Christian Fittipaldi: racing in an F1 dynasty

Nephew of two-time Formula 1 World Champion Emerson and son of Brazilian F1 team owner Wilson, Christian Fittipaldi was destined to follow in his family’s footsteps and race in the pinnacle of motorsport. Speaking to Tom Clarkson in his home city of Sao Paulo, Christian reflects on his three seasons on the grid with the Footwork and Minardi teams in the early 1990’s. He talks about what it was like growing up in such an iconic racing family and the pressure he experienced carrying the Fittipaldi name, how he recovered from two serious crashes at Magny Cours and Monza, and why he walked away from F1 at the end of 1994 despite opportunities to stay. Plus, Christian describes how Ayrton Senna’s death at Imola in ‘94 affected him personally and whether he felt a weight of expectation to be the next Senna. Listen to more official F1 podcasts F1 Beyond The Grid - exclusive interviews with F1's biggest stars F1 Nation - expert race previews and reviews Experience F1 live Tickets for the end of the 2024 F1 season and the start of 2025 are available now at tickets.formula1.com Discover F1 Unlocked Unseen. Unheard. F1 Unlocked. Dive into exclusive content from F1 experts, redeem epic rewards and enter money-can't-buy competitions. Click here to join for free This episode is sponsored by: Uncommon Goods -  for 15% off your next gift, go to uncommongoods.com/grid Liquid I.V. - get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to liquidiv.com and use code GRID Shopify - sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/beyondthegrid Vanta - get $1,000 off Vanta at vanta.com/GRID.