Back in 1970, Brazil had never had a successful Formula 1 driver, but a 23-year-old named Emerson Fittipaldi was starting to make waves. After winning the Formula Vee title in his country, then moving to Europe to become a race winner in Formula Ford and a champion in Formula 3, Fittipaldi was having success in Formula 2 with Team Lotus.
The youngster was handed his F1 debut by team boss Colin Chapman halfway through the season, driving the old-spec Lotus 49 alongside regular drivers Jochen Rindt and John Miles for three races before being upgraded to the new Lotus 72 for the Italian Grand Prix.
Emerson Fittipaldi never raced in Monza that weekend, for team-mate and championship leader Jochen Rindt suffered a fatal crash in qualifying practice.
Colin Chapman and Emerson Fittipaldi
“We had breakfast together,” the 79-year-old revealed in conversation with Autosport, answering readers’ questions. “He invited me to replace him in Formula 2. I accepted, I shook his hand, and a few hours later he got killed.”
Source: Motorsport
