He is the F1 driver Emerson Fittipaldi loved watching and Enzo Ferrari admired but only scored 1.5 points

Follow us on Google Discover

Emerson Fittipaldi is widely considered one of the pioneers of modern Brazilian motor racing.

Formula 1 and Brazil have an intertwined relationship, with plenty of drivers making the journey from South America to race in what has been a predominantly European series up until the last couple of decades.

Juan Manuel Fangio was Argentina’s racing hero, but Brazil had to wait until the 1970s for Emerson Fittipaldi to win his first drivers’ championship.

Fittipaldi made his F1 debut with Lotus in 1970, and he won his first Grand Prix in his debut campaign.

Two years later, Fittipaldi was a world champion, beating Jackie Stewart to the title.

Fittipaldi called Stewart his toughest opponent in F1, and after the Scot won his third championship in 1973, Fittipaldi regained the title the following year, this time with McLaren.

His legacy was confirmed when he started his own team alongside his brother, Wilson Fittipaldi, known as Fittipaldi or Copersucar.

The team was never that successful, only achieving three podiums in more than 100 Grand Prix entries, but it also helped launch the career of another champion, Keke Rosberg.

All of this might never have happened were it not for the driver who inspired Fittipaldi to start racing in the first place: Chico Landi.

READ MORE: Emerson Fittipaldi makes Ayrton Senna comparison to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s 2025 title fight

Emerson Fittipaldi describes Chico Landi as one of his Formula 1 heroes growing up

Fittipaldi was taking part in a group interview with several other Formula 1 champions at Goodwood. 

Asked about who his racing heroes were, Fittipaldi answered: “To be, being Latin American, for sure [it] was [Juan Manuel] Fangio.

“We had another good Brazilian driver Enzo Ferrari liked, he was called Chico Landi.

“I grew up in Brazil watching racing, and then, as a teenager, I was following Formula 1.

“I was going crazy in Brazil, with the time of Jim Clark, Jackie [Stewart], Bruce McLaren, and Mario [Andretti], who just started before me, and it was a fantastic era to inspire.”

Considering the calibre of names Fittipaldi listed, Landi might look out of place.

But his influence on Brazilian racing should be ignored as the country’s first-ever driver to take part in Formula 1.

READ MORE: Emerson Fittipaldi admits he’s ‘surprised’ by how ‘impressive’ one 2025 F1 rookie has been

Who was Brazil’s first Formula 1 driver Chico Landi?

Francisco Sacco Landi was born in São Paulo on 14 July 1907, but was better known as Chico.

He made his racing debut in 1934 at the Rio Grand Prix and was the first Brazilian to win a Grand Prix, taking victory in the 1948 Bari Grand Prix in a Ferrari, which is where Enzo Ferrari’s adulation came from.

Formula 1 didn’t officially start until 1950, meaning Landi was never an official Grand Prix winner, but he was Brazil’s first entrant into the sport.

Landi entered a Ferrari into the 1951 Italian Grand Prix, but retired from the race on the opening lap due to a transmission issue after starting 16th.

The Brazilian’s best qualifying result came in his final F1 race, the 1956 Argentinian Grand Prix.

He had taken a three-year break between his eighth and final race, but managed to finish fourth in his Maserati in Buenos Aires.

Normally, that would be worth three points, but because he shared his car with the brilliantly named Italian Gerino Gerini, they picked up 1.5 points each.

As quoted by journalist Julianne Cerasoli, Landi famously said, ‘My age? 76,000 kilometres,’ and she described him as the ‘great pioneer of Brazilian motorsports’.

Landi didn’t retire from racing until he was 66, and took over managing Interlagos; however, he died the year before Formula 1 returned to the iconic circuit, where his ashes were scattered.