# Christian Fittipaldi

Christian Fittipaldi (born 18 January 1971) is a Brazilian former racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car, and NASCAR. He was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, and participated in 43 Formula One Grands Prix for Minardi and Footwork between 1992 and 1994.
Fittipaldi was fifth in the CART series in both 1996 and 2002, earning two wins and a second place in the 1995 Indianapolis 500. He has also had success racing sports prototypes, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona of 2004, 2014 and 2018, the 12 Hours of Sebring of 2015, the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen of 2013, 2016 and 2017, and has captured two IMSA SportsCar Championships with Action Express Racing during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
A member of the Fittipaldi racing family, he is the son of former Formula One driver and team owner Wilson Fittipaldi, the nephew of two-time Formula One World Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, and the cousin of racing driver Emerson Fittipaldi Jr.. He is also the first cousin once-removed of Pietro and Enzo Fittipaldi, who are the grandsons of Emerson Fittipaldi.

## Early years

Fittipaldi was born in São Paulo. He is named after Christian Heins, a Brazilian racing driver who was killed in a wreck during the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans. Fittipaldi was second in the Brazilian Formula Ford in 1988. After finishing third in the South American Formula 3 in 1989, in 1990 he won the title in the Formula 3 Sudamericana and the fourth place in the British Formula 3.
In 1991, the Brazilian was installed in Europe to compete in the Formula 3000, where he captured two wins and seven podiums in ten races to obtain the championship against Alessandro Zanardi. Later, he was third in the Macau Grand Prix of Formula 3.

## Formula One

His jump into Formula 1 happened in 1992 with Minardi, one of the smallest teams of the grid at the time; he scored a single point in 1992. Fittipaldi is the first Formula One driver to be born in the 1970s. Next year, he managed to score a total of five points in the Drivers' Championship, but the team decided to do away with him with two races to go in the season. The following season, he competed in the Footwork team and earned two fourth places, adding to a total of six points in the championship (as those finishes were his only points-paying results that year). At the end of the 1994 season Fittipaldi decided to try his luck in the racing competitions in the United States.
In 2016, in an academic paper that reported a mathematical modeling study that assessed the relative influence of driver and machine, Fittipaldi was ranked the 11th best Formula One driver of all time.

## CART

Competing mainly in CART, Fittipaldi was a slow starter, noted for his consistency rather than his outright pace, although by the time he won his first CART event at Road America in 1999, he was a championship contender due to his consistent finishing, among which was a second place in the 1995 Indianapolis 500, which earned him Rookie of the Year honors in the race. However, just as Fittipaldi's American career looked to be taking off, he broke his leg for the first time (out of the two total he suffered while racing in CART) at the Surfer's Paradise race in 1997. Although he was able to return both times and win two races, he never won a CART championship.

## NASCAR

With his Champ Car career on hold, Fittipaldi shifted his focus to NASCAR. He made three appearances in the Busch Series during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Although he was not impressive in those races, he was signed to Petty Enterprises near late-2002 and made his Winston Cup debut at Phoenix after he caught the eye of Richard Petty. In 2003, he made his first (and only) Daytona 500 start in a one-race deal with Andy Petree and then made a handful of appearances for Petty in ARCA. In the summer of that year, Fittipaldi became the driver of the illustrious #43 car after John Andretti (cousin of Fittipaldi's former CART teammate Michael Andretti) was let go. He struggled and was reassigned shortly after the start of autumn, but remained with the team, driving the #44 car.

## Sports cars racing

In parallel to his activity in Formula 1, was winner of the 1993 24 Hours of Spa and 1994 Brazilian 1000 Miles.
Fittipaldi debuted at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2003 with the Bell team, resulting sixth with a Doran-Chevrolet of the class Daytona Prototype. It was one of the pilots that won the 2004 24 Hours of Daytona, in this case with a Doran-Pontiac. Then participated in four other rounds from the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series with Bell, earning seventh in Virginia.
The Brazilian contested the first two races of the 2006 Grand-Am series with Bell, earning a sixth place at Homestead. Then ran six rounds with Riley-Pontiac of The Racer's Group, earning a victory in Phoenix, a second place in the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen and third in the 200 Miles at Watkins Glen.
In 2006, Fittipaldi disputed fully the Grand-Am series with the team of Eddie Cheever Jr. Obtained a second place and a sixth, to be located in the 23rd position in the drivers' championship of DP class. That same year, he participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Saleen S7, where he finished in sixth place in the GT1 class, a total of eleven participants.
Continuing with Cheever, Fittipaldi achieved a fourth, seventh and eighth in 2007 and resulting 20th in the overall table of the DP class of the Grand Am series. Also, it came tenth in the GT1 class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, at the wheel of an Aston Martin DB9 of team Modena alongside Antonio Garcia and amateur.
Fittipaldi disputed the first four rounds of the 2008 American Le Mans Series with Andretti Green. Piloting an Acura LMP2 with Bryan Herta, earned a fourth place, a fifth, a sixth and a seventh. Then again disputed the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Aston Martin DB9 of Modena, reaching delayed in the 30th overall position. He then ran in the final five rounds of the Grand-Am series with a Coyote-Pontiac of Cheever's team, earning a second place and a sixth.
The driver was invited to run the 2011 24 Hours of Daytona with a Porsche-Riley of Action Express Racing, resulting third overall with Max Papis and João Barbosa among others. In 2012 he participated again in this race with Action Express, in this case at the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette DP, with which finished fifth.
The Brazilian became in regular driver of Action Express for the 2013 Rolex Sports Car Series season. He achieved two wins at Mid-Ohio and the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, two second places, a fourth and a fifth, mostly with Barbosa. Thus, he was seventh in the drivers' championship in the Daytona Prototypes class.
He won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2014 in the Action Express Corvette DP with João Barbosa and Sébastien Bourdais.

## Motorsports career results
### Complete British Formula Three results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | DC | Points |
| 1990 | West Surrey Racing | Ralt RT34 | Mugen-Honda | A | DON 4 | SIL 14 | THR 5 | BRH 6 | SIL 7 | BRH 6 | THR 4 | SIL 8 | DON 1 | SIL 6 | SNE 3 | OUL Ret | SIL DSQ | BRH 5 | DON Ret | THR 4 | SIL 2 | 4th | 36 |

### Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
| 1991 | Pacific Racing | Reynard 91D | Mugen Honda | VAL 2 | PAU 2 | JER 1 | MUG 3 | PER Ret | HOC 4 | BRH 3 | SPA Ret | BUG 2 | NOG 1 | 1st | 47 |

### Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
| 1992 | Minardi Team | Minardi M191 | Lamborghini 3.5 L V12 | RSA Ret | MEX Ret | BRA Ret | ESP 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 18th | 1 |
| 1992 | Minardi Team | Minardi M192 | Lamborghini 3.5 L V12 | | | | | SMR Ret | MON 8 | CAN 13 | FRA DNQ | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL DNQ | ITA DNQ | POR 12 | JPN 6 | AUS 9 | 18th | 1 |
| 1993 | Minardi Team | Minardi M193 | Ford HB 3.5 L V8 | RSA 4 | BRA Ret | EUR 7 | SMR Ret | ESP 8 | MON 5 | CAN 9 | FRA 8 | GBR 12 | GER 11 | HUN Ret | BEL Ret | ITA 8 | POR 9 | JPN | AUS | 13th | 5 |
| 1994 | Footwork Ford | Footwork FA15 | Ford HB 3.5 L V8 | BRA Ret | PAC 4 | SMR 13 | MON Ret | ESP Ret | CAN DSQ | FRA 8 | GBR 9 | GER 4 | HUN 14 | BEL Ret | ITA Ret | POR 8 | EUR 17 | JPN 8 | AUS 8 | 15th | 6 |

### Complete CART results

(key)
| Year | Team | No. | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Rank | Points |
| 1995 | Walker Racing | 15 | Reynard 95i | Ford XB V8t | MIA 5 | SRF 25 | PHX 10 | LBH 14 | NZR 20 | INDY 2 | MIL 7 | DET 17 | POR 12 | ROA 8 | TOR 9 | CLE 24 | MIS 9 | MDO 25 | NHM 8 | VAN 24 | LS 24 | | | | | 15th | 54 |
| 1996 | Newman/Haas Racing | 11 | Lola T96/00 | Ford XD V8t | MIA 6 | RIO 5 | SRF 5 | LBH 21 | NZR 9 | 500 12 | MIL 6 | DET 2* | POR 3 | CLE 7 | TOR 7 | MIS 10 | MDO 7 | ROA 16 | VAN 3 | LS 10 | | | | | | 5th | 110 |
| 1997 | Newman/Haas Racing | 11 | Swift 007.i | Ford XD V8t | MIA 26 | SRF 28 | LBH Inj | NZR Inj | RIO Inj | STL Inj | MIL Inj | DET Inj | POR 4 | CLE 6 | TOR 11 | MIS 16 | MDO 21 | ROA 4 | VAN 9 | LS 21 | FON 9 | | | | | 15th | 42 |
| 1998 | Newman/Haas Racing | 11 | Swift 009.c | Ford XD V8t | MIA 4 | MOT 25 | LBH 26 | NZR 11 | RIO 21 | STL 11 | MIL DNS | DET 17 | POR 26 | CLE 11 | TOR 16 | MIS 25 | MDO 13 | ROA 3 | VAN 14 | LS 9 | HOU 27 | SRF 3 | FON 7 | | | 14th | 56 |
| 1999 | Newman/Haas Racing | 11 | Swift 010.c | Ford XD V8t | MIA 9 | MOT 3 | LBH 5 | NZR 7 | RIO 3 | STL 9 | MIL 6 | POR 14 | CLE 12 | ROA 1 | TOR 3 | MIS 8 | DET Inj | MDO Inj | CHI Inj | VAN Inj | LS Inj | HOU 7 | SRF 25 | FON 3 | | 7th | 121 |
| 2000 | Newman/Haas Racing | 11 | Lola B2K/00 | Ford XF V8t | MIA 7 | LBH 18 | RIO 5 | MOT 11 | NZR 11 | MIL 9 | DET 19 | POR 3 | CLE 17 | TOR 17 | MIS 14 | CHI DNS | MDO 3 | ROA 15 | VAN 4 | LS 10 | STL 12 | HOU 6 | SRF 15 | FON 1 | | 12th | 96 |
| 2001 | Newman/Haas Racing | 11 | Lola B01/00 | Toyota RV8F V8t | MTY 20 | LBH 24 | TXS NH | NZR 5 | MOT 4 | MIL 18 | DET 5 | POR 3 | CLE 11 | TOR 12 | MIS 18 | CHI 25 | MDO 8 | ROA 18 | VAN 11 | LAU 19 | ROC 24 | HOU 8 | LS 9 | SRF 8 | FON 13 | 15th | 70 |
| 2002 | Newman/Haas Racing | 11 | Lola B02/00 | Toyota RV8F V8t | MTY 3 | LBH 13 | MOT 12 | MIL 4 | LS 2 | POR 13 | CHI 14 | TOR 3 | CLE 12 | VAN 13 | MDO 2 | ROA 6 | MTL 7 | DEN 5 | ROC 17 | MIA 2 | SRF 11 | FON 7 | MXC 15 | | | 5th | 122 |

#### Indianapolis 500

| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
| 1995 | Reynard | Ford-Cosworth | 27 | 2 | Walker Racing |

### Complete A1 Grand Prix results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | DC | Points |
| 2005–06 | Brazil | GBR SPR | GBR FEA | GER SPR | GER FEA | POR SPR | POR FEA | AUS SPR | AUS FEA | MYS SPR | MYS FEA | UAE SPR | UAE FEA | RSA SPR | RSA FEA | IDN SPR 20 | IDN FEA 4 | MEX SPR 14 | MEX FEA 12 | USA SPR 13 | USA FEA Ret | CHN SPR 10 | CHN FEA Ret | 6th | 71 |

### Complete Stock Car Brasil results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Points |
| 2005 | Terra-Avallone | Mitsubishi Lancer | INT 18 | CTB 10 | RIO Ret | INT 9 | CTB 24 | LON 16 | BSB 7 | SCZ Ret | TAR 6 | ARG Ret | RIO Ret | INT 7 | 23rd | 32 |
| 2006 | Terra-Avallone | Mitsubishi Lancer | INT | CTB Ret | CGD 26 | INT Ret | LON 15 | CTB | SCZ | | | | | | 27th | 9 |
| 2006 | RC3 Bassani | Chevrolet Astra | | | | | | | | BSB 21 | TAR 23 | ARG 18 | RIO 8 | INT 24 | 27th | 9 |
| 2010 | Gramacho Costa | Chevrolet Vectra | INT 19 | CTB 21 | VEL 17 | RIO 18 | RBP 16 | SAL 23 | INT Ret | CGD 15 | LON Ret | SCZ Ret | BSB Ret | CTB Ret | 34th | 1 |

### 24 Hours of Daytona results

| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
| 2003 | Bell Motorsports | Didier Theys Forest Barber Terry Borcheller | Doran JE4-Chevrolet | DP | 67 | DNF | DNF |
| 2004 | Bell Motorsports | Andy Pilgrim Forest Barber Terry Borcheller | Doran JE4-Pontiac | DP | 526 | 1st | 1st |
| 2005 | Kodak-Bell Motorsports | Paul Tracy Terry Borcheller Ralf Kelleners | Doran JE4-Pontiac | DP | 328 | DNF | DNF |
| 2006 | Cheever Racing | Eddie Cheever, Jr. Patrick Carpentier | Crawford DP03-Lexus | DP | 669 | DNF | DNF |
| 2007 | Cheever Racing | Eddie Cheever, Jr. Emmanuel Collard Sascha Maassen | Crawford DP03-Porsche | DP | 601 | 24th | 14th |
| 2011 | Action Express Racing | Terry Borcheller J.C. France João Barbosa Max Papis | Riley Mk. XI-Porsche | DP | 721 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 2012 | Action Express Racing | David Donohue Darren Law | Coyote Corvette DP | DP | 758 | 5th | 5th |
| 2013 | Action Express Racing | João Barbosa Burt Frisselle Mike Rockenfeller | Coyote Corvette DP | DP | 708 | 4th | 4th |
| 2014 | Action Express Racing | João Barbosa Sébastien Bourdais | Coyote Corvette DP | P | 695 | 1st | 1st |
| 2015 | Action Express Racing | João Barbosa Sébastien Bourdais | Coyote Corvette DP | P | 740 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2016 | Action Express Racing | João Barbosa Filipe Albuquerque Scott Pruett | Coyote Corvette DP | P | 731 | 4th | 4th |
| 2017 | Mustang Sampling Racing | João Barbosa Filipe Albuquerque | Cadillac DPi-V.R | P | 659 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2018 | Mustang Sampling Racing | João Barbosa Filipe Albuquerque | Cadillac DPi-V.R | P | 808 | 1st | 1st |
| 2019 | Mustang Sampling Racing | João Barbosa Filipe Albuquerque | Cadillac DPi-V.R | DPi | 573 | 9th | 7th |

### 24 Hours of Le Mans results

| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
| 2006 | ACEMCO Motorsports | Johnny Mowlem Terry Borcheller | Saleen S7-R | GT1 | 337 | 12th | 7th |
| 2007 | Team Modena | Antonio García Jos Menten | Aston Martin DBR9 | GT1 | 318 | 17th | 10th |
| 2008 | Team Modena | Terry Borcheller Jos Menten | Aston Martin DBR9 | GT1 | 302 | 30th | 8th |

### Complete American Le Mans Series results

| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Rank | Points |
| 2008 | Andretti Green Racing | LMP2 | Acura ARX-01b | Acura 3.4L V8 | SEB 6 | STP 5 | LBH 4 | UTA 7 | LIM | MID | AME | MOS | DET | PET | MON | 24th | 38 |

### Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key)(Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class)
| Year | Team | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Rank | Points |
| 2014 | Action Express Racing | P | Coyote Corvette DP | Chevrolet 5.5L V8 | DAY 1 | SEB 3 | LBH 3 | LGA 4 | DET 6 | WGL 3 | MOS 4 | IMS 1 | ELK 1 | COA 3 | PET 2 | 1st | 349 |
| 2015 | Action Express Racing | P | Coyote Corvette DP | Chevrolet 5.5L V8 | DAY 2 | SEB 1 | LBH 5 | LGA 4 | DET 3 | WGL 3 | MOS 5 | ELK 2 | COA 6 | PET 1 | | 1st | 309 |
| 2016 | Action Express Racing | P | Coyote Corvette DP | Chevrolet 5.5L V8 | DAY 4 | SEB 3 | LBH 2 | LGA 7 | DET 2 | WGL 1 | MOS 2 | ELK 2 | COA 3 | PET 5 | | 2nd | 311 |
| 2017 | Mustang Sampling Racing | P | Cadillac DPi-V.R | Cadillac 6.2 L V8 | DAY 2 | SEB 2 | LBH 7 | COA 3 | DET 4 | WGL 1 | MOS 6 | ELK 6 | LGA 5 | PET 5 | | 3rd | 284 |
| 2018 | Mustang Sampling Racing | P | Cadillac DPi-V.R | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 | DAY 1 | SEB 10 | LBH | MDO | DET | WGL 6 | MOS 4 | ELK | LGA | PET 4 | | 19th | 137 |
| 2019 | Mustang Sampling Racing | DPi | Cadillac DPi-V.R | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 | DAY 7 | SEB | LBH | MDO | DET | WGL | MOS | ELK | LGA | PET | | 33rd | 24 |
| Source: ||||||||||||||||||

### NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

#### Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results :
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | NWCC | Pts |
| 2002 | Petty Enterprises | 44 | Dodge | DAY | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR | BRI | TEX | MAR | TAL | CAL | RCH | CLT | DOV | POC | MCH | SON | DAY | CHI | NHA | POC | IND | GLN | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | NHA | DOV | KAN | TAL | CLT | MAR | ATL | CAR | PHO 41 | HOM | 81st | 40 |
| 2003 | Andy Petree Racing | 33 | Chevy | DAY 35 | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR | BRI | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 44th | 857 |
| 2003 | Petty Enterprises | 45 | Dodge | | | | | | | TEX 38 | TAL | MAR | CAL | RCH | CLT | DOV | POC | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 44th | 857 |
| 2003 | Petty Enterprises | 43 | Dodge | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MCH 35 | SON 40 | | CHI 29 | NHA 37 | POC 24 | IND DNQ | | MCH 33 | BRI 41 | DAR 43 | RCH 43 | NHA 31 | | | | | | | | | | | | 44th | 857 |
| 2003 | Petty Enterprises | 44 | Dodge | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | DAY DNQ | | | | | GLN 40 | | | | | | DOV DNQ | TAL 28 | KAN | CLT 34 | MAR | ATL | PHO | CAR | HOM | 44th | 857 |

##### Daytona 500

| Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
| 2003 | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 34 | 35 |

#### Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results :
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | NBSC | Pts |
| 2001 | SKI Motorsports | 30 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR | BRI | TEX | NSH | TAL | CAL | RCH | NHA | NZH | CLT | DOV | KEN | MLW | GLN | CHI | GTY | PPR | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | KAN | CLT | MEM | PHO | CAR | HOM 39 | | 141st | 56 |
| 2002 | SKI Motorsports | 30 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | LVS | DAR | BRI | TEX | NSH | TAL | CAL | RCH DNQ | NHA | NZH | CLT DNQ | DOV | NSH | KEN | MLW | DAY | CHI | GTY 35 | PPR | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | KAN 43 | CLT | MEM QL$^†$ | ATL | CAR | PHO | HOM | 102nd | 92 |
| $^†$ – Qualified but replaced by Chad Chaffin ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

### ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
ARCA Re/Max Series results :
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | ARSC | Pts | Ref |
| 2003 | Petty Enterprises | 43 | Dodge | DAY 10 | ATL | NSH | SLM | TOL | KEN | CLT | BLN | KAN | MCH | LER | POC | POC 31 | NSH | ISF | WIN | DSF | CHI | SLM | TAL | CLT | SBO | 101st | 255 | |