“Well, Monza was a tragedy,” sighs Fittipaldi, as the emotions of that day return. “Jochen had always helped me in F2 and then in F1, and I was very close to him, so that time was horrible. It was a big shock to me and my family, as I was just coming into F1.”
With team mate Miles so upset about the situation that he walked away from F1, Fittipaldi continues: “I was expecting Colin to put someone in with experience, but he called me and said I should be the number one driver. I said, ‘Colin, I don’t have the experience’. He said, ‘We’ll support you; the whole team will be behind you’. Colin was very good to me. He was my mentor, and I learned a lot from him.”
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Fittipaldi establishes himself
Having understandably skipped the next round in Canada, Fittipaldi returned at New York’s Watkins Glen and scored an emotional maiden Grand Prix win, describing it as “a blessing from God” and one that gave the Lotus crew a much-needed boost – as well as ensuring the 1970 title posthumously went to Rindt.
Fittipaldi’s efforts through the following 1971 campaign were impacted by his own road accident in France, which left him and then wife Maria Helena nursing injuries, while Lotus encountered significant problems brought on by a move from grooved to slick tyres.
Both driver and team would bounce back in style in 1972, though, when the Lotus 72D – featuring new suspension and a host of other adjustments to cope with increased loads and forces related to that slick rubber – emerged as the class of the field.
