 Ret DNQ 6 DNPQ 11 DNQ Ret Ret DNQ 11 7 DNQ 11 DNQ

Non-championship results

Year Event Venue Driver Result Notes
1975 BRDC International Trophy Silverstone Wilson Fittipaldi Ret The International Trophy was a regular fixture from the 1950s to the 1970s
1978 BRDC International Trophy Silverstone Emerson Fittipaldi 2
1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix
Imola
 Alex Ribeiro Ret Non-championship race held to inaugurate the Autodromo Dino Ferrari
1980 Spanish Grand Prix
Jarama
 Emerson Fittipaldi 5 This race was not attended by the 'FISA' teams (see FISA–FOCA war)
and was later declared not to have formed part of the championship.
Keke Rosberg Ret
1981 South African Grand Prix Kyalami Keke Rosberg 4 Another victim of the FISA–FOCA war
Chico Serra 9

Notes

  1. ^ "Case History". Corktree.tripod.com. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  2. ^ "1975 Austrian Grand Prix Entry list".
  3. ^ Ludvigsen (2002) pp.26–29
  4. ^ Donaldson, Gerald. "Emerson Fittipaldi". Formula One Administration Ltd. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  5. ^ Ludvigsen (2002) p.132
  6. ^ Richard Divila www.grandprix.com Retrieved 28 February 2006
  7. ^ Ricardo Divila www.teamdan.com Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 7 March 2006
  8. ^ Jo Ramírez (2005): Memoirs of a Racing Man. Haynes Group.
  9. ^ Gill (ed.) 1976 pp.19-22
  10. ^ Hodges (1990) p.103
  11. ISBN 0-362-00254-1
  12. ^ Fittipaldi eager to put Brazil on world map (27 November 1975) The Times p. 10
  13. ^ Reutemann turns on heat that is too much for other's comfort (30 January 1978) The Times page 8
  14. ^ Fittipaldi team name history www.formula1results.com[permanent dead link] Retrieved 18 November 2009
  15. ^ Fittipaldi Automotive www.grandprix.com Retrieved 28 February 2006
  16. ^ Jesus Saves Racing 8w.forix.com Retrieved 28 February 2006
  17. ^ Copersucar www.grandprix.com Retrieved 28 February 2006
  18. ^ GrandPrix.com Retrieved 18 November 2009
  19. ^ "Official: Adrian Newey joins Red Bull F1". GPUpdate.net. GPUpdate. 8 November 2005. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  20. ^ Fittipaldi to Retire (12 December 1980) The Times page 20
  21. ^ Emerson Fittipaldi 8w.forix.com Retrieved 28 February 2006
  22. ^ Fittipaldi 8C ChicaneF1.dyndns.org Retrieved 7 March 2006
  23. ^ The one that didn't count 8w.forix.com Retrieved 20 March 2006
  24. ^ Fittipaldi F8C/3 www.oldracingcars.com Archived 9 November 2004 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 8 March 2006
  25. ^ Nye (1986) p.188
  26. ^ Autocourse Formula One 1979-1980 Aurora Formula One
  27. ^ Val Musetti forums.atlasf1.com Retrieved 10 April 2006
  28. ISBN 0-09-156180-9

References

All Formula One race and championship results are taken from:

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fittipaldi.
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