Emerson Fittipaldi is one of Formula 1’s legendary drivers, having won two world titles in 1972 and in 1974 during his career.
The Brazilian was racing in F1 during its lethal period when safety was often an afterthought, with significant changes not coming along until the mid-90s following Ayrton Senna’s death.
Fittipaldi was one of the first drivers to attend to Niki Lauda when he crashed at the Nurburgring, while the death of Jochen Rindt also had a profound impact on his career.
Having become the youngest world champion at just 25 years old when he took his first title, Fittipaldi would only go on to race until 1980 in F1.
Discussing his career on the Beyond the Grid F1 podcast, Fittipaldi revealed who his racing idol was growing up in Brazil.
Emerson Fittipaldi names Juan Manuel Fangio as ‘number one idol’
Many drivers today cite Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher as their idols, while Isack Hadjar said Lewis Hamilton was his idol growing up.
During Fittipaldi’s time, there were a few big-name drivers who went on to achieve impressive results due to the safety, but there was one five-time champion who stood out for the Brazilian.
“My number one idol was Juan Manuel Fangio, the maestro. I remember him and my father was in 1954. I was very young at the Argentina Grand Prix. He had pictures and was talking to Fangio. He interviewed Fangio for the Brazilian radio,” said Fittipaldi.
“I think there were so many wins Fangio had. But more than one race, it was his style. He’s so precise, he’d always looked at the apex of the corner. He’d hit the inside wheel exactly on every lap, every corner the same. And that’s inspired me to do the same. He was so consistent, precise on his style.”
Emerson Fittipaldi thinks Max Verstappen has Ayrton Senna-like trait
Max Verstappen has the chance to equal Juan Manuel Fangio’s world championships if he takes a fifth title in a row with Red Bull this year.
It has been a tough start to the year for the Dutchman, although he is only trailing championship leaders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by just over 20 points.
Fittipaldi thinks Verstappen is showing Senna-like qualities behind the wheel of the Red Bull, after watching him pull out a result during last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
The gulf in points between Verstappen and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda (127 points) also suggests that the Dutchman is outperforming his car, and will likely be their highest points scorer by a huge margin.
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