Fittipaldi mourns Mayer's loss

Fittipaldi won the second of his two world titles under Mayer's guidance at McLaren in 1974 - before enjoying a successful partnership with him in IndyCar racing.

Speaking to autosport.com after hearing the news of Mayer's death, Fittipaldi was under no illusions about the huge impact that the American had had on F1.

"It was very sad news this weekend about Teddy Mayer," said Fittipaldi. "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 (September) 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."

Fittipaldi said that Mayer's qualities as a human being shone brightly throughout his career - and said that the devastation of losing his brother Timmy in a Tasman Series crash in 1964 did not dull his love of motor racing.

"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.

"And though he lost his brother Timmy in Tasmania, he continued to have the love and the passion for the sport, like not many people in the world have. It's a big loss for motor racing."