Olá e obrigado Emmo..

Right off Tamburello corner in Imola, you'll find a
bronze statue of Senna. A very surreal place..

Sometimes it's hard to imagine that it has been 20 years since that tragic weekend at Imola. It was an ill-fated Formula One race weekend that saw the world mourn the loss of two extraordinary individuals. I remember that Sunday, sitting in my backyard enjoying a rare and pretty spring day with the TV tuned to what was already a sombre affair after Roland Ratzenberger was killed during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. Not long after, I was one of the many many millions who saw the great Ayrton Senna’s race-leading Williams smash into the concrete wall at Tamburello. It remains today a strangely eerie corner, somehow. 

Some years later, I was lucky to become acquainted with and work with incredible people who had worked with Senna. They each had stories of their own of the experience working with him, both happy and sad.

Olá Emmo!

Anyhow, more recently, I had the privilege of spending a little bit of time chatting with a fellow Brazilian and former world champion. Not only did he know Ayrton Senna well, he is in fact credited as being the one who had initially paved the way for other notable Brazilian (and no doubt South American) drivers to follow in his footsteps into F1, including Senna.

Named after the American writer and poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson; he became Brazil's first F1 champ in 1972 at the tender age of 25, the then-youngest ever world champion. The modest and unassuming Brazilian went on to add a second title in the 1974 season. After switching to CART racing in America in the 1980s, he twice won the infamous Indy 500. 

Known to many as Emmo, the man I got to hang out with for a mid-morning chat is none other than Emerson Fittipaldi.

Brazil's famous sons: Fittipaldi and Pele

Now I've met and worked with some of the most talented Formula One drivers in my time, including a seven-time world champion, a tattooed Fin and a whizkid from Heppenheim. 

Somehow, that did little to settle my nerves as the time arrived for my rendezvous with Emmo. Perhaps it's something to do with that relationship he had with Senna. Perhaps it was in knowing that his was an era of racing where glory and tragedy walked hand-in-hand. 

Whatever nerves (if you could call it that) quickly dissipated the moment I shook hands with the man famous also for his legendary sideburns. And I got cracking. 

Regulation hullabaloolation

Lame as it was, I began by asking Emmo what he thinks about all the hullabaloo around the raft of changes in 2014. 

Emmo: "I think the new rules are in response to the energy problems we face in the world. I think it is good to have new technical regulations with the goal of having the most efficient engine that burns less fuel and less pollution to the world. I think its very good that motor racing is looking for new solutions that one day can be applied to passenger road-going family cars. We have to admit that there is an energy problem we are facing globally. Not just in motor racing but there are millions of cars that burns a lot of fuel causing pollution."

In essence, the regulation changes that have evolved over recent years are very much in response to a much wider problem. But then what about the essence of what makes F1, F1? With all the 'noise' about how the season so far being rather quiet, I asked if that is a good thing, given how the sport is changing, motivated by this drive towards energy efficiency?

Emmo: "I think it’s a new challenge for the engineers and the teams. Whoever is fastest, in coming up with new technical solutions to meet the new rules is the one showing the performance. I think its good to have a change, I think F1 needs to have a change! It's not just in F1, but even the regulation changes have been imposed on the cars in Le Mans. The new rules for 2014 are very open, but it only gives each car enough energy for each lap. That is very attractive and a challenge for the engineers to develop the most efficient engines. 

"In F1, I think that this is a change that will take some races to bring all the teams to an even level. Some teams clearly have the advantage in performance right now. But, other teams will begin to catch up and then I would say after July, it will be a more even competition. I definitely like this new challenge."

Risky Business

The energy-inspired regulation changes are not unique though, especially when one considers the battery of other changes that the FIA has brought about in F1 over the decades. 

One particular aspect of racing that has changed dramatically by leaps and bounds is safety. This especially when one takes into consideration that during Emmo's era of racing, it was about taking the ultimate risk, sticking your neck out, quite literally. 

With all the evident risks involved as a race car driver in his era, I simply had to know what kept him motivated to keep going and keep doing it? I know it's such a lame fan question! 

Emmo: "I think the passion and the love for the sport. We had to accept the risks that existed at that time. I remember when I was leaving my home on a Thursday to head to a grand prix, at the back of my mind I wondered if I would be back on Sunday evening. 

"But when I arrived at the race track, my focus was on the sport, to give the best that I could give driving, enjoy my sport and to try and improve safety. 

"Even before my era, when Jim Clark died, there were a lot of good drivers fighting for better safety. When I came to Europe to start grand prix racing, I too was part of this movement to improve safety. And I think we’ve all undertaken a tremendous effort to improve safety. Today, it is much better. 

"There were years where I lost three friends and we were only 20 or 21 drivers and that risk was a very real part of the sport. It was difficult for the athletes, for myself, my friends and for the families, because we knew any second, anything could happen."

Glory and tragedy really did walk with their hands locked in a deadly precariously balanced embrace. 

Anyway, reflecting over the last four decades, I asked Emmo about that evolution of safety in F1, a subject the Brazilian speaks and advocates passionately about. 

Emmo: "I think there has been a tremendous improvement in safety. Safety on the race tracks, safety on the rescue teams, and safety on the drivers equipment. And mainly, the safety elements around the driver in the cockpit. The carbon fibre car is much much stronger today than during my time. 

Emmo with Senna

"The last fatal crash was Ayrton Senna's, 20 years ago and that shows how much motor racing has improved on safety. I think with all these safety solutions - like the technical solutions for gearbox and engine - will also apply to passenger cars in the future." 

He definitely sees the reality of lessons derived from racing being applied to road cars. After all, there have been many other advanced innovations in F1 that have over the years made the natural progression to road-going cars. 

Emmo: "I can see in the future, a family car built by carbon fibre, that is going to be much stronger than metal, aluminium and steel. I can see the future of street cars being similar to race cars today. There are already some specialised sports cars for road use that are made out of carbon fibre.  I would say that carbon fibre is getting cheaper year on year, and I am sure sooner rather than later, in the next few years we will see family cars built completely out of carbon fibre."

He went on to relate this to the statistics on road accidents and why changes to the construction of road cars may help reduce the already staggering numbers.

Emmo: "Just to give you an idea, in Brazil, every year, 50,000 people are killed in traffic accidents. I think with a stronger car, you are going to save a lot more lives."

Senhor Presidente

These days Emerson Fittipaldi expends much of his experience contributing in other ways, particularly as a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy and as the president of the FIA Drivers' Commission. I asked him how much has the drive towards safety levels in the sport continued in those roles. 

Emmo: "I had a meeting with the [FIA] commission in Paris in March where we heard all the different opinions from different racing categories globally and continue our efforts to improve safety. It does not stop there as we still need to improve safety levels, for the next generation and I think that is part of my job as well as the experience, opinion and input of other drivers to help improve safety globally. 

"I have a young boy, my youngest son, who is only 7 and just started racing go-karts in Brazil. I told his mum that it's going to be much safer than it used to be. He would be safer driving and racing go-karts than driving on the streets of São Paulo!"

It's clear from the way he talks about his son and the twinkle of pride in his eye that this is not just a former F1 world champion here, but also a concerned and protective father. The mention of his hometown São Paulo is no mere reference either, given the notoriety of the city's public roads. 


That burning itch

Anyway, even if he's retired from racing, I am convinced like many other sporting personalities, there's always that burning itch lurking somewhere in the unconscious not too far from the surface. Be it to kick a ball on a football pitch.. or reach a 100km/h serve on centre court at Arthur Ashe.. or to slap shot a puck into the back of a net from across the ice.. In Emmo's case, strapping yourself back into an F1 car. 

In 2013 Emmo did just that, testing a 2.4L V8 creature, one that's very different from the one he used to drive some 40 odd years ago. I asked him how it felt to be back in the cockpit of an F1 car.

Emmo: "I love it! I loved the new technology. I love the electronic aides that the car has. The car was fantastic to drive. It was a challenge, but it was very well balanced, much better than the cars I used to drive. I enjoyed every second! 

"Even though some people say that the drivers do not need to have the quality -  I still respect the GP drivers now with these modern F1 cars. This is because the cars are much faster into the corners, they have so much speed into braking. 

"It’s a different challenge but if you get the top 4 or 5 GP drivers today, they are  fantastic! Drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen and Nico Rosberg, for example. There is so much talent and I appreciate that. If they were to drive my car during my era, they would still be fast!"

I still had a page and a half of other questions but with a very annoyed looking gentleman constantly whispering into my tape recorder to wrap it up (urrghh!! that's so annoying!), I eventually got the boot, but not before getting an unexpected hug (yes, my cousin reading this will be going, "what??!!") from Emmo.

Though this isn't an earth-shattering, mind-blowing or awe-inspiring post, it is about the morning I got to chill with Brazil's first F1 champ and that I really just wanted to share that.


Obrigado Emmo!