In 1973, Emerson was held back by a number of technical issues, but also by an internal rivalry with his new Lotus team mate Ronnie Peterson. The Swede was ultra-quick and ambitious, not caring less about team orders, but neither driver could do anything about Jackie Stewart and Tyrrell: with another title heading to Scotland at the end of the season. Fittipaldi left Lotus at the end of the season, unhappy with the way that the season had been managed, and joined McLaren – which harboured high hopes for its brand new M23.
Ferrari seemed to get in the way of those plans for the 1974 season. Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni looked pre-destined for the title, but Emerson diligently hoovered up every crumb that Maranello left on the table. He won at the start of the season in Brazil, then again in Belgium at the end of the spring, so that by the beginning of September he was third in the championship, just nine points behind the leader Regazzoni, in a Ferrari that was starting to lose its advantage. Fittipaldi finished second in Monza behind Peterson and took his third victory of the season in Canada, meaning that he would head to the final race of the year at Watkins Glen in the United States locked in a title duel with Regazzoni. It all went wrong for Ferrari, and fourth place was enough for Emerson to win a second championship. In Brazil, he had achieved God-like status.
At the beginning of the 1975 championship, he was first in Argentina and second at his home race in front of his compatriot Carlos Pace. But there would be no mistakes from Ferrari this time, and Niki Lauda metronomically sealed his first title. Fittipaldi took one more win from that season, in Great Britain in July. What nobody would have imagined back then was that his 14th career victory would also be his last.