Emerson needed fourth place to become champion, but started sixth and went after the lead at Monza.
Emerson Fittipaldi followed Jacky Ickx’s Ferrari, lap after lap. Fourth place would have been enough for the Brazilian to win the world title. But at Monza on September 10, 1972, he began hunting for the lead. With every turn, he closed the gap to his rival. The championship was at stake, and the race still had a turning point ahead.
The championship equation
The Italian Grand Prix was the tenth round of a twelve-race season. Fittipaldi arrived at Monza with a chance to clinch the title. He needed only fourth place. Starting sixth, with five cars ahead, he began the race chasing the leaders.
Ickx led in his Ferrari. Fittipaldi ran close behind. That position kept the championship within reach, but the Brazilian was not content simply to follow his rival. After 37 laps, with 18 still to go, he began to show that he was preparing to pass.
The race also reached Brazilian listeners over the radio. Emerson’s father was broadcasting and following the action with deep emotion. As the Ferrari led, his son drew closer. The battle continued, and the championship was still undecided.
The corner that changed everything
As he came out of the Parabolica while completing lap 46, the Ferrari’s engine stopped. Ickx slowed and coasted toward the pits. Fittipaldi swept past. The lead changed hands in the closing stages—and with it, control of the title.
There were still laps to go before the finish. The race was 55 laps long, and Emerson had to bring his Lotus-Ford home. He held the lead and won the Italian Grand Prix. The place that would already have secured the championship was behind him; now the Brazilian crossed the line as the winner.
The title at Monza
At 25 years and 273 days, Fittipaldi became the first Brazilian Formula One world champion and the youngest champion up to that point. His record lasted until 2005, when Fernando Alonso won the title aged 24. The victory also secured the constructors’ championship for Lotus.
The result capped a season in which Fittipaldi won five races. At Monza, he needed fourth place. Even so, he went after the Ferrari out front. When Ickx’s engine failed, the opportunity became the lead; the lead became a win; and the win decided the championship with two races still to run.
For listeners in Brazil, the decision came over the radio, with Emerson’s father following the race. For Formula One, Monza marked the first world title for a Brazilian. It was no movie script. It happened.
