Double World Champ Emerson Fittipaldi has paid tribute to former McLaren boss Teddy Mayer, who guided the Brazilian to his second F1 title.
Mayer passed away on Friday at age 73, leaving behind an impressive legacy, as one of the founding members of the McLaren F1 team, along with the late Bruce McLaren.
Leading the team in the wake of McLaren's death, Mayer saw Fittipaldi through to his second Championship victory in 1974, however, the partnership between the pair continued beyond F1.
"It was very sad news this weekend about Teddy Mayer," Fittipaldi told Autosport. "Teddy was first of all a very good friend of mine; he worked with me 10 years in the States.
"It is a big loss for grand prix racing because Teddy was one of the guys who was there when F1 started building up with Bernie (Ecclestone), Ken Tyrrell, Frank Williams, and a lot of people really. Ted was one of the masters that helped Formula One grow bigger and bigger.
"I won my second F1 Championship with him; I owe a lot of my results and successes in my career to Teddy. He was the first person to invite me to test at Indianapolis, in 1974 after McLaren won with Johnny Rutherford.
"And then in 1993, I won my second Indy 500 with Teddy as team manager (at Penske). We won the F1 World Championship and Indianapolis 500 together, so I have a large amount of gratitude for what Teddy did for my career."
He added: "He was always very persistent, extremely competitive, and he had a well organised team," explained Fittipaldi. "He was a very good organiser.
"McLaren, when I joined, was an incredible organisation and Teddy was always there, always giving advice when I needed it. He was extremely committed to succeed. It's a big loss for motor racing."
Source:
http://www.planetf1.com