Former Brazilian pilot Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior died this Friday at the age of 80 at the Prevent Senior Hospital in the south of São Paulo, where he had been hospitalized since last Christmas due to cardiac arrest. The information was confirmed by the Brazilian Automobile Confederation.
After several weeks in intensive care, Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior died this Friday in San Pablo. As reported by his wife, the former Formula 1 racer suffered an accident at his Christmas and birthday lunch and “choked on a mouthful of meat.” Unable to clear his airway, he suffered cardiac arrest, so he had to be resuscitated and was admitted to an intensive care unit, where he was sedated and intubated.
“At the age of 80, Wilsinho passed away peacefully and surrounded by all the love he deserved throughout his life,” says the statement from the Brazilian Automobile Confederation. Wilson Fittipaldi “combined talent, vision of the future and daring to take the name of Brazil to a level never imagined,” they added from the entity.
Born in São Paulo, he went through Formula 3 and 2 before reaching an agreement with Bernie Ecclestone, then director of the Brabham Ford team, to enter F1 in 1972. He debuted with a third place in the Brazilian Grand Prix. , which did not count towards the championship. He did not score points in that tournament, of which Emerson, his younger brother, 25 years old, was crowned champion, who would repeat the feat in 1974.
In 1973 he had better performances and reached fifth place at the German Nürburgring circuit, his most notable result. He scored three championship points that allowed him to finish the year in 16th place, his best overall placement in F1.
He was absent for the following season, in which Emerson won his second title, to refine details of the premiere in the highest automobile competition of a personal project: the Brazilian team Copersucar, which was later called Fittipaldi.
Wilson was behind the wheel of a car that disappointed. He retired in 1975 and dedicated himself to directing the team, which his brother Emerson joined as a driver from 1976 to 1980. The team never reached the podium in the general classification of Formula One and disappeared in 1982 amid problems. financial.
Wilson occasionally returned to the tracks in smaller competitions and dedicated himself to following the career of his son Christian, who went through F1, Cart, Nascar and Formula 3000, among others. Furthermore, his father, also named Wilson, was the founding founder of the Brazilian Automobile Confederation.
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2024-02-23 14:39:58#driver #Wilson #Fittipaldi #Júnior #glory #motorsports #died #hospitalized #cardiac #arrest
