He's the other Fittipaldi, Emmo's nephew, a rookie starting the biggest race of his career without the comforting presence of his famous uncle nearby.
Christian Fittipaldi, the 24-year-old son of Emerson Fittipaldi's brother, Wilson, will be the only one carrying the family name in Sunday's Indianapolis 500."There are four other drivers from my country, Brazil, so that helps a little bit," the younger Fittipaldi said. "But apart from that, I feel really sorry for the Team Penske. Also for my uncle, for sure."
Team Penske, whose drivers have won a record 10 Indy 500s, will not have a car in the lineup for the first time since owner Roger Penske brought Mark Donohue to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1969. Emerson Fittipaldi, a two-time winner, was bumped from the field in the closing minutes of qualifications, and Al Unser Jr., another two-time winner and the defending champion, was not fast enough to get in.
Both Penske drivers were using cars borrowed from Rahal-Hogan Racing after their own Penske racers were unable to get up to speed.
"They put a lot of effort in that team and they have like a perfect team," Christian Fittipaldi said. "Unfortunately, because of a lot of problems, they just couldn't make the field this year. And it's going to be hard, it's going to be difficult, when it comes down to race day and we don't see any Marlboro (Penske) cars out there.
"It's going to look hard and maybe a little strange. But fortunately, my uncle is coming over here to watch the race and likes to support all the other drivers out there, and I think that's great."
Christian, like Emerson, came to Indianapolis after racing in Formula One. Unlike his uncle, a two-time Formula One champion, Christian never won a race in 40 Formula One starts from 1992-94. His best finishes were fourth in both the Pacific and German Grands Prix.
His best finish in five Indy-car races with Walker Racing this season is a fifth in the season opener at Miami.
He was second-fastest among six rookie qualifiers for the 500 and put his car into the lineup at 226.375 mph for a start on the outside of the ninth row. The fastest rookie was fellow Brazilian Andre Ribeiro at 226.495. The other Brazilians in the lineup are veterans Raul Boesel and Mauricio Gugelmin and rookie Gil de Ferran.
The other rookies are Alessandro Zampedri of Italy, Carlos Guerrero of Mexico and Eliseo Salazar of Chile, the slowest of the 33 starters at 225.023 mph. Because of the Penske shutout and the retirement of Mario Andretti, the only former winners in the fastest field in auto racing history are Danny Sullivan, Bobby Rahal and Arie Luyendyk.
"It is going to be a little bit difficult for me because everything is going to be a new experience," Christian Fittipaldi said. "It's not like I have raced here already like a year ago or two years ago so I know exactly what's going to happen.
"So at the same time that I am constantly in need of experience, I have to deal with a new issue. I have to be basically very quick on all my decisions that I take, and I can't afford to make any mistakes," he said.
Fittipaldi's teammate, Robby Gordon, got his first Indy-car victory earlier this season at Phoenix and is in the 500 for the third time. He was fifth last year and qualified for Sunday's race at 227.531 mph on the inside of row three.
Both Walker teammates are driving new Reynard-Fords.
"I'm very, very happy with the car, and I think the race is going to start for me about the last 100 laps," Fittipaldi said. "I'm just going to try to pace myself until there, and I think I can go for a strong finish towards the end."
The entire field averaged a record 226.912 mph, breaking the former record of 223.479 set in 1992.
Thirty-two of the 33 starters, plus alternate Franck Freon, took their final practice on Thursday.
Scott Goodyear, the runner-up to Unser three years ago and a front-row starter alongside pole-winner Scott Brayton and Luyendyk on Sunday, was the fastest in the two-hour final practice at 228.392. Ribeiro was next at 227.439, and Michael Andretti was third at 227.342.
The only starter who did not practice was Davy Jones, a NASCAR Winston Cup regular who was in Charlotte, N.C., for the Coca-Cola 600 qualifications. Salazar, one of his Indy teammates, also practiced in Jones' car.
The track will be closed until race day.