With Keke Rosberg's move to Williams,where, incidentally, he would go on to win his only World Championship title at the end of the season, the Brazilian team Fittipaldi Automotive was left with only fellow Brazilian Chico Serra as their lead driver. Constantly struggling with limited technical and financial resources, the team opted to tackle the 1982 season with a single car, choosing not to hire a second driver.
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| FITTIPALDI F9, Chico Serra Dijon-Prenois, Swiss GP 1982 |
The championship began with the old F8, which had been competing on the world circuits for two seasons and had now reached the “D” version, pending the debut of the new F9, already under development by Richard Divila, the designer of the first Copersucar-Fittipaldis. The Brazilian engineer had rejoined the Fittipaldi team, based in Reading, Berkshire, UK, after settling past disagreements with team owner Wilson Fittipaldi.
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| FITTIPALDI F8D, Chico Serra Zolder, Belgian GP 1982 |
The F8D was simply an adaptation of the 1981 car to the new 1982 regulations, without any changes to the mechanical or aerodynamic base. Thus, it was a surprise when Chico Serra managed to finish sixth at Zolder, aided by the disqualification of Lauda, who had originally finished third but whose car was found underweight in post-race checks. That 1982 Zolder race would mark Fittipaldi’s last points finish in its history.
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| FITTIPALDI F9, Chico Serra Österreichring, Austrian GP 1982 |
Alongside Divila, Tim Wright and Dave Baldwin also worked on the development of the Fittipaldi F9. Despite their combined efforts, the resulting car was a very simple wing car, completely lacking in original ideas, featuring a standard aluminum monocoque chassis, a wheelbase of 2642 mm, and a weight of 585 kg. After a troubled development process, the F9 was tested during the free practice sessions of the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch and entered into competition from the following race in France.
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| FITTIPALDI F9, Chico Serra Monza, Italian GP 1982 |
Unfortunately, the results continued to be disappointing, with a seventh place in Austria being the best finish. The F9 thus became the swan song of the Brazilian team. At the end of the season, no longer able to continue, Wilson Fittipaldi closed the chapter on his career as an F1 constructor, leaving behind unfulfilled dreams, a few good performances, and the pride of having led the only Brazilian team ever entered in a Formula One World Championship.
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