Wilson Fittipaldi Jr., older brother of two-time Formula 1 world champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, and an F1 racer in his own right, has died in his native Sao Paulo at the age of 80.
Like his younger brother, Wilson Fittipaldi made his way into F1 after advancing from karts to Formula Vee in his native Brazil before moving to Europe to pursue his racing career. Wins in F3 in 1970 led to an F1 opportunity with Brabham in 1972, climbing the podium with a third-place finish on his debut, although the Brazilian GP was a non-championship race that year. His best official result was a fifth place in the following year’s German GP.
At the end of the 1973 season, Wilson took a sabbatical from driving to join forces with brother Emerson to found Copersucar Fittipaldi, the first and to date only Brazilian F1 team. Wilson drove for the team himself in its first season in 1975, netting a best finish of 10th in the United States GP at Watkins Glen.
Emerson Fittipaldi replaced his older brother as a team driver for 1976, making a shock move from McLaren, while Wilson turned to team management. But he continued to race occasionally in the Brazilian Stock Car Championship, scoring several wins in 1980s and ’90s.
“He brought together talent, vision of the future and boldness to take Brazil’s name to a level never before imagined as part of a project that was certainly ahead of its time,” Giovanni Guerra, chief of the Brazilian Automobile Confederation, said of Wilson Fittipaldi in a statement.
Wilson Fittipaldi is survived by his brother Emerson and son Christian, who like his father and uncle raced in F1 before moving on to a successful career of his own in North American racing.