Christian Fittipaldi

Christian Fittipaldi
Nationality	Brazilian
Years	1992 - 1994
Team(s)	Minardi, Footwork
Races	43
Championships	0
Wins
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1992 South African Grand Prix
First win
Last win
Last race	1994 Australian Grand Prix
Birthdate	January 18, 1971
Birthplace	São Paulo, Brazil
Best Cup Pos	44th - 2003 (Winston Cup)
Wins	0
Top Tens	0
Poles	0
First Race	2002 Checker Auto Parts 500 (Phoenix)
First Win
Last Win
Last Race	2003 UAW-GM Quality 500 (Charlotte)
Awards	1991 Formula 3000 champion 1995 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of The Year
Years In Cup	2
Total Cup Races	16

Christian Fittipaldi (born January 18, 1971, São Paulo, Brazil) is the son of former Grand Prix driver and team owner Wilson Fittipaldi, and the nephew of two-time Formula One and Indianapolis 500 Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. Christian was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, who participated in 43 Grand Prix for Minardi and Footwork between 1992 and 1994.

Europe

Fittipaldi graduated to Formula One following a Formula 3000 championship winning season in 1991. Opportunities to test and impress were limited at Minardi though, and despite a number of points scoring positions early in 1993, Christian fell out with the team management and was dropped with two GPs to go. He had one final crack at F1 in 1994 driving for the Footwork team, scoring two 4th places. Disillusioned with GP racing, however, Fittipaldi moved to America to race where he has been ever since. He scored a total of 12 F1 championship points.

America

Champ Car

Competing mainly in Champcars, Fittipaldi was a slow starter, noted for his consistency rather than his outright pace, although by the time he won his first Champcar event at Road America in 1999, he was a championship contender due to his consistent finishing, among which was a second place in the 1995 Indianapolis 500, which earned him Rookie of the Year honors in the race. However, just as Fittipaldi's American career looked to be taking off, he incurred the first of the two broken legs he suffered whilst racing Champcars. Although he was able to return both times and win further races, he never regained the consistent form that makes Champcar champions.

NASCAR

With his Champcar career on hold, Fittipaldi shifted his focus to NASCAR. He made 3 appearances in the Busch Series during 2001 and 2002. Although he wasn't impressive in those races, he caught the eye of Richard Petty, and he was signed to Petty Enterprises near the end of '02 and made his Winston Cup debut at Phoenix. In 2003, Christian made his first Daytona 500 start, in a one-race deal with Andy Petree, then made a handful of appearances for Petty in ARCA. In the summer of 2003, Fittipaldi became the driver of the illustrious 43 car after John Andretti was let go. Christian struggled and was reassigned shortly after the start of autumn, but remained with the team, driving the 44 car.

Journeyman

After leaving Petty Enterprises, Fittipaldi co-drove the winning car during the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2004. In 2005, he migrated into the Brazilian Stock Car Series and reappeared in Grand-Am winning a race at Phoenix and announcing he had signed for Eddie Cheever's new team for 2006. He currently races for A1 Team Brazil.

Complete Formula One Results

(Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Team	WDC	Points
1992	Minardi	RSA Ret	MEX Ret	BRA Ret	ESP 11	SMR Ret	MON 8	CAN 13	FRA DNQ	GBR Inj	GER Inj	HUN Inj	BEL DNQ	ITA DNQ	POR 12	JPN 6	AUS 9	Minardi	17th	1
1993	Minardi	RSA 4	BRA Ret	EUR 7	SMR Ret	ESP 8	MON 5	CAN 9	FRA 8	GBR 12	GER 11	HUN Ret	BEL Ret	ITA 8	POR 9	JPN	AUS	Minardi	13th	5
1994	Footwork	BRA Ret	PFC 4	SMR 13	MON Ret	ESP Ret	CAN DSQ	FRA 8	GBR 9	GER 4	HUN 14	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	POR 8	EUR 17	JPN 8	AUS 8	Footwork	15th	6

External links

• Christian Fittipaldi official website