Fittipaldi graduated to Formula One following a Formula 3000 championship winning season in 1991. Opportunities to test and impress were limited at Minardi, though, and despite a number of points scoring positions early in 1993, Christian fell out with the team management and was dropped with two Grand Prix to go. He had one final crack at F1 in 1994 driving for the Footwork team, scoring two 4th places. Disillusioned with Grand Prix racing, however, Fittipaldi moved to America to race where he has been ever since.
Competing mainly in CART, Fittipaldi was a slow starter, noted for his consistency rather than his outright pace, although by the time he won his first Champ Car event at Road America in 1998, he was a championship contender due to his consistent finishing. However, just as Fittipaldi's American career looked to be taking off, he incurred the first of the two broken legs he suffered whilst racing Champ Cars. Although he was able to return both times and win further races, he never regained the consistent form that makes CART champions.
With his CART career on hold, Fittipaldi shifted his focus to NASCAR. He made 3 apperances in the Busch Series during 2001 and 2002. Although he wasn't impressive in those races, he caught the eye of Richard Petty, and he was signed to Petty Enterprises near the end of '02 and made his Winston Cup debut at Phoenix. In 2003, Christian made his first Daytona 500 start, in a one-race deal with Andy Petree, then made a handful of appearances for Petty in ARCA. In the summer of 2003, Fittipaldi became the driver of the illustrious 43 car after John Andretti was let go. Christian struggled and was reassigned shortly after the start of autumn, but remains with the team, driving the 44 car, and expects to run a full Cup season for Richard in 2004.