Fittipaldi recalls challenge of leaving McLaren to build his own F1 team

Emerson Fittipaldi says he left a winning McLaren team to take on the challenge of building a Formula 1 operation with his brother, knowing it would take time. In an Autosport interview published on 3 October 2026, the two-time world champion said he expected the project to need four or five years to develop. [1]

Fittipaldi recalled that the team often raced only one car, leaving it without feedback from a second driver. Building the car in Brazil also made importing engines and gearboxes, and clearing customs, particularly difficult in its first three years, he said. [1]

He also recalled a call from a Skol marketing representative in July 1980. Fittipaldi said the representative told him the sponsor would not continue the following year because of criticism in Brazil’s general press. [1]