Emerson Fittipaldi Quotations

A racing driver has to be a good driver.

I have to accept risk as a racing driver.

I was extremely lucky. I had some huge crashes and yet I am still here, thanks to God.

The racing driver's mind has to have the ability to have amazing anticipation, coordination, and reflex. Because of the speed the car goes.

Also, I am very religious. It gave me peace of mind all my career.

To race Formula three is very high risk and I am not going to take a chance. Thank god I am not doing it!

You have to visualize a second or two ahead of your car what line you are taking, what you are going to do, before you get there because it comes too fast

I know if someone is coming from my right side. I could feel it.

I wanted to be the best in the world.

You are going in one second the length of a football field. That means you brain is receiving information from your body what the car is doing physically, bumping, balance, performance.

Gary Smith, when I came to America, taught me a great deal about racing.

I am very happy because motor racing is very important outside the states, very big all over the world.

I based in Brazil, Sao Paulo, but I come very often to the states, and I travel all over the world.

I think with new president Chris Pook of CART, he is very active and strong.

When I came to America Al Unser, Jr. was very difficult. And Bobby Unser.

I go to see grand prix every year, and I watch every race on TV for sure. I probably go to three or four CART races and three or four Formula One races.

There are many young talents in Brazil. There is a lot of hope in Felipe Massa. It is very difficult to judge him in his first year, but by the end of the end we are going to have a better position how he does in Formula One.

You had to decompress the pressure before the race. I taught my heart to relax. I lay down before the race. It gave me more energy just before the race.

When I began to drive Formula I in the 1970's, the odds of surviving was 7 to 1. Incredible high risks. The odds of surviving now are like 800 to one.

Nelsinho has made a great start to the season and did a fantastic job at Brands Hatch. I must say well done to France and the USA for the good job they did today in qualifying. Nelsinho was a bit unlucky as he got stuck in some traffic in the first sector and should have been higher up as he was very quick in the middle and final sectors. The fact is, though, that this is racing and that's how it goes sometimes. We are still in a very good position for tomorrow and are not too disappointed with third.

I have a lot of admiration for Fernando Alonso, our careers are fairly similar because he also came very quickly into Formula One,

He is a driver with talent, ability and maturity, he manages to finish all his races. My record is going to be in good hands. Everything happened very quickly in my career. It was a very great honour for me to break Jim Clark's record (as youngest champion),

He was the computer. I would have a dinner with him, if the car wasn't handling well on the Friday, and would explain to him what it was doing at different parts of the track. He would go back to the garage, and call the mechanics. And by Saturday morning the car would be fantastic. Only Colin Chapman could do that. Of all the engineers I worked with, all the team managers, Colin was a genius who had the intuition to do it.

It is a very special day because everyone has run on damp and wet so far and this is the first time we have run on dry. It's hard for anyone to get a good first run in that situation. I am very happy with the team performance, the engineer who improved the car based on Nelsinho's feedback, and of course with Nelsinho who did a fantastic job. It's a fantastic start for us.

We had a great reception in Brazil after Brands Hatch. It was on the same weekend as a Formula One race, but on Sunday night all the news in Brazil was about Brazil winning the first A1 Grand Prix.

Everything happened very quickly in my career. It was a very great honour for me to break Jim Clark's record (as youngest champion),

I do not speak the English so good, but then I speak the driving very well.

Indy car racing is much more aggressive.

I was extremely aggressive from the start.

Everything happened very quickly in my career. It was a very great honor for me to break Jim Clarks record (as youngest champion),

You are going in one second the length of a football field. That means your brain is receiving information from your body what your car is doing physically, bumping, balance, performance.

Sports is a way of entertainment, to people who are in different backgrounds, and for people who dedicated their lives to achieve the best in sports.