Fittipaldi Automotive was a Formula One racing team and constructor that competed from 1975 to 1982. The cars were officially called Copersucar until the end of 1979 and Fittipaldi from the beginning of 1980 onwards. It was the only Formula One team to have been based in Brazil.

The team was formed during 1974 by racing driver Wilson Fittipaldi and his younger brother, double world champion Emerson, with money from the Brazilian sugar and alcohol cooperative Copersucar. The team raced under a Brazilian licence. Emerson Fittipaldi became a driver for the team in 1976 after leaving McLaren, but was unable to replicate his earlier success with the family-owned team. Future world champion Keke Rosberg took his first podium finish in Formula One with the team.

The team was originally based in the Fittipaldis' hometown of São Paulo, almost 10.000 km away from the centre of the world motor racing industry in the UK, before moving to Reading, UK during 1977. It participated in 119 Grands Prix between 1975 and 1982, entering a total of 156 cars. It achieved three podiums and scored 44 championship points.

copersucar-fittipaldi (1975–1977)

The Fittipaldi FD was a series of Formula One chassis designed by Richard Divila and used by Fittipaldi Automotive in the 1975, 1976 and 1977 seasons.

The initial chassis was designated Fittipaldi FD01 and there were three minor developments designated, Fittipaldi FD02, Fittipaldi FD03 and Fittipaldi FD04 respectively.

FD series cars competed in 37 races making 43 individual entries in total. The chassis achieved a best finish of fourth place at both the 1977 Argentine and Brazilian Grands Prix driven on each occasion by former World Champion and joint team-owner Emerson Fittipaldi. It scored a total of 11 World Championship points.

fd01

The chassis' first race was the Argentine Grand Prix. Wilson retired after he crashed the FD01, the car subsequently catching fire, on lap 13 of its only race. The FD01 was uncompetitive and was replaced by the Fittipaldi FD02 which had a bigger airbox and new sidepods.

fd02

The Fittipaldi FD02 was raced six times in 1975. Its debut was at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Wilson finished 12th. The FD02 was replaced by the Fittipaldi FD03.

All fd cars had a Ford Cosworth DFV 2993 cc  V8. It was naturally aspirated, mid-mounted and used a Hewland FG/FGA 400 6-speed manual transmission.

fd03

The FD03 raced seven times in 1975. Its debut was at the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix where Wilson finished 11th. 

After an unsuccessful 1975 season, Wilson Fittipaldi stepped down from driving to look after the management of the team and was replaced by his brother Emerson. Emerson used the Fittipaldi FD04 all season but the FD03 was also entered on one occasion, in the 1976 Brazilian Grand Prix driven by Ingo Hoffmann.

fd04

The FD04 was used until the Fittipaldi F5 was ready. The season started at the 1977 Argentine Grand Prix. Fittipaldi finished fourth and Hoffmann retired with engine failure.

The FD04 was replaced by the Fittipaldi F5 from the French Grand Prix onwards.

fittipaldi automotive (1978–1979)

While it was not a great success in 1977, in 1978 the F5A, modified to implement the principles of ground effect demonstrated to excellent effect by Lotus, allowed the former World Champion to score several good results. The best of these was a competitive second place, after fighting with Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve, at the team's perennial happy hunting ground in Brazil.

The 1979 season saw the promise of the previous year fade away. Implementing ground effect successfully was becoming crucial to success on the track but understanding of the phenomenon was in its infancy and Ralph Bellamy's F6 was a failure on the track.

f5/f5a

The Fittipaldi F5 was a Formula One car for the 1977 Formula One season. It was driven by Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi. The engine was a Ford Cosworth DFV, with the car achieving three of the team's 11 points from the season. The car was modified to become the F5A, which was used for the 1978 season and part of the 1979 season. Fittipaldi was the sole driver of the car in all three seasons. The car was succeeded by the Fittipaldi F6A.

f6/f6a

The Fittipaldi F6 was a Formula One car designed by Ralph Bellamy and used by Fittipaldi Automotive in the 1979 Formula One season. The engine was a Ford Cosworth DFV, and the car was driven by Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi but achieved no points during the season. The car was modified to become the F6A, used later in 1979.

skol fittipaldi team (1980)

At the end of 1979 Copersucar decided to end their sponsorship. The team bought the remains of close neighbour Wolf Racing, becoming a two car operation for the first time. The team was renamed Skol Team Fittipaldi for the 1980 season to reflect new sponsorship from Skol Brasil (now an AmBev brand). Emerson and Wolf Racing driver Keke Rosberg raced the first part of the season with reworked Wolf chassis from the previous year.

The cars, designated F7s, brought a third place for each of the drivers before being replaced by the less successful F8.

The design team that year was headed by Harvey Postlethwaite, another asset gained from Wolf, and also included very young chief aerodynamicist Adrian Newey – both were later designers of championship winning cars for other teams.

f7

The Wolf WR7 was a Formula One car built for the 1979 season by the Walter Wolf Racing team. Three examples of the car were produced.  The WR7 cars were raced as Fittipaldi F7s in the early part of the 1980 Formula One season by Emerson Fittipaldi and Rosberg.

f8

The Fittipaldi F8 was a Formula One car used by the Brazilian team Fittipaldi Automotive during the 1980, 1981 and 1982 seasons. The car was designed by Harvey Postlethwaite and was an evolution of earlier Wolf designs after Fittipaldi took over the Wolf team's assets. The F8 was powered by the legendary Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 liter V8 engine.

fittipaldi automotive (1981–1982)

Emerson Fittipaldi decided to retire from racing at the end of 1980. He has since said that his last two years in Formula One were very unhappy. He was only 33, but had been racing in Formula One for a decade. He had failed to finish seven of the last ten races that year and had several times been outpaced by his Finnish team-mate. He moved into the management of the team.

The team, which reverted to the name of Fittipaldi Automotive as Skol sponsorship was lost again, entered a sharp decline from 1981 onwards.  A final new car, the F9, was penned by the returning Divila and Tim Wright and introduced at the British Grand Prix that year, but failed to improve matters. The Fittipaldi brothers attempted to raise funds to continue in 1983, but the team closed its doors early in 1983.

f8c

The Fittipaldi F8C was a Formula 1 car that 1981 was deployed by the Brazilian team Fittipaldi Automotive. The car was an evolution of the 1980 F8 and was designed by Dr. Harvey Postlethwaite, with later revisions by Gary Thomas. The F8C was a typical "kit car" of the time, built around a standard engine and gearbox.

It had a Ford Cosworth DFV,  3.0 liter V8 engine that is about 490 hp.

f8d

The Fittipaldi F8D was a Formula 1 car that was used in the first half of the season 1982 was deployed by the Brazilian team Fittipaldi Automotive. The car was a further development of the earlier F8 and F8C models. The only driver for the team in 1982 was the Brazilian Chico Serra.

The most striking result was a 6th place during the Belgian Grand Prix in Zolder. 

f9

The Fittipaldi F9 wash the last Formula 1 car to be built by the Brazilian team Fittipaldi Automotive. The car participated in the 1982 F1 season.

The car was designed by Richard Divila and Tim Wright. It replaced the aging F8 chassis and was intended to make the team competitive again in the era of turbocharged engines.

The F9 officially debuted at the 1982 French Grand Prix, but failed to qualify. During the rest of the season, the results were limited.

2016

Emerson Fittipaldi retired from driving at the end of 1980 to focus on managing the team and seeking sponsorship. However, the team entered a sharp decline, scoring no points in 1981 and only one point in its final 1982 season. The Fittipaldi brothers could not secure the necessary funding and closed the team's doors in early 1983.

In 2016, Fittipaldi established Fittipaldi Motors and, along with Pininfarina and HWA AG, created his first sports car project, the Fittipaldi EF7, though the car never entered production.

The EF7 was the first Fittipaldi-badged car since the Fittipaldi F8 Formula One car in 1982, and was originally created to be part of the Vision Gran Turismo concept car programme.

Only 39 real-life units were planned to be made as track-only sports cars. The production number '39' originates from the 39 Formula One and IndyCar victories Fittipaldi achieved throughout his open-wheel motorsport career. Each customer was intended to receive personal racing coaching from Emerson Fittipaldi himself.

The purpose of the car was to have high power, low weight, and high downforce design; features that Emerson Fittipaldi wanted to have in a car. His most important goal for the EF7 was to allow his customers have the best driving enjoyment and experience.

The EF7 contains a 4.8-liter naturally-aspirated V8 that is dry-sump lubricated. It is expected to have 600 hp or more. This is still to be decided on the final car. The car's weight is said to stand at 1000 kg.