Emerson Fittipaldi was born in São Paulo, Brazil. His parents, Wilson Fittipaldi Sr and Józefa Wojciechowska, were involved in motorsports. Fittipaldi was named after Ralph Waldo Emerson. Both he and his brother, Wilson Fittipaldi, became motorsports enthusiasts as children. At age 14, Fittipaldi raced motorcycles, and at 16, hydroplanes. After an accident involving his brother, they focused on land vehicles. In 1967, Fittipaldi won the 6 Hours of Interlagos in a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia at age 20. He won the Brazilian Formula Vee title at 21. In 1969, he moved to Europe and won nine F3 races in the MCD Lombard Championship with the Jim Russell Driving School Formula Three team.
For 1970, Fittipaldi moved to Formula Two with the Lotus semi-works Team Bardahl, finishing third in the season. He made his Formula One debut for Team Lotus at the 1970 British Grand Prix. After Jochen Rindt's death at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix, Fittipaldi became Lotus's lead driver in his fifth Grand Prix. He won the World Drivers' Championship in 1972 at 25, becoming the youngest F1 world champion at the time. He later moved to McLaren for 1974, winning his second title and helping McLaren win their first Constructors' Championship. He then joined his brother's Fittipaldi Automotive team before the 1976 season, where success eluded him. Fittipaldi retired from Formula One in 1980.
Following his Formula One career, Fittipaldi moved to the American CART series in 1984. He joined Patrick Racing and achieved his first CART victory at the 1985 Michigan 500. In 1989, Fittipaldi won five races and became the CART champion, including a dominant performance at the Indianapolis 500. He joined Roger Penske's team in 1990 and continued to win races. In 1993, he secured his second Indianapolis 500 victory, taking the lead from Nigel Mansell. During this victory, Fittipaldi drank orange juice instead of milk, which caused negative fan reaction. He later apologized for this break in tradition. Fittipaldi's CART career ended in 1996 due to an injury at Michigan International Speedway. He finished his CART career with 22 wins.
Fittipaldi was the acting team principal for the Brazilian A1 GP entry. In 2005, he returned to competitive racing in the Grand Prix Masters event, finishing second behind Nigel Mansell. In 2008, he and his brother Wilson entered the Brazilian GT3 Championship. Fittipaldi was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 2004. He is the uncle of Christian Fittipaldi and the grandfather of racing drivers Pietro Fittipaldi and Enzo Fittipaldi.
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