Team Lotus

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lotus
Historical team logo
Surname Team Lotus
Companies Lotus Engineering Ltd.
Company headquarters Hethel , Norfolk ( GB )
Team boss United KingdomUnited Kingdom Colin Chapman (1958–1982) Peter Warr (1982–1989) Peter Collins (1989–1994)
United KingdomUnited Kingdom 
United KingdomUnited Kingdom 
statistics
First Grand Prix Monaco 1958
Last Grand Prix Australia 1994
Race driven 491
Constructors' championship 7 ( 1963 , 1965 , 1968 , 1970 , 1972 , 1973 , 1978 )
Drivers World Championship 6 (1963, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1978)
Race wins 079
Pole positions 107
Fastest laps 071
Points 1,514

Team Lotus was a British motorsport racing team and, like Lotus Cars , part of the Lotus Group founded by Colin Chapman . Lotus is involved in numerous motorsport series at the factory, including Formula 1 , Formula 2 , Formula Ford , Formula Junior and in American championships such as the Indy Car series. In addition, Lotus supplied many series of chassis for customer teams, which in turn were successful in many cases.

Lotus is still one of the most successful racing teams in Formula 1. From 1958 to 1994 the team took part in almost 500 grand prizes. Lotus won the constructors' championship seven times and provided six world championship drivers. Lotus is considered to be one of the most innovative teams in Formula 1. A number of innovations in the technical area as well as in marketing can be traced back directly to Lotus. These include the monocoque body, the use of front and rear wings, the ground effect and the application of advertising material to body parts. After the death of Chapman, who had a major impact on the racing team, the team's performance declined. Several changes of ownership in the 1980s and 1990s could not stop the decline; In 1994, Lotus was dissolved due to insolvency. From 2010 to 2015 the name Lotus was again represented in Formula 1; the racing teams that used the traditional name, however, had nothing to do with Colin Chapman's team in legal or organizational terms.

Team Lotus in Formula 1

The beginnings

Team founder and driving force: Colin Chapman

In 1956 Colin Chapman developed the Type 12, his company's first monoposto . The car, equipped with a Climax engine, was entered at the factory for a few British Formula 2 races the following year, but was mostly overshadowed by Cooper's more reliable cars . The best result for Team Lotus was Cliff Allison's second place in the International Gold Cup , which was held on October 5, 1957 at Oulton Park .

At the urging of his drivers, Chapman decided to move up to Formula 1 in the coming season. The T12 was then adapted to the Formula 1 regulations in autumn 1957.

1958

The first world championship run in which the Lotus team took part was the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix . Cliff Allison and Graham Hill started as pilots . Neither driver had previously contested a Formula 1 race. They qualified in the race, to which only 16 drivers were allowed, for starting positions 13 (Allison) and 15. Hill was eliminated after 69 of 100 laps due to a broken half-wave, Allison, however, finished the race in sixth and last with ten laps Residue. Almost a month later, at the Belgian Grand Prix , Allison finished fourth and scored the first world championship points for Team Lotus. In the summer of 1958, Lotus replaced the 12 with the newly developed Lotus 16 , which externally resembled the contemporary Vanwall and was referred to in the press as "Mini Vanwall". Again, it was a front-engined racing car that struggled to compete with Cooper's mid-engined models. The Lotus 16 made its Formula 1 debut at the 1958 French Grand Prix with Graham Hill at the wheel. Hill retired from the race after 33 laps due to overheating of the engine. The 1958 Lotus’s best result was Hill’s sixth place in the Italian Grand Prix in Monza . At the end of the season, the team finished sixth and last in the newly introduced world championship for designers .

1959

The following season 1959 Lotus contested again with the front-engine type 16. Although the company, following the trend of the times, completed its first mid-engine racing car in the course of the year; the car known as the Lotus 18 has not yet been used in Formula 1 this year.

The 1959 Formula 1 season turned into a "disaster" for Lotus: The works cars driven by Graham Hill, Innes Ireland , Pete Lovely and Alan Stacey broke down nine times due to technical defects. Chapman's goal of designing the lightest possible cars had a negative effect on the reliability of the car: in some races the suspension broke, in others the cardan shaft or the transmission. In total, the Lotus factory drivers only crossed the finish line five times in 1959. The best result was Innes Ireland's fifth place at the Italian Grand Prix . Lotus finished the Constructors' World Championship as the last with four points.

First wins and two championship titles

1960

Died in a Lotus 18 in 1960: Alan Stacey

During the automobile world championship in 1960 , Lotus developed "from a chaos force to a permanent fixture" in Formula 1. This development was essentially due to the Lotus 18, which made its debut in Formula 1 in 1960. The car is now considered a milestone in motorsport history: it was extremely light, concentrated the masses in the center of the vehicle, and was easy to adapt to different engines. The 18 was used by both the Lotus works team and the customer team Rob Walker Racing in 1960 , which achieved better results than the works team over the course of the year.

The first race of the Lotus 18 was the 1960 Argentina Grand Prix , in which the Lotus works driver Innes Ireland led for a few laps before being thrown back to sixth place due to a technical defect. Three months later, Rob Walker's driver Stirling Moss won the Monaco Grand Prix in the Lotus 18. It was the first Formula 1 victory for a Lotus car. The works team, however, did not achieve a victory in 1960. It became part of the tragedy of the 1960 Belgian Grand Prix a week after the Monaco race , in which two racing drivers were fatally injured and two others were injured. On lap 24, a bird smashed through the visor of Lotus works driver Alan Stacey. The car got off the track and went up in flames. The fire could be extinguished quickly, but any help came too late for the young Briton. Stacey died a few minutes after Chris Bristow , who had lost control of his private Cooper used by Team BRP on lap 22 and was beheaded in the collision with the barrier. At the end of the season, Stirling Moss finished third in the drivers' world championship, but with not even half as many points as world champion Jack Brabham in the factory Cooper. 1960 was also the year in which Jim Clark entered Formula 1 through Lotus. He remained loyal to this team until his tragic accident in 1968 and brought him two world championships.

1961

1961 brought the works team its first Formula 1 victory. At the beginning of the season the Lotus 21 made its debut , a further developed car that combined some of the features of the Lotus 18 with those of the Lotus 20 Formula Junior car . The works team used two cars for Jim Clark and Innes Ireland during the season; A third car was driven once by Willy Mairesse . After a few teething problems, Ireland won the last world championship run of the year, the US Grand Prix , in which he crossed the finish line with a Porsche four seconds ahead of Dan Gurney . The works team had previously won three Formula 1 races that did not count towards the World Championship: the Solitude Grand Prix and the airfield race in Zeltweg (both Ireland) and the Grand Prix de Pau (Clark).

In 1961, Rob Walker Racing again used Lotus customer vehicles under Stirling Moss. Most of them were modified cars of the type 18/21; in the last few races the team also received pure 21 models. Rob Walker Racing was again the best Lotus team in 1961: Moss won the world championship races in Monaco and Germany as well as nine races that were not part of the world championship.

1962

Jim Clark in the Lotus 25 at the 1962 German Grand Prix

In 1962 the Lotus works team was more successful than the Lotus customer teams for the first time. One of the reasons for this development was the newly designed Lotus 25 , which was innovative and was reserved for the factory team in 1962.

The Lotus 25 is seen as a racing car that revolutionized Formula 1. It was the first Formula 1 car to feature a monocoque . The 25 was powered by a 1.5 liter eight-cylinder Coventry Climax engine and became "the car to beat" during the year. On the driver side, the works team focused on Jim Clark and Trevor Taylor after Chapman did not renew the contract with Innes Ireland . Clark received the Lotus 25 exclusively for the first three races; Taylor had to use the Lotus 24 transitional model by the summer of 1962 .

Clark won the Grand Prix of Belgium , Great Britain and the USA in the Lotus 25 . Up until the last race of the season in South Africa , Clark had the opportunity to win the drivers' world championship. In qualifying he took pole position ahead of his competitor Graham Hill, who competed for BRM , and later led the race for more than two-thirds of the time. After 63 of 82 laps, however, Clark had to give up: a screw in the housing of the transfer case had by mistake not been tightened. The shock of the race caused the screw to come loose and Clark's Lotus lost oil so it eventually had to be turned off. The drivers and constructors championship went to Graham Hill and BRM; Clark and Lotus were each runner-up.

Several private teams used Lotus 24 chassis in 1962; some used Climax engines like the factory team, others eight-cylinder engines from BRM. Lotus customers included Rob Walker Racing, British Racing Partnership and Scuderia Filipinetti . At the Natal Grand Prix , which is not part of the world championship , former motorcycle world champion Gary Hocking , who started for Rhodesia , drove a Lotus 24 for Rob Walker's team. Hocking suffered kidney colic while driving at full speed, as a result of which he lost control of the vehicle. The lotus overturned several times and finally hit a tree. Hocking died at the scene of the accident.

1963

Driver world champion 1963 and 1965: Jim Clark (left)

In 1963 , in the sixth year of Formula 1 involvement, Jim Clark was the first Lotus driver to win the drivers' world championship. Clark and Lotus were "the dominant combination" that year.

Lotus started the new season with the same line-up. The team used the Lotus 25 again, which was powered by the well-known Climax eight-cylinder engine. The only change concerned the fuel supply of the engine: Climax now used a gasoline injection system from Lucas , which increased the engine's output to 200 hp. Trevor Taylor was reported as the second regular driver alongside Jim Clark. In France , the team fielded a third car for Peter Arundell , while Pedro Rodríguez drove the third factory Lotus in the two North American races in the USA and Mexico .

The team largely focused on Clark in 1963. His car got the most attention; Taylor's car was neglected by comparison. The commitment for Clark paid off: The Scot won a total of seven out of ten world championship races in 1963. He was the first to cross the finish line at the Grand Prix of Belgium , the Netherlands , France, Great Britain , Italy, Mexico and South Africa ; in the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Mexico and South Africa it was so-called start-to-finish victories, races that Clark started from pole position and finished as the winner. The remaining three races were won by Graham Hill on BRM ( Monaco and USA) and John Surtees for Scuderia Ferrari ( Germany ). Clark reached 73 world championship points at the end of the season, of which 54 were counted after deducting deleted results. Graham Hill, the runner-up, got 29 points. Lotus also won the Constructors' World Championship ahead of BRM and Brabham .

Trevor Taylor, on the other hand, had a disappointing season in 1963. He only crossed the finish line once when he finished sixth in Monaco. He was canceled at four events due to technical defects. Taylor finished the season with one point in 16th place in the Drivers' Championship. At the end of the year, Lotus terminated the contract with Taylor.

The previous customer team Rob Walker Racing split from Lotus in 1963. Rob Walker's driver Joakim Bonnier has used Cooper chassis throughout this season. Private Lotus vehicles were used by BRP and Jo Siffert in 1963 .

1964

Jim Clark and his Lotus 33-Climax at the 1964 German Grand Prix

In the 1964 season , Lotus could not repeat the success of the previous year. In the second half of the season in particular, the team's performance dropped noticeably.

Initially, the team used the Lotus 25 again. It was redesigned by Len Terry earlier this year and now had 13-inch wheels and a modified front suspension. In the summer of 1964, Lotus replaced the 25 with the Lotus 33 , which was a further development of the 25, but was technically not fully developed. During the World Cup, the 33 was canceled five times due to a technical defect.

The most important driver of the team was the reigning world champion Jim Clark. He had three wins this season, two of them with the Type 25. In addition, he only crossed the finish line twice in the points. The second factory chassis was initially driven by Peter Arundell. He was twice third and once fourth in the first world championship runs of the year. In July 1964, Arundell had an accident at a Formula 2 race in Reims so badly that he could not finish the season. From the British Grand Prix he was replaced by Mike Spence. Lotus used a third chassis for some races: At the German Grand Prix , Gerhard Mitter drove the third works Lotus, in the USA it was Walt Hansgen and in Mexico Moisés Solana . Hansgen was the only one of them who finished in the points.

This year John Surtees won the drivers' world championship in the factory Ferrari 158 with 40 points. Clark was third with 32 points. Arundell finished eighth with 11 points, Spence twelfth with four points. In the team standings, Lotus was third with 37 points, behind Scuderia Ferrari and BRM

1965

Lotus 33 in the livery of the works team

In 1965 , Clark and Lotus repeated the triumph of 1963: both the drivers 'and the constructors' championships went to the team from Hethel. As in 1963, Clark was given priority by the team. Both he and his team-mate Mike Spence consistently used newly built Type 33 cars, which were powered by a Climax eight-cylinder engine. While Spence used the conventional version with two valves per cylinder in most races, Clark was able to regularly fall back on the more powerful four-valve version.

Clark won the first six world championship runs the team competed in. At the end of the season, Clark had brought in 54 world championship points; the runner-up Graham Hill, who drove for BRM, got 40 points.

The team's second driver was again Mike Spence, whose season was "typical of a number two driver at Lotus": his car was less well prepared than Clark's car; accordingly, his Lotus repeatedly suffered from reliability problems. Spence finished fourth in opening races in South Africa and Great Britain , and finished third in the final World Championship run in Mexico . With ten world championship points he finished eighth in the drivers' championship alongside Bruce McLaren (Cooper).

In 1965, several customer teams also used Lotus vehicles. The largest customer team was Reg Parnell Racing , which competed in every world championship race and registered six drivers during the season. World championship points for Parnell scored only Richard Attwood , who was sixth twice.

Lotus-Cosworth: "The Golden Years"

At the beginning of the 1966 season , Formula 1 received new regulations. Instead of the previous small-volume engines, engines with a displacement of up to 3.0 liters were approved in future. The so-called three-liter formula established a phase that is sometimes referred to as "the golden years" of the Lotus team: In the following 13 years, the team won five constructors 'and four drivers' championships. The success was due on the one hand to innovative chassis constructions and on the other hand to the Cosworth DFV engine, the development of which was largely initiated by Colin Chapman. With it, the team had an engine from 1967 that was inexpensive and powerful and with which only Ferrari engines could compete in the long term. During this time, Lotus-Cosworth was a team against which other racing teams had to compete.

1966

In 1966 he had his last Formula 1 season with Lotus: Peter Arundell

Lotus started the 1966 season with Jim Clark as the first driver . At his side, Peter Arundell returned to Formula 1, who had recovered from the consequences of his accident over the past year and a half. A third car was also used for Pedro Rodríguez and the Italian driver Geki for individual races .

In technical terms, the first season of the new three-liter formula started with an emergency solution. Like many other British teams, Lotus had not been able to get an engine that complied with the new regulations from the start of the season. Although the three-liter formula had already been decided in November 1963, only three engine types were available at the start of the season, which were tailored to the new conditions. These were the engines from Repco , Ferrari and Maserati . Ferrari kept the new twelve-cylinder for its works team, Maserati exclusively equipped the Cooper team, and the Repco engine was only used by Brabham , which had commissioned the development of the engine. On the other hand, Coventry Climax, the engine supplier for teams like Lotus and Cooper, had declared its withdrawal from Formula 1 at the end of the 1965 season and did not supply an engine for the three-liter formula.

In this situation, Lotus initially made do with an older Climax FWMV engine that had been drilled out to 2.0 liters. It was used in a slightly modified 33 chassis until the middle of the season. The car was inferior to the better motorized vehicles from Brabham and Ferrari because of its performance deficit. In the first six world championship races, Clark retired three times due to technical defects; he also achieved fourth and third place in Great Britain and the Netherlands, respectively . At the same time, Jack Brabham had already won four world championship races in a row with his Brabham-Repco.

Transitional solution in the Lotus 43: The BRM P75 sixteen-cylinder engine

For the Belgian Grand Prix , the new appeared Lotus 43 , with a 3.0-liter sixteen-cylinder - h engine was equipped by BRM. The power unit, which was composed of two eight-cylinder engines arranged one above the other, was heavy, complicated and unreliable. The weight of the Lotus 43-BRM was 80 kg above the minimum weight; It was one of the heaviest racing cars of the 1966 season. At first, only Arundell drove the Lotus 43; Clark only got the car in the last three races of the season.

Arundell finished four times with the Lotus 43-BRM, but only achieved one world championship point. Clark “surprisingly” won the US Grand Prix with the heavy car ; however, the drivers in front of him Lorenzo Bandini (Ferrari) and Brabham had previously retired due to technical defects.

Clark finished the season with 16 world championship points in sixth place in the drivers’s championship; at the same time Lotus fell to fifth place in the constructors' championship. Arundell finished seventeenth; he ended his Formula 1 career after the last world championship run of the year.

Colin Chapman attributed the drop in performance of his team to the lack of a suitable engine. In the summer of 1966, he turned to British car manufacturers and the government to encourage the development of a powerful and readily available Formula 1 engine for the English teams. Together with Walter Hayes , Vice President of Ford Europe, he finally initiated the development (financed by Ford) of the Cosworth DFV engine, which was to become an integral part of Formula 1 from 1967.

1967

Won his first Formula 1 race: the Lotus 49-Cosworth

In 1967 , Jim Clark and Graham Hill, two former Formula 1 world champions, joined the Lotus team.

The team contested the first two races of the year with the Lotus 43-BRM. The Lotus 49 , which was equipped with the newly developed 3.0 liter Cosworth DFV engine , made its debut at the Dutch Grand Prix , which was held on June 4, 1967 in Zandvoort . In retrospect, this Grand Prix is ​​viewed as a race of historic importance, in which the Cosworth engine began its triumphal procession: when it was first used in the new Lotus-Cosworth, Graham Hill drove with a clear lead on pole position. He was half a second faster than second-placed Dan Gurney in the Eagle - Weslake , one second faster than third in training Jack Brabham in the Brabham-Repco and almost two seconds faster than fourth Jochen Rindt in the Cooper-Maserati. Hill's team-mate Clark qualified for eighth place on the grid. Hill retired after eleven laps due to an engine failure. Clark worked his way up to first place over the course of the first 15 laps, which he did not give up until the end of the race. It was the first time in the history of Formula 1 that a new car-engine combination achieved pole position and overall victory.

Jim Clark won the Grand Prix of Great Britain , the USA and Mexico later in the season and was third in the drivers' championship with 41 points. Hill, who crossed the finish line twice in second and once in fourth, finished the championship in seventh place. Lotus finished second in the constructors' championship behind Brabham-Repco.

1968

World Champion 1968: Graham Hill

In 1968 the color scheme of the Lotus vehicles changed: Lotus was the first Formula 1 team to no longer paint its cars in the color of its country of origin , but to adopt the color sample from a financier. Instead of the previous British Racing Green , the Lotus factory cars appeared in 1968 in white and red, the colors of the main sponsor Gold Leaf . Accordingly, the team registered from the European races under the name Gold Leaf Team Lotus .

For the 1968 season, Lotus again used the Type 49 with the Cosworth eight-cylinder engine. This year, the Cosworth engine was also available to other teams for the first time. In addition to Lotus, McLaren, Rob Walker Racing and Ken Tyrrell's new racing team Matra International used it .

1968 was an ambivalent year for Lotus. Although the team won the third World Drivers Championship in 1968 with Graham Hills title. On the other hand, Lotus had to cope with the deaths of two factory drivers who had crashed in just one month. On April 7, the two-time world champion Jim Clark died at the Germany Trophy , a Formula 2 race, held at the Hockenheimring after an accident on the fourth lap. Exactly one month later, Mike Spence had a fatal accident while training for the 500-mile race in Indianapolis. He drove a Lotus 56 with four-wheel drive and gas turbine, which the Andy Granatelli and Colin Chapman owned STP Indy team had used.

After Clark's death, the Formula 1 works team focused on Graham Hill, who won the Grand Prix of Spain , Monaco and Mexico in the Lotus 49-Cosworth and came second in South Africa , Germany and the USA . Hill won with 49 points ahead of Jackie Stewart, who competed for Tyrrell.

Jackie Oliver took over the second works vehicle . He finished three times in eight starts and finished third in Mexico. At the US Grand Prix, the American racing driver Mario Andretti made his debut in the third factory Lotus , and ten years later he was to win the final driver's title for the British team. In a few other races, Bill Brack and Moises Solana also drove the third works Lotus.

1969

Jochen Rindt 1969

In 1969 the Lotus team used three works vehicles in eight of 11 world championship races. In addition to world champion Graham Hill, Austrian Jochen Rindt competed for Lotus; the third car was driven mainly by John Miles and, in three cases, by Mario Andretti. Hill and Rindt continuously drove the Lotus 49B Cosworth, which at the beginning of the season had high rear wings attached to aluminum tubes.

The 1969 season was under the sign of Jackie Stewart and his team, the Tyrrell Racing Organization. The Tyrrell-Stewart combination was as dominant this year as the Lotus-Clark pairing a few years earlier: Stewart won six of eleven races in Matra- Kosworth and finished the season with 63 points as world champion. The Lotus drivers had nothing to counter this. Hill and Rindt each won only one race and were fourth (Rindt, 22 points) and seventh (Hill, 19 points) in the drivers' championship at the end of the year.

Like McLaren and Matra, Lotus also experimented with a four-wheel drive Formula 1 car during the 1969 season . Maurice Philippe , the creator of the Lotus 49, had developed the Lotus 63 for this, which was used by Mario Andretti and John Miles at seven Grand Prix, starting with the French Grand Prix . The car only finished at the British Grand Prix ; Miles finished tenth here, nine laps behind the winner Jackie Stewart. At all other events, the car failed due to technical defects. The 63 was only successful in the Oulton Park Gold Cup, which is not part of the world championship: Rindt finished second here.

1970

Posthumous world champion with Lotus: Jochen Rindt

For the 1970 season , Lotus developed the 72 , a groundbreaking vehicle that was to dominate the first half of the 1970s and is considered the most successful Formula 1 car of all time. The 72 designed by Maurice Philippe had a wedge-shaped body for the first time. The car appeared in the second race of the season in Spain , but was not optimally tuned until the Dutch Grand Prix in June 1970.

Regular drivers of the Lotus factory team were initially Jochen Rindt and John Miles, with Rindt being preferred by the team and achieving the better results. Rindt won five of the first nine world championship races of the year, four of them in a row. Four races before the end of the season, at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza , Rindt had such a serious accident during practice that he died of internal injuries on the way to the hospital . After Bruce McLaren and Piers Courage, Rindt was the third Formula 1 racing driver to die within three months of a racing accident. Since no other driver was able to catch Rindt's point lead, the Austrian (so far the only driver) was posthumously named world champion. The team itself won the title ahead of Ferrari , not least because of Emerson Fittipaldi's victory in the USA .

John Miles, Lotus' second works driver, was less successful than Rindt. Miles crossed the finish line only once in the points in the first nine races and missed qualification twice in a row with the new 72. He did not start at the Italian Grand Prix; then he left the Lotus factory team in response to Rindt's death and ended his racing career. His car was taken over by Reine Wisell for the rest of the season . Wisell came in third at the US Grand Prix , his first Formula 1 race.

At the end of 1970, Lotus gave up the production of customer vehicles. Numerous engineers and mechanics who had previously worked in this field switched to the Group Racing Developments (GRD) company, which existed until 1975.

1971

The 1971 automobile world championship turned into an interim year for Lotus. The team primarily launched different versions of the 72; In addition, the Lotus 56 B equipped with a gas turbine was reported for individual races , but it did not achieve any success.

Colin Chapman's team contested the season with drivers Emerson Fittipaldi and Reine Wisell, who had little Formula 1 experience. In Great Britain , Dave Charlton , the reigning champion of the South African Formula 1 Championship , drove the third works Lotus, in the Netherlands the third car went to Australian Dave Walker . In 1971, for the first time in eleven years, the Lotus factory team did not score a single win in a world championship run. The best result was Fittipaldi's second place at the Austrian Grand Prix , to which there were two third places. Wisell achieved two fourth and fifth and sixth places.

The Lotus factory team did not officially compete in the Italian Grand Prix , as Colin Chapman feared legal investigations in connection with Jochen Rindt's fatal accident the previous year. Fittipaldi appeared in Monza with the World Wide Racing team , which was in fact identical to the Lotus factory team, but competed under a separate report. He used the Lotus 56B here, which was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney turbine instead of the Cosworth naturally aspirated engine and had all-wheel drive . Fittipaldi finished eighth, one lap behind.

Dave Walker at the 1971 Dutch Grand Prix in a turbine-powered Lotus 56B

Three months earlier at Zandvoort , Lotus had the chance to win a world championship run with the turbine car. The 56 was driven here by the debutant Walker. In very rainy weather he started the race from 22nd place. Chapman believed that Walker could win the first Formula 1 race of his career with the all-wheel-drive 56B, whose traction was superior in the rain, and instructed the Australian to drive slowly on the first few laps: the Lotus team boss expected many rain-related failures and was of the opinion that Walker would automatically advance to front positions with the Lotus 56B. Walker defied the order and already overtook eight vehicles in the first five laps. However, the brake pads on Walker's Lotus had not yet run in, so that they collapsed during a heavy braking maneuver on lap six. Walker slipped off the track with the Lotus and fell out early.

The Lotus team, which had won the constructors' championship the year before, fell back to fifth with 21 points behind Tyrrell , Ferrari, BRM and March .

1972

In 1972 Fittipaldi stayed on the team; the second car went to Dave Walker, who contested his only full Formula 1 season that year.

1972 was another Lotus year: Fittipaldi won five of 12 world championship races on the now reliable Type 72; in addition, he was twice second and once third. After the fourth last race of the season, the Austrian Grand Prix , Fittipaldi had scored 52 points. The closest pursuers were Jackie Stewart in Tyrrell and Denny Hulme in McLaren with 27 points each; Ferrari driver Jacky Ickx came next in the driver standings with 25 points. All of them could mathematically decide the world championship for themselves. In the remaining three races, Fittipaldi could only score once - he won the Italian Grand Prix - Stewart won twice, while Hulme only achieved three third places. Ultimately, the results of the competitors were not enough to endanger Fittipaldi's lead. At the end of the season, the Brazilian had scored 61 points and was world champion with a lead of 16 points over Stewart. Lotus also won the constructors' championship that year.

Dave Walker, the second Lotus works driver, never got into the points in any race. His vehicle was not on the same level as Fittipaldi's Lotus; it was less prepared and less reliable than the Brazilian car. Among other things, the team used their car to smuggle Argentine wine into Great Britain after the race in Buenos Aires . When Walker's car was assembled six weeks later at the next race in South Africa, there was still a bottle of wine in the tank of the Lotus 72. After a few positions outside the points, Walker dropped out in Great Britain , Germany and Austria before the end of the race. At the time, Walker was testing a Formula 2 car for British racing car manufacturer GRD. When Chapman learned of Walker's test drives for a rival company, he withdrew Walker's entry for the races in Italy and Canada ; Walker's car was driven in these races by Reine Wissell, who also failed to score any world championship points.

1973

Emerson Fittipaldi in the 1973 Lotus 72E at the Österreichring

In the 1973 automobile world championship , Lotus reported the 72 in a D and later in an E version. The wagons had been improved and strengthened, increasing their weight to 650 kg. The drivers were Emerson Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson , who had switched from March to Lotus.

Fittipaldi dominated in the spring of 1973: he won three of the first four races. Then began a winning streak Jackie Stewarts, who won a total of five times, was second twice and scored a total of 71 points. Stewart was already the driving world champion before the two North American races in autumn. Fittipaldi experienced a form low in the European summer races. Six world championship races were held between June and August 1973; during this time Fittipaldi only scored one point (sixth place at the German Grand Prix ).

A special situation arose at the penultimate race of the season, the Canadian Grand Prix in Mosport . There were numerous accidents due to poor weather conditions. On lap 33, led by Fittipaldi, François Cevert and Ian Scheckter collided . This then led to a safety car phase. The safety car failed to get in front of the leading car. The vehicles in front of him won almost one lap. After the end of the safety car phase, Jackie Oliver was classified as the leader in the losing Shadow , with Peter Revson in second place in the factory McLaren and Fittipaldi in fourth place. In the remaining laps he drove up to second place, but could no longer overtake Revson, who is now leading in the standings. After the end of the race there was some confusion; the race management needed several hours to determine the winner. Ultimately, Revson was classified as the winner and Fittipaldi as second. However, many observers assume that the victory was actually granted to Fittipaldi.

Fittipaldi finished the season in second place in the drivers' standings with 55 points, while Ronnie Peterson, who won the French , Austrian , Italian and USA Grand Prix , was third with 51 points. Lotus won the constructors' championship ahead of Tyrrell.

Crisis years

1974

Technically not convincing: Lotus 76 ("John Player Special Mk. I")

At the end of the 1973 season, Fittipaldi Colin left Chapman's team. He moved to McLaren, where he won the drivers' championship that year. At Lotus, Ronnie Peterson rose to the number 1 driver; his teammate became Jacky Ickx .

From a technical point of view, things went wrong at Lotus 1974. Colin Chapman, Tony Rudd and Ralph Bellamy had developed the Lotus 76 in the winter of 1973/74 , which was to replace the 72, which was now several years old. The 76, which would officially be called the John Player Special Mk. 1, had an electronically controlled clutch, which was considered innovative in 1974, as well as a double rear wing that was supposed to generate additional downforce. The clutch in particular turned out to be problematic in racing practice. The 76 made its debut at the South African Grand Prix . Here and in the following two races, both drivers retired due to technical defects. Lotus then initially withdrew the 76 and used the 72E again. In the late summer there were attempts to reactivate the 76. Lotus had fitted the model with the front axle construction of the 72 and the cooling was improved. The 76B reached the finish line - Peterson's fourth place in Germany - otherwise the revised version was also regularly canceled. With the old 72E, however, Peterson was able to achieve three more victories: He won in Monaco , France and Italy . Lotus then gave up the 76.

Peterson finished the season with 35 points in fifth place in the drivers' standings. Ickx's best results were two third places. During the season he dropped out nine times and finished 10th in the drivers' championship.

1975

In 1975 the crisis at Lotus worsened. It was primarily technical in nature. After the failure of the Lotus 76 in the previous year, the team had no competitive alternative, so it had to use the Type 72, which had been designed in 1970 and has been modified again and again, throughout the season. Ronnie Peterson received a newly built chassis (R9) for the season; The second driver was initially Jacky Ickx, later he was replaced by Jim Crawford and Brian Henton . They alternated between the R8 built in 1973 and the R5 built in 1970, which had a total of 56 Grand Prix starts over the course of six years of use. These cars, both conceptually and in substance outdated, were noticeably inferior to the newer models from McLaren and Ferrari.

In 1975 Lotus achieved no victory and only one podium position: Ickx finished second in the Spanish Grand Prix , but received only half the number of points as the race was stopped prematurely. Peterson only came in fourth and two fifths. The Swede finished the season with six points in 13th place in the drivers 'championship, Ickx was 16th. Crawford and Henton were not classified in the drivers' championship. Lotus dropped to seventh in the constructors' championship.

At the end of the 1975 season, John Player threatened the end of sponsorship for Lotus, which would have meant the definitive end of the racing team. Ultimately, however, the company continued to support the team after Colin Chapman designed the Type 78 wing car in the fall of 1975 and convinced John Player of the success of this project.

1976

Gunnar Nilsson in the Lotus 77 at the 1976 British Grand Prix

For the 1976 season , Lotus initially reported Ronnie Peterson as the number 1 driver. Peterson, however, only contested the first race of the season for Lotus, after which he switched to March Engineering. Chapman replaced him from the South African Grand Prix by Gunnar Nilsson , who made his Formula 1 debut here. There was also fluctuation with the second driver. In the first race of the year, Mario Andretti drove the second Lotus; then he moved to the American racing team Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing . At Lotus he was replaced by Bob Evans , who was once tenth and once failed to qualify. After the third race of the season, Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing ceased racing for financial reasons; Andretti then returned to Lotus for the remainder of the year.

With the beginning of the 1976 season, Lotus finally gave up the Type 72. It was replaced by the Lotus 77 , which was officially named "John Player Special Mark II". The 77 was an essentially conventional car with improved aerodynamics over the 72. The wheelbase and track width were variable so that the cars could be adapted to the different needs of different routes.

The Lotus 77 initially fell short of expectations. In the second half of the year, however, an upward trend emerged, which observers usually attribute to Andretti's development work. Starting with the French Grand Prix , Andretti finished fifth twice, then third twice, and taking first place at the Japanese Grand Prix brought the team their first win in more than two years. Lotus climbed to fourth place in the constructors' standings at the end of the year, Andretti finished sixth and Nilsson tenth in the driving standings.

Revolutionary again: The Ground Effect

1977

With side aprons: Wing-Car Lotus 78

In 1977 Lotus revolutionized Formula 1 again with the first Ground Effect car. Colin Chapman, Ralph Bellamy and Martin Ogilvie developed the Lotus 78 (“John Player Special Mark III”), the underbody of which was shaped like an inverted wing that a vacuum developed under the car, which sucks the car onto the road. The negative pressure was maintained by side aprons. Peter Wright had already implemented a similar concept (albeit without aprons) in 1970 in March 701 ; However, the concept was not fully developed at the time for financial and time reasons.

The team started again with Andretti and Nilsson. Andretti won four races, Nilsson one. Lotus scored a total of 62 world championship points and was second in the constructors' championship behind Ferrari; Andretti was third in the drivers' championship with 47 points.

1978

Andretti and Peterson at the Dutch Grand Prix, which ends with a Lotus double victory

In the automobile world championship 1978 Lotus prevailed with the 78, which was further developed to the Lotus 79 . Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson, who returned to the team, won half of the season's races for Lotus. But again a fatal accident dampened the joy of winning the team's last world championship. At the Italian Grand Prix , a start error by the race management resulted in a pile-up in which Ronnie Peterson's car went up in flames. Although Peterson was quickly rescued from the inferno, an embolism in his legs, triggered by medical misconduct, cost the Swede his life. For the last two races, Lotus occupied the second cockpit with Jean-Pierre Jarier . Andretti was world driver champion that year, Peterson was runner-up. The constructors championship went to Lotus with 86 points; the second-placed Scuderia Ferrari had reached 58 points.

The Lotus 79 became a model for other designers. Numerous teams copied the idea. Tyrrell obtained the blueprints for the 79 from a Japanese manufacturer of model cars. Hector Rebaque bought the first copy of the Lotus 79 at the end of 1978 and had Penske Racing build a true-to-original copy of the car, which he launched in 1979 with his Rebaque team under the name Rebaque HR 100 .

Choppy Performances: Chapman's Final Years

In the following years, Lotus failed to consolidate the success of 1978. Lotus was not able to continuously develop the ground effect concept. Instead, Chapman's team overwhelmed this idea with two newly developed vehicles and, after the new models had proven unsuitable, had to fall back on obsolete vehicles from the previous year. In the meantime, however, the competing teams had taken over the advantages of the 79 and carefully further developed the lines so that, as a result, they had better ground-effect cars than Lotus. The Williams FW07 in particular turned out to be a powerful construction.

1979

Lotus 80

Despite the success of 1978, John Player Special did not renew the sponsorship deal with Lotus at the end of the year. The spirits manufacturer Martini & Rossi and the mineral oil company Essex Oil became new Lotus partners . The Lotus of 1979 were now painted in British Racing Green instead of black .

The Martini Racing Team Lotus reported Mario Andretti and Carlos Reutemann , who had switched from Ferrari to Lotus , for the 1979 season . The racing team contested the first races of the year with the famous Lotus 79. The Lotus 80 , a further development of the 79 designed by Martin Ogilvie, Peter Wright and Tony Rudd, made its debut at the Spanish Grand Prix. The car was designed to have the ground effect maximize. In the interests of improving the aerodynamics, the development team initially did without conventional front and rear wings and expected the necessary downforce to be achieved solely through the underbody profiles. This effect did not occur; the car turned out to be impassable in practice. At high speed the 80 developed an outstanding suction effect; at low speeds or when braking, however, the grip broke off abruptly, making the car difficult to control. This could potentially endanger the life of the driver. Lotus built three Type 80 chassis, but only made one race-ready. Andretti drove the 80 at three Grand Prix. In his first outing in Spain he finished third, but in Monaco and France he dropped out prematurely. Since Lotus could not improve the handling of the 80 even by adding wings, the team gave up the car and contested the remaining races of the year with the 79.

During the year, the team did not achieve a victory. In the constructors' championship, Lotus dropped to fourth place. Reutemann took sixth place in the drivers' standings with 20 points, last year's world champion Andretti came 12th with 14 points. Reutemann switched to Williams after the end of the season, which was the upcoming team for the next few years.

1980

Technically conservative: Lotus 81

The decline continued in the 1980 World Cup . In 1980, the Lotus 81 was a very conservative car in contrast to its predecessors, which was to serve as a transitional model until the Lotus 88 with its revolutionary double chassis was ready for use. In the course of 1980, the engineers were largely working on the 88, while the 81, as the current emergency vehicle, received only superficial care. The team started with Mario Andretti and Elio de Angelis ; At the end of the year a third vehicle was built for the debutant Nigel Mansell .

De Angelis was the team's best driver. He finished second in the second race of the year in Brazil ; this result was the team's best result in the 1980 season. De Angelis reached two fourths and one sixth place. Andretti, on the other hand, only crossed the finish line once: he finished sixth in the last race of the year in the USA . Nigel Mansell started in Austria , the Netherlands and Italy on the third Lotus. In his first two missions he fell out prematurely; at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola , he already failed to qualify. At the end of the year, Lotus dropped to fifth in the constructors' championship.

At the end of the season, Mario Andretti moved to Alfa Romeo .

1981: double chassis and emergency solutions

Not allowed to race: Lotus 88
Lotus 87

The 1981 Formula 1 World Championship was a year of unrest for Lotus. This was true both in organizational and technical terms. Lotus started the year with well-known sponsors Essex and Martini & Rossi. In early summer, John Player Special returned to the team, after which the cars were repainted in black and gold. The driver pairing this year consisted of de Angelis and Mansell. For the new season, Colin Chapman and his team developed the Lotus 88 , which steered the concept of the wing car in a new direction. The 88 had two separate chassis: the inner chassis (also called the secondary chassis) comprised the engine and the driver's seat; it complied with the ground clearance of 60 mm prescribed by the regulations. The outer (primary) chassis was rigidly connected to the front wing, the side pods and the rear wing. It should achieve an optimal effect of the aerodynamic forces and lower itself as far as possible while driving in order to achieve an optimal sealing of the vehicle underbody.

The 88 was the car Chapman had high hopes for. It appeared as a single piece during training for the first world championship run of the year, the Grand Prix of the USA West . Initially, the stewarts accepted the car's report so that it could take part in Friday training in Long Beach . However, before qualifying on Saturday, the majority of the other teams protested against the car, whereupon the FIA ​​declared the Lotus 88 illegal. Mansell and de Angelis then had to contest qualifying and the race with last year's Type 81. The situation was repeated in Brazil : Here, too, the 88 was used in Friday practice, while in qualifying and in the race, the 81st Colin Chapman tried again to get the 88 to the start at the British Grand Prix . The FIA ​​stopped this by threatening that if the 88 showed up at practice, Lotus would lose all of the season's points. Chapman then failed to report the 88th

In the three American races at the start of the season, Lotus scored three championship points with the old Type 81: De Angelis was fifth in Brazil and sixth in the following race in Argentina . Mansell, on the other hand, dropped out twice in the first three races of the year and stayed out of the points once.

The fourth race of the year was the San Marino Grand Prix . He opened the European part of the Formula 1 season. Lotus skipped this race to build a new car. Since Chapman was not satisfied with the performance of the Type 81, but on the other hand the Type 88 was not allowed to be used, Martin Ogilvie and Peter Wright designed the Lotus 87 in a short time , a conventionally designed vehicle that represented a further development of the 81 and went through a very flat bonnet.

The Lotus 87 was "not a winner". De Angelis achieved a number of fourth and fifth places with him, but a podium position was not possible. In the team's home race, de Angelis was disqualified for illegally overtaking Jacques Laffite under a yellow flag. Mansell's performance was more uneven. He finished his first race in the Lotus 87 in third place, but on the other hand he missed qualifying in Great Britain. He dropped out prematurely in the following four races.

Lotus scored a total of 22 world championship points in 1981. The Type 87 drove 13 of them. In the annual standings, Lotus fell to seventh place in the constructors' standings.

1982

Unsuccessful Formula 1 debut at Lotus: Roberto Moreno (Dutch Grand Prix 1982)

1982 was the last Formula 1 season that the Lotus team contested under the direction of its founder Colin Chapman. Chapman died of heart failure on December 16, 1982 . It was also the last year of the wing cars: From the coming season, wing profiles in the side pods were prohibited; the regulations then stipulated flat sub-floors.

Chapman, Ogilvie and Rudd designed the Lotus 91 for the 1982 season , which was a further development of the Type 87 from 1981. Conceptually it corresponded to the 87; however, the 91 was lighter and more stable than its predecessor. The monocoque was made entirely of composite materials reinforced with carbon fibers , it weighed only 18 kg. After McLaren, Lotus was the second team to build a Formula 1 car entirely from plastic. Depending on the situation, the car was driven partly with and partly without a front wing. As in previous years, the Cosworth DFV was used as the drive, the performance of which could not keep up with the turbo engines that had been on the rise since 1980. Observers saw the Type 91 as the most competitive car that Lotus had put together since 1979.

The driver pair stayed the same. De Angelis reached the points seven times and achieved first place at the Austrian Grand Prix, the first victory for Lotus in four years. Mansell came third and fourth. There were no further finishes in the points for him. Mansell suffered a number of accidents during the season. At the Canadian Grand Prix he collided with Bruno Giacomelli's Alfa Romeo 182 . In the collision, he broke his wrist and had to sit out for a race. At the Dutch Grand Prix , debutant Roberto Moreno Mansell took over the cockpit. Moreno missed the qualification. At the Grand Prix of Great Britain Mansell went back to the start, but was not fully restored to health. He had to end the race early and also skipped the subsequent French Grand Prix , where Geoff Lees replaced him.

De Angelis finished the season ninth in the driving standings with 23 world championship points, Mansell finished 14th with seven points. Lotus was sixth in the constructors' championship.

The turbo era: another top team

With Chapman's death, Formula 1 lost one of the greatest constructors it has ever produced. In the so-called turbo era, Lotus was once again one of the top teams in view of powerful engines and talented drivers; the racing team did not reach a world championship.

1983: transition to turbo engines

In 1983 Formula 1 World Championship , Peter Warr took over the management of the Lotus team. The season was a transition year for Lotus (as for many other teams). Lotus switched from naturally aspirated engines to turbo engines, which in view of high performance and increasing reliability were an essential prerequisite for sporting success in the future. Unlike Brabham, McLaren and Williams, Warr's team decided against establishing an exclusive engine partnership. Instead, Lotus received the turbocharged six-cylinder engines from Renault (type EF4) as a customer team , which had debuted in Formula 1 in 1977 and, after initial difficulties, had been developed into powerful and resilient engines. The driver pairing remained unchanged compared to the previous year.

Lotus' first turbo vehicle was the 93T , which Martin Ogilvie had designed together with Colin Chapman. The car was considered cumbersome and not competitive. De Angelis drove the 93T at seven Grand Prix events. He failed six times after technical problems; only at the Belgian Grand Prix did he finish ninth.

After the first set of failures, Lotus gave up the 93T. The reason for this was the fact that the French designer Gérard Ducarouge came to the team and brought new impulses with him. Ducarouge was dismissed in April 1983 by his previous employer Euroracing , who competed in Formula 1 under the name Alfa Romeo. In just five weeks, he constructed the Lotus 94T , Lotus' second turbo vehicle ready for the UK Grand Prix . The 94T was a compromise: it used the monocoque of the 91, but was lighter than its predecessor and had better weight distribution.

The 94T was more successful in Mansell's hands than it was under de Angelis. While the Italian, who was nominally the top driver of the team, with the 94T only crossed the finish line once in seven attempts, Mansell reached three finishings, each of which was in the points. At the European Grand Prix he came third; it was the first podium finish for a Lotus in more than a year. At the end of the year Lotus finished eighth in the constructors' championship. The racing team was still behind the financially troubled Tyrrell team, which had used naturally aspirated engines throughout 1983.

1984

Nigel Mansell in the black John Player Special Lotus

In the 1984 Formula 1 World Championship, the Lotus 95T appeared , the team's first racing car developed entirely under Gérard Ducarouge. The car had “nothing revolutionary” about it, but it was competitive from the start. The monocoque was slimmer than its predecessor and the details of the suspension were changed. Observers thought it was better than Renault's works car, and the handling in particular was considered excellent.

With the 95T, Lotus was able to build on the successes of previous years. De Angelis achieved a second and three third places and also finished six more times in the points. He finished the drivers' world championship in third place. Mansell's best result was third place in the French Grand Prix . In the remaining 15 races of the season, he failed ten times. Mansell was this year in the criticism of the British public as well as the team leadership. He felt the mood at Lotus was hostile and left the team at the end of the year. The following year he drove for Frank Williams .

In 1984, Lotus finished third in the constructors' championship behind McLaren and Ferrari. It was the best result for the team in six years.

1985

Hope bearer: Ayrton Senna

In 1985 , Ayrton Senna, a bearer of hope, came to Lotus. Senna had driven for Toleman last year and achieved a second and two third places in the technically inferior TG184 - Hart . Ducarouge and Ogilvie designed the 97T for Lotus' third turbo season , the aerodynamic design of which was based on a model ( Lotus 96 ) developed for the Indy car series, which was ultimately not realized . The 97T was completely redesigned; no part of the chassis was carried over from the previous model. As a drive, Lotus kept the Renault engine, which from June 1985 was used by the Équipe Ligier and Tyrrell in addition to Lotus and the works team . Unlike Tyrrell, Lotus received the same level of development as the Renault works team, which entered its final season this year. Once again, the Lotus was considered the best car with a Renault engine.

The year was a successful one for Lotus. The team scored 71 world championship points - more than since 1978 - and finished fourth in the constructors' championship at the end of the year. Senna scored two victories: he won the Portuguese Grand Prix , his second race for Lotus, and the Belgian Grand Prix . In Austria and at the European Grand Prix he finished second. De Angelis, who had been the team's top driver for the past few years, was now the second driver. He won once (at the Grand Prix of San Marino ) and took two third places.

1986

Ayrton Senna in the Lotus 98T

At the end of the 1985 season, Renault ended its factory Formula 1 involvement since 1977. The chassis, the suspension technology and a large part of the equipment were taken over by the French Formula 2 racing team Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives (AGS) , which developed its own Formula 1 car ( AGS JH21C ) from the Renault components . The engine technology, however, did not take over AGS. The plant continued to supply the turbo engines to the Ligier, Lotus and Tyrrell customer teams in the 1986 Formula 1 World Championship . Among them, Lotus was the number 1 team that received the engines directly from Renault in Viry-Châtillon . Ligier and Tyrrell, however, received the Renault engines from Mecachrome . In the course of the year, the EF15bis engines delivered to Lotus achieved an output of up to 1,100 hp in qualifying trim. For the 1986 season, Ducarouge constructed the Lotus 98T , which was a further development of the 97T. The new car differed from its predecessor through improved aerodynamics and a new rear wheel suspension. A special feature of the car was a hydraulic system that varied the height of the car.

Ayrton Senna stayed on the team. De Angelis moved to Brabham at the beginning of the year . He had a fatal accident in May 1986 during test drives for Bernie Ecclestone's racing team. His replacement at Lotus was Johnny Dumfries , a Scottish nobleman who had driven in Formula 3000 the year before. Dumfries had been the second choice for Lotus. Team boss Peter Warr had initially tried to sign Derek Warwick , but failed because of Ayrton Senna, who rejected Warwick as a teammate.

The 1986 season was successful for Lotus. Even if the team ultimately won neither the driver nor the constructor title, it was for the first time in many years able to take part in the title fight from time to time. Ayrton Senna won two races (the Spanish Grand Prix and the Grand Prix of the United States ), was second four times and three times third. Ultimately, he scored 55 world championship points and was fourth in the drivers' championship, which Alain Prost won with 72 points. Dumfries scored only three world championship points with a fifth and a sixth place. He dropped out nine times and had already failed to qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix . In the constructors' championship, Lotus was third with 58 points, behind the dominant Williams team (141 points) and McLaren (96 points).

1987

New engine, new colors: Lotus 99T

The 1987 Formula 1 World Championship brought numerous changes. There were new engines, a new driver and a new main sponsor. John Player Special ended supporting the racing team after more than ten years of cooperation. Instead, Lotus has now been supported by the cigarette brand Camel . This was accompanied by a change in the external appearance: Instead of black, the Lotus vehicles were now painted in a striking yellow. The engine was also new: at the end of the 1986 season, Renault abandoned its turbo program completely. Instead, the company focused entirely on developing a naturally aspirated ten-cylinder engine that would debut at Williams in 1989. While Tyrrell switched to naturally aspirated engines in the 1987 season and Ligier took over used BMW turbos from Megatron , Lotus received top -of-the-line engines from Honda , which had previously been exclusive to Williams. To get the Japanese engines, Lotus hired the Japanese racing driver Satoru Nakajima as the second pilot alongside Senna; Honda had made this a condition for the delivery of engines.

Ducarouge developed the Lotus 99T for the Honda engine . The car was conceptually similar to the previous model, but had a new underbody, numerous changes in the engine environment and an aerodynamically revised shape. It had been tested in the Honda wind tunnel . A special feature of the 99T was an active wheel suspension. The suspension system was controlled by a computer, which adjusted the set-up to the conditions of the respective section of the route. Lotus was the first team to develop such a system. In the following years other racing teams took over the concept and developed it further. In the early 1990s, it was formative for the most successful Formula 1 racing cars.

Senna won the Monaco and USA Grand Prix . There were also second places in San Marino , Hungary , Italy and Japan as well as several third places. Until the late summer of 1987, Senna had the opportunity to win the drivers' world championship. A seventh place in Portugal and a failure in Mexico , however, increased Senna's gap to Nelson Piquet , who was the leader in the interim standings, and his pursuer Mansell. Before the last race in Australia , Senna was four points behind World Championship runner-up Mansell, who did not start due to injury. In the event of a finish in second place, Senna would have finished the year as runner-up. However, he did not succeed. He did cross the finish line in second place behind Gerhard Berger (Ferrari). However, he was subsequently disqualified because the ventilation openings for the brakes were considered illegal during the technical inspection. Ultimately, Senna ended the year third in the drivers' championship.

Nakajima crossed the finish line four times and collected a total of seven points. He finished 12th in the drivers 'championship. Lotus was again third in the constructors' championship, but had less than half as many points as the constructor champion Williams.

1988

Lotus' last turbo car: the 100T
Piquet at the 1988 Canadian Grand Prix in front of his team-mate from last year, Nigel Mansell (in the naturally aspirated Williams)

1988 was the last year in which the Formula 1 regulations allowed the use of turbocharged engines. Many smaller teams therefore switched to naturally aspirated engines at the start of the season; The Williams team, which had won the world championship with Nelson Piquet the year before, also took this step. With regard to boost pressure and consumption, the turbo engines were strictly regulated, so that the significant performance advantage over the naturally aspirated engines could only be maintained with considerable technical and financial effort. Brabham did not go along with this and withdrew into a sabbatical year for 1988. Ferrari and McLaren, on the other hand, stayed in the turbo league, as did Lotus, which continued to receive customer engines from Honda, but unlike the year before, it was no longer factory-supported.

At the beginning of the year, Senna moved to McLaren after three years on the team. His replacement at Lotus was the reigning Formula 1 world champion Nelson Piquet, who had left Williams because he no longer trusted Frank Williams' racing team, which was working with naturally aspirated engines that year, to perform at its best. With this in mind, for the first time in over a decade, Lotus had a car with the starting number 1. Ducarouge designed the Lotus 100T for 1988 , which, in contrast to its predecessor, was again equipped with a conventional suspension. The active chassis of the 99T was very complex, considered to be unreliable and energy-intensive: around five percent of the engine power was consumed by the computer-controlled suspension system. With regard to the regulation-related power reduction, Lotus saw this as unreasonable.

The 1988 season was dominated by McLaren-Honda. McLaren drivers Senna and Alain Prost won 15 of 16 races ; the only victory not achieved by McLaren went to Gerhard Berger, who won the Italian Grand Prix four weeks after Enzo Ferrari's death .

Piquet was unable to match its previous year's performance. He finished third in the first two races of the year in Brazil and San Marino as well as at the end of the year in Australia , otherwise there were two fourth and fifth places and seven cancellations. Piquet accused Ducarouge of developing an uncompetitive car. Ducarouge then left the British racing team after lengthy arguments with the team management and was signed by Gérard Larrousse for his team, Larrousse Calmels .

At the end of the year, Piquet was sixth in the drivers' championship. Lotus finished fourth in the constructors' championship with 23 points. The gap to the constructor world champion McLaren was 176 points.

The new naturally aspirated engine era: the decline

politics

In the new naturally aspirated engine era that began in 1989 , Lotus could no longer gain a foothold. The team was organizationally and financially poorly positioned, and in the 1990s, sporting activities were marked by economic crises. The Formula 1 team had already become independent in 1986. Colin Chapman's heiress, his wife Hazel Chapman, had sold the parent company, the Lotus Group, to the American automotive group General Motors in January 1986 . The Formula 1 team was not affected. She still owned 80 percent of it. In September 1988, the Swiss racing team owner Walter Brun offered to take over the Lotus team. The negotiations with Hazel Chapman failed after just a few weeks. Brun gave the reason that he was not ready to take over the $ 6 million driver contract with Nelson Piquet , while Hazel Chapman said she was never ready to sell to the Swiss. In the summer of 1989, the Chapman family ousted long-time team boss Peter Warr from the company, whom they held responsible for the team's sporting decline. Tony Rudd then took over the team management. After a disastrous sporting year under Tony Rudd and Rupert Manwearing, a consortium led by Peter Collins and Peter Wright took over the racing team in December 1990, and the German entrepreneur Horst Schübel was also involved at times. However, they couldn't bring the team back the stability it needed.

1989

Satoru Nakajima in the Lotus 101

In the Formula 1 World Championship in 1989, Lotus fell out of the top team. There was a lack of a powerful engine and a high-quality vehicle.

At the end of the 1988 season, the two-year relationship between Lotus and Honda ended. Lotus had hoped to continue to be accepted as McLaren's junior partner in 1989 and to be able to use Honda's naturally aspirated engines at least in a customer version. McLaren, however, insisted on an exclusive delivery. In view of this, and in the absence of other alternatives, Lotus had to switch to naturally aspirated Judd engines . These were eight-cylinder engines with a bank angle of 90 degrees, which Judd had constructed the previous year with financial support from Leyton House and Williams (type CV). For 1989 Judd had a new engine with a narrow bank angle (type EV); However, it was reserved exclusively for the March team, so that Lotus had to make do with revised engines from the previous year. Based on the factory specifications, it was slightly more powerful than the DFZ and DFR engines from Cosworth, but had a power deficit of 125 hp on Honda's ten-cylinder engines. For the CV, Lotus ordered a new cylinder head with five valves from the Aston Martin tuning company Tickford . However, this construction was never used; it turned out to be an undesirable development in test bench tests. The emergency car was also problematic. The Lotus 101 was designed by Frank Dernie and Mike Coughlan . It was a sleek, aerodynamically efficient car, but it didn't blend in with Goodyear tires, which were primarily tailored to the needs of McLaren and Ferrari.

Nakajima, who stayed with the team after Honda's departure, struggled to qualify with the 101. He missed qualifying three times during the season and, if he participated in the races, dropped out seven times. Piquet also did not achieve any success in the 101. By the summer of 1989 he had only achieved two fourth places and a fifth and a sixth place. The low point was the Belgian Grand Prix : Here, like Nakajima, he failed to qualify. It was the second non-qualification in the career of the three-time Formula 1 World Champion and the first time since 1958 that no Lotus competed in a Formula 1 race due to qualification. At the end of the year Lotus finished sixth in the constructors' championship with 15 points.

1990

Lotus 102
Lamborghini 3512 V12

In the 1990 Formula 1 World Championship , Lotus again had a factory-supported engine. The team used a twelve-cylinder engine from Lamborghini Engineering that had made its debut at Larrousse the year before. The performance of the Lamborghini engine developed by Mauro Forghieri and financed by Chrysler was higher than that of the Judd eight-cylinder, and the twelve-cylinder engine was less wide in view of a bank angle of 80 degrees, so that the rear end can be made narrower in the interests of optimizing aerodynamics could. On the other hand, the Type 3512 engine was taller and heavier.

For the Lamborghini engine, Frank Dernie designed the Lotus 102 , which was essentially based on last year's 101. The monocoques of both models were "very similar". In the engine area, however, there were numerous adjustments; they concerned the engine mounts and the radiators, which were positioned differently and also larger. The 102 lacked torsional rigidity, which had a negative effect on the handling of the 102 ("ill-handling"). According to some accounts, this deficiency was due to Dernie ignoring Lamborghini's instructions for installing the engine.

The pairing of drivers changed completely: Piquet, disappointed by the team's performance, went to Benetton , where he won two races and was third in the drivers' championship at the end of the year; Nakajima, however, switched to Tyrrell with a view to future delivery of Honda engines. Lotus signed Derek Warwick as a top driver. The second cockpit went to Martin Donnelly , the team's previous test driver.

Rupert Manwearing, the boss of the racing team, announced at the beginning of the 1990 season the intention to collect 40 world championship points. That would have been enough to finish fifth in the constructors' championship. In fact, Lotus only achieved three championship points in 1990: Warwick finished sixth in Canada and fifth in Hungary . Otherwise he failed nine times. Donelly had to end eight races early; he never got into the points.

He had a serious accident during training for the Spanish Grand Prix : He was thrown out of the car and suffered numerous breaks. The accident ended his Formula 1 career. The team signed Johnny Herbert as a replacement .

At the end of the year, Lotus was eighth in the constructors' championship with three points. The team had never scored fewer points in its 30-year history. According to observers, it was still more than the team had deserved given the poorly constructed 102. As a consequence Camel ended the financial support of the team. In view of this, Lotus could no longer afford the expensive Lamborghini engines for the coming season, so the team had to resort to customer engines again.

1991

Without main sponsor: Lotus 102B from 1991 (front, in the background a 102D from 1992)
Mika Häkkinen at the 1991 USA Grand Prix

Before the beginning of the 1991 season , Peter Collins, Peter Wright and Horst Schübel took over the Lotus team. Lotus was deeply in debt. A substantial part of the liabilities still came from the time of Colin Chapman; they were of a long-term nature and matured in 1990 or 1991. After Camel's retirement, the team had few small sponsors. The main donors were the Japanese model kit manufacturer Tamiya , the clothing company Tommy Hilfiger and the construction machinery manufacturer Komatsu . However, they only made small payments and accordingly received small stickers on the cars. The side pods of the Lotus vehicles and the engine cover were white for most of the races of the year and had no sponsor stickers.

Due to the financial deficits, Lotus was unable to construct a completely new car for the new season. Frank Dernies, who moved to Ligier at the end of the year, was succeeded by Enrique Scalabroni and Frank Coppuck . They then designed a modified version of the 102, which was called the Lotus 102B . The main changes concerned the embedding of a new engine. That year Lotus used John Judd's narrow eight-cylinder Judd EV engines that had been designed for March in 1989. The engine was wider than Lamborghini's twelve-cylinder. It required a newly designed, wider monocoque. In addition, the chassis geometry has been changed and the aerodynamics revised. Observers saw the 102B as a significant step up from last year's base model.

The driver pairing changed. The regular driver was the debutant Mika Häkkinen . He only made it into the points once: at the San Marino Grand Prix , he finished fifth. There were also eight finishings outside of the points. Julian Bailey initially drove the second Lotus, although he only qualified once in the first four races of the year. He finished this race in sixth place. From the fifth race of the season, his chassis was alternately taken over by Johnny Herbert and Michael Bartels . Bartels, the first German Formula 1 driver since Bernd Schneider and Volker Weidler (1989), who received high media attention mainly because of his relationship with tennis player Steffi Graf , did not qualify for any race. Media interest in him ebbed when Michael Schumacher made his debut at Jordan later in the year and successfully joined Benetton.

Lotus scored only three championship points this year and dropped to ninth place in the constructors' championship.

1992

Formula 1 World Championship 1992 improved the financial situation of the team slightly. Guy Edwards , a former racing driver who had been involved in finding sponsorships since the 1980s, had won Castrol and Hitachi as major donors to the team. That year, when long-time rival Brabham team closed its doors, Lotus appeared for the first time in two years with a newly designed car. The car was based on a design by the rival March team: March designers Chris Murphy and Gustav Brunner designed it as the future March 921 in autumn 1991. However, due to financial and political difficulties, the 921 was not implemented there. Murphy and some engineers switched to Lotus at the end of the year and took the 921 design with them. There he finally appeared as the Lotus 107 at the San Marino Grand Prix . The car was tailored to the eight-cylinder Cosworth (type HB) engine that the team had been using since the start of the season. They were lighter and more powerful than the previous Judd engines. A special feature of the 107 was a semi-reactive suspension, which was less complicated than the systems used in the 1980s. The semi-reactive suspension combined mechanical and hydraulic elements. There was a central strut in the front and two in the back. The system was not used in every race.

The pilots were Mika Häkkinen and Johnny Herbert. Hakkinen achieved the best results of the year with two fourth places in France - there without active suspension - and Hungary ; The team had not achieved such placements since 1989. With 13 points, Lotus took fifth place in the constructors' championship at the end of the year.

1993

Johnny Herbert in the Lotus 107B at the 1993 British Grand Prix

In the 1993 Formula 1 World Championship , Lotus kept the 107. Peter Wright and Chris Murphy developed it to the B version. The car continued to have reactive suspension, which was supplemented with traction control over the course of the year . An eight-cylinder Ford Cosworth engine continued to serve as the drive. A comparable engine was used by Benetton and McLaren; the two top teams received, however, further developed versions of the generations HB7 and HB8, while Lotus had to fall back on the previous year's version HB6.

Regular drivers were Johnny Herbert and Alessandro Zanardi . Herbert crossed the finish line three times in fourth and once in fifth and scored 11 world championship points. Zanardi finished sixth in the second race of the year in Brazil . He suffered a serious accident while training for the Belgium GP , due to which he was out for the rest of the season. In this race, Herbert finished fifth again. Here he drove in the last world championship points for the Lotus team. In the remaining races, the Portuguese debutant Pedro Lamy drove the second Lotus. He brought new sponsorship money to the team.

1994

Lotus started for the last time in 1994

The 1994 Formula 1 World Championship was Team Lotus' last season. The racing team was financially badly hit. The team managed to get exclusive engines from Mugen-Honda . However, they turned out to be far too heavy and not powerful enough. Lotus was also unable to provide a suitable chassis for the engine. Lotus contested the major part of the season with the 107 designed in 1992, which now appeared in the C version. In the summer, Lotus presented the 109 , which was announced as a new development, but was actually just another revision of the 107. Johnny Herbert reported that the 109 was still using the underbody of the 107.

On the driver side, there was a lot of unrest in the team. A total of six drivers drove for Lotus during the season. Most of the races were contested by Alessandro Zanardi and Johnny Herbert. Pedro Lamy drove four races, debutants Mika Salo and Philippe Adams two each, and Éric Bernard competed once for Lotus.

At the Italian Grand Prix , Mugen made the 1995 version of the ten-cylinder engine available, which was lighter and more powerful. Herbert achieved fourth place on the grid in qualifying. In the race, however, he was rammed by Eddie Irvine in the first chicane in the Jordan and retired. So this new engine was only used briefly. Initially it was planned to use the engine at Minardi in the coming year ; before the start of the season, however, the Équipe Ligier took over the contract.

After the Italian Grand Prix, the Lotus racing team filed for bankruptcy. In order to enable the team to take part in the Japanese and Australian Grand Prix , Bernie Ecclestone covered the transport costs. The sponsorship money from Mika Salo covered the other costs. However, the team did not achieve any sporting success. Team Lotus drove its last race at the Australian Grand Prix. In 1994, Lotus failed to score World Championship points for the first time in its history.

The name Lotus returns to Formula 1

Pacific Team Lotus

The Pacific Team Lotus PR02 (1995)

David Hunt , the brother of the former Formula 1 world champion James Hunt , acquired the rights to the name Team Lotus from the bankruptcy. For the 1995 season he left the rights of use to the British Pacific team, the least successful team in 1994. The racing team then entered 1995 as Pacific Team Lotus . The racing team owned by Keith Wiggins implemented the relationship with Lotus only half-heartedly; in particular, the team did not use any of the traditional Lotus paintwork. The team achieved nothing in 1995. After Pacific's bankruptcy in late 1995, the naming rights reverted to David Hunt.

Lotus Racing

In 2010 the name Lotus returned to Formula 1 with the Malaysian racing team Lotus Racing . The Tony Fernandes- owned team had no legal or factual relationship whatsoever with the historic Formula 1 team or the automobile manufacturer Lotus. The only thing they had in common was the logo and the name Lotus. However, the company Proton , which owned Lotus Cars, was also involved in the project . For the 2011 Formula 1 season , Fernandes' racing team changed its name to Team Lotus . This was made possible by an agreement with David Hunt, who still held the naming rights.

Lotus F1 Team

The automobile manufacturer Lotus Cars also entered Formula 1 as the title sponsor of the Renault team in the 2011 season . The racing team, which belongs to the Luxembourg investment company Genii Capital , competed as the Lotus Renault GP this season . In 2011 there were two teams that bore the name Lotus. During the season there were several discussions and litigation between the teams over the use of the Lotus name. Finally, both teams applied for a change of team and chassis names. From the 2012 season onwards, the Malaysian racing team renounced the Lotus name and instead integrated the British sports car manufacturer Caterham into the name. In return, the chassis name of the former Renault team was changed to Lotus.

Innovations from Lotus

The monocoque: Lotus 25

Lotus-Climax 25

In 1962, Lotus introduced the first monocoque chassis in the Lotus Climax 25 . This means that the chassis has the shape of a tub made of aluminum sheets riveted together. One of the main criteria of racing cars - torsional rigidity - was achieved with a reduced overall weight compared to the earlier tubular space frame constructions.

Sponsorship

Painted in sponsor colors: The Lotus 49-Cosworth of the "Gold Leaf Team Lotus"

One of the 1968 innovations used by Colin Chapman for the first time was the application of advertising space to the body of the racing car.

Until 1967, the teams received direct or indirect financial support from their technical suppliers. For example, it was common for oil companies to deliver fuel and lubricants to certain teams free of charge and, in some cases, to pay driver fees. Jim Clark, for example, received his payment in the early 1960s from Esso (Standard Oil) , while Stirling Moss from BP . There were similar relationships with tire manufacturers and other suppliers.

At the end of 1967 Esso, BP and Firestone withdrew from active motor sport sponsorship. In future, the teams had to buy fuel, tires, etc. from the manufacturers.

In order to open up new sources of finance for the teams, the supervisory authority CSI released advertising on racing cars at the beginning of 1968. Lotus was the first team to take on this long-standing sponsorship for Formula 1 in the USA. Already at the Grand Prix of Monaco in 1968 the Lotus 49 appeared with the imprint of the sponsor Gold Leaf - a cigarette brand; later the entire car was painted in the sponsor's colors. This practice, which has long been common in the USA, initially sparked protests in Europe. In some cases, even Formula 1 television broadcasts were suspended, including in Germany.

Regardless of the protests, sponsorship with advertising space on the cars quickly caught on. Other teams followed suit. Above all, cigarettes and drinks, but also ski accessories and cosmetics, were advertised on Formula 1 cars in the following years.

For the 1972 season, Lotus switched to the John Player Special cigarette brand , which meant that the now black cars were compared with racing coffins, not least because of the accident record. The Formula 1 Lotus rode in this design from 1972 to 1978 and 1981 to 1986. Other sponsors over the years have been Olympus , Martini & Rossi and the oil company Essex.

Front and rear wings: Lotus 49

The Lotus 49 was tailored to the 1967 Cosworth DFV engine. The 3.0 liter engine was designed to be self-supporting. It was attached to the chassis at a few points and carried the entire rear, transmission, differential and suspension.

Lotus 72 - The Wedge

Lotus 72 in the gold leaf livery (until 1971)

A powerful innovation was the Lotus 72 (1970–1975) with its characteristic wedge shape. The forerunners were the turbine Lotus and the all-wheel drive Lotus 56B. Many design details were used for the first time in Formula 1. The main reason for the distinctive shape was the relocation of the radiator to both sides and the relocation of the fuel tank from the flanks behind the driver's seat. The elimination of the front cooler has reduced air resistance. Interesting side note: The new March team developed a chassis with the debut model 701 in 1970 that had tanks in the form of stub wings on its sides - also to optimize the aerodynamics. However, the vehicle turned out to be a flop and the idea of ​​the side wings disappeared until it reappeared in 1977 on the Lotus78, the first wing car.

Overall, the Lotus 72 was an unusually consistent design for its time, which broke new ground in many areas. Many design details, especially in the chassis area, especially the brake disks placed on the inside and the hollow brake shafts made to reduce weight, turned out to be problematic and had to be changed. For example, Jochen Rindt's fatal accident during the final training session in Monza (September 5, 1970) can be traced back to a broken brake shaft on the right front wheel.

The Lotus 72 is still considered the most successful Formula 1 car of all time. It was used until 1975 (Lotus 72E) and in 1974 won three Grand Prix with Ronnie Peterson on the wheel.

Lotus 78 and Lotus 79 - The "Ground Effect"

Lotus 77 at Sears Point

After the Lotus 76 was unsuccessful in 1974, which is why the Lotus 72 was used again, a competitive car was used again in the Lotus 77 in 1976 , which finally won again under Andretti in the rain race in Fuji.

After the new development was kept under lock and key in 1976, one of the probably most groundbreaking revolutions in the premier class of motorsport was introduced in 1977 with the Lotus 78 wing car developed by Ralph Bellamy and Peter Wright . The underside of the side pods of the bolides was like an inverted wing shaped. Instead of lift, a downforce was created. Could longer flow under the vehicle of the lower floor of the car was sealed with laterally attached skirt made of hard rubber so that no air side and a ground effect (engl .: ground effect ) the vehicle is pressed on the road; the contact pressure of the Lotus was three times greater than that of the competition. In addition, the ground effect was used to reduce the car's aerodynamic drag, because until now downforce was only achieved with the front and rear wings. It was important to keep the balance between cornering speeds and top speed on the straights, because the aerodynamic drag of the wings could not be "switched off" in between. (This had already been tried with hydraulically adjustable rear wings in the 1960s. The pilot could set the swing arm steeper or flatter by means of a manual switch. After the Hill and Rindt accidents in Barcelona in 1969, oversized and adjustable wings were banned.)

Lotus 78 at Brands Hatch

Although Lotus already had five wins in 1977 with the “Ground Effect”, all other teams completely missed this development for the following season. Only the Wolf team competed in 1978 with side pods like the Lotus, but the car had a few other deficits. Ferrari copied the radiator position without fully understanding the principle of the "ground effect". Ergo, Lotus was almost unbeatable in the 1978 season with the improved Type 79. In order to be able to use its technological lead to the full, the team drew the attention of the competition (during pit stops, on the starting grid, etc.) away from the underbody by the mechanics always getting ready to quickly cover the differential gear with a cloth. At first it was thought that the superiority of the Lotus was due to a development of the transmission and no one initially suspected the aerodynamics under the car as the cause. It was only when models of the Lotus had been rebuilt in the wind tunnel that the competition realized that such an enormous advantage could not come from the transmission alone.

Brabham presented an appropriate answer with the Gordon Murray- designed Brabham BT46B “vacuum cleaner” , a racing car with an oversized fan wheel. This sucked air from under the sealed vehicle floor and, to legalize the fan, also through a water cooler located above the engine. The car was used in the Swedish Grand Prix and Niki Lauda won the race. The “vacuum cleaner” worked even better than the Lotus 79, but it also raised dust and stones. Colin Chapman in particular protested against the "vacuum cleaner" and accused Brabham boss Bernie Ecclestone that such a trick would hardly be compatible with his position as FOCA chairman. After other teams joined the protest, the FIA ​​approved it and the "vacuum cleaner" was banned. The way to the 1978 World Cup was clear for Lotus. From the experience of 1973, when Peterson had competed with Fittipaldi, one had learned to focus on a team number one. This was Mario Andretti. Peterson got his chance the following year and drove to serve the team, but died in hospital the same evening after an accident at the Monza GP.

Lotus 79

In 1979, however, Chapman went a step too far. He praised the Lotus 80 as so revolutionary that the Type 79, on the other hand, looked "like a London double-decker bus". The car made its debut at the Spanish GP in Jarama with Mario Andretti after it had already been used in practice at the first Grands Prix of the year. Its rear wing had become an integral part of the chassis and was positioned so low that it no longer protruded over the engine cover; the front wing was completely dispensed with. The nose was also included in the sealing of the sub-floor. Perhaps it would have been better to further develop the successful Lotus 79 instead of putting everything on one card with the Type 80. However, the 79 was already a further development of the Type 78 and, apart from its superior aerodynamics, also had some deficits, for example with the brakes, as Andretti complained.

The Lotus 80 never worked the way it was hoped. The Type 79 was used again in most of the races in the first half of the season and in the second half of the season. However, this only drove behind the top field: On some tracks in 1979, the lap times of the previous year were not even achieved, which nobody in the team could explain. That was particularly bitter for the second driver, the Argentine Carlos Reutemann. Reutemann had refused to drive the Lotus 80 from the start. Reutemann, who was fourth in the World Championship in 1978, had to leave the Ferrari team for the 1979 season and join the reigning world champions.

The competition was smarter and gradually learned to understand the aerodynamics and the resulting set-up problems. The Tyrrell 009 from 1979 was almost a 1: 1 copy of the Lotus 79. Williams also took over essential features of the Type 79 and thus initiated a dominance that brought numerous racing wins and the world championship title with Alan Jones in 1980 from summer 1979 to spring 1981 .

The development of the wing car shaped Formula 1 until early 1981 movable aprons on the sides and in 1983 wing cars were generally banned. The cornering speeds and acceleration forces reached inhumane proportions. Some pilots allegedly lost consciousness for a short time in fast corners, for example the old east corner in Hockenheim. Reports that the pilots could not keep their feet on the pedals in fast turns due to centrifugal forces are somewhat more credible. In addition, defective aprons or larger bumps in the floor could cause too much air to get under the car for a moment, the “ground effect” abruptly broken off and the vehicles became uncontrollable, especially in fast corners.

In the course of time, the Formula 1 cars took on the shape that the Lotus 80 - apparently prematurely - sketched out: the contact pressure generated in the side pods was already large enough in 1980 that the front wing could be completely dispensed with and the rear wing minimal Assumed proportions. In this respect, Colin Chapman's ideas were confirmed by reality, but came too early and too concentrated in a single development step.

Lotus 88 - The twin chassis

Lotus 88

For the 1981 Formula 1 World Championship , Colin Chapman devised a solution to circumvent the minimum distance between the chassis and the road that was prescribed by the FISA (later FIA) . For this he designed the Lotus 88, which had a double chassis. The body, including aprons and wings, was attached directly to the wheel carriers via hydraulic cylinders and was thus movable relative to the monocoque and pilot (according to Chapman's definition, the 'lower' chassis). On the race track, the body (according to Chapman's definition the 'upper' chassis) could be lowered hydraulically. After the race it was set back to the prescribed minimum height. The objection of the competition because of prohibited moving aerodynamic aids prevented that this actually already approved car was allowed to drive to the GP of Spain after its first use in training . Therefore, Chapman had to fall back on the unsuccessful Lotus 81 for the rest of the season .

Lotus 99T from Ayrton Senna

Lotus 99T - The active wheel suspension

Shortly before his death in December 1982, Colin Chapman had theoretically developed the idea of ​​an active wheel suspension . This idea was the basis for the 1987 of Senna piloted Lotus 99T with the first active suspension. The system failed, however, due to insufficiently developed hardware and software. The information for the wheel suspension could not be processed quickly enough while driving. The Lotus 99 was the last winning vehicle from the traditional Lotus brand.

Numbers and dates

All Grand Prix winners on Lotus

driver nation Lotus
active
Grand
Prix
GP
victories
World Cup
points
World
title
best World Championship
position (year)
Jim Clark (1936-1968) United KingdomUnited Kingdom 1960 - 1968 72 25th 274.00 2 1. ( 1963 , 1965 )
Mario Andretti (* 1940) United StatesUnited States 1968 - 1969 , 1976 - 1980 79 11 147.00 1 1st ( 1978 )
Emerson Fittipaldi (* 1946) BrazilBrazil 1970 - 1973 42 9 144.00 1 1. ( 1972 )
Ronnie Peterson (1944-1978) SwedenSweden 1973 - 1976 , 1978 59 9 144.00 - 2. ( 1978 )
Jochen Rindt (1942–1970) AustriaAustria 1969 - 1970 19th 6th 67.00 1 1. ( 1970 )
Ayrton Senna (1960–1994) BrazilBrazil 1985 - 1987 48 6th 150.00 - 3rd ( 1987 )
Graham Hill (1929-1975) United KingdomUnited Kingdom 1958 - 1959 , 1967 - 1970 59 4th 89.00 1 1. ( 1968 )
Stirling Moss (1929-2020) United KingdomUnited Kingdom 1960 - 1961 12 4th 40.00 - 3. ( 1960 , 1961 )
Elio de Angelis (1958–1986) ItalyItaly 1980 - 1985 90 2 119.00 - 3rd ( 1984 )
Innes Ireland (1930-1993) United KingdomUnited Kingdom 1959 - 1963 , 1965 36 1 37.00 - 4th ( 1960 )
Gunnar Nilsson (1948–1978) SwedenSweden 1976 - 1977 31 1 31.00 - 8. ( 1977 )
Joseph Siffert (1936–1971) Switzerland 1962 - 1964 , 1968 - 1969 35 1 28.00 - 7th ( 1968 )

Results in the Formula 1 and drivers' world championships

The 1950s

season chassis driver 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10 11 rank Points
1958 Lotus 12
lotus 16
Flag of Argentina.svg Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of the United States (1912-1959) .svg Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of France.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Portugal.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of Morocco.svg 6th 3
United KingdomUnited Kingdom Allison 6th 6th 4th DNF DNF 10 DNF 7th 10
United KingdomUnited Kingdom G. Hill DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF 6th 16
United KingdomUnited Kingdom A. Stacey DNF
1959 Lotus 16 Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of the United States (1912-1959) .svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of France.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Portugal.svg Flag of Italy.svg US flag 49 stars.svg 4th 5
United KingdomUnited Kingdom G. Hill DNF 7th DNF 9 DNF DNF DNF
United StatesUnited States P. Lovely DNQ
United KingdomUnited Kingdom I. Ireland 4th DNF DNF DNF DNF 5
United KingdomUnited Kingdom A. Stacey 8th DNF

The 1960s

season chassis driver 1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10 11 12 rank Points
1960 Lotus 16
lotus 18
Flag of Argentina.svg Flag of Monaco.svg US flag 49 stars.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of France.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Portugal.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of the US.svg 2. 34 (37)
United KingdomUnited Kingdom I. Ireland 6th 9 2 DNF 7th 3 6th 2
United KingdomUnited Kingdom A. Stacey DNF DNF DNF DNF
ArgentinaArgentina AR Larreta 9
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Surtees DNF 2 DNF DNF
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Clark DNF 5 5 16 3 16
United KingdomUnited Kingdom R. Flockhart 6th
1961 Lotus 21
Lotus 18
Lotus 18/21
Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of France.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of the US.svg 2. 32
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Clark 10 3 12 3 DNF 4th DNF 7th
United KingdomUnited Kingdom I. Ireland DNS DNF 4th 10 DNF DNF 1
United KingdomUnited Kingdom T. Taylor 13
BelgiumBelgium W. Mairesse DNF
1962 Lotus 24
lotus 25
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of France.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of the US.svg Flag of South Africa (1928–1994) .svg 2. 36 (38)
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Clark 9 DNF 1 DNF 1 4th DNF 1 DNF
United KingdomUnited Kingdom T. Taylor 2 DNF DNF 8th 8th DNF DNF 12 DNF
1963 Lotus 25 Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of France.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of the US.svg Flag of Mexico (1934-1968) .svg Flag of South Africa (1928–1994) .svg 1. 54 (74)
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Clark 8th 1 1 1 1 ( 2 ) 1 ( 3 ) 1 ( 1 )
United KingdomUnited Kingdom T. Taylor 6th DNF 10 13 DNF 8th DNF DNF 8th
United KingdomUnited Kingdom P. Arundell DNS
United KingdomUnited Kingdom M. Spence 13
MexicoMexico P. Rodríguez DNF DNF
1964 Lotus 25
lotus 33
Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of France.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Austria.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of the US.svg Flag of Mexico (1934-1968) .svg 3. 37 (40)
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Clark 4th 1 1 DNF 1 DNF DNF DNF 7th 5
United KingdomUnited Kingdom P. Arundell 3 3 9 4th
United KingdomUnited Kingdom M. Spence 9 8th DNF 6th DNF 4th
GermanyGermany G. Mitter 9
United StatesUnited States W. Hansgen 5
MexicoMexico M. Solana 10
1965 Lotus 33
lotus 25
Flag of South Africa (1928–1994) .svg Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of France.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of the US.svg Flag of Mexico (1934-1968) .svg 1. 54 (58)
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Clark 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 DNF DNF
United KingdomUnited Kingdom M. Spence 4th 7th 7th 4th 8th DNF 11 DNF 3
GermanyGermany G. Mitter DNF
ItalyItaly Geki DNF
MexicoMexico M. Solana 12 DNF
1966 Lotus 33 Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of France.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of the US.svg Flag of Mexico (1934-1968) .svg 6th 8th
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Clark DNF DNF DNS 4th 3 DNF
ItalyItaly Geki 9
United KingdomUnited Kingdom P. Arundell 6th
MexicoMexico P. Rodríguez DNF DNF
Lotus 43
lotus 33
MexicoMexico P. Rodríguez DNF 5. 13
United KingdomUnited Kingdom P. Arundell DNS DNF DNF DNF 12 8th 7th
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Clark DNF 1 DNF
Lotus 44
GermanyGermany G. Mitter DNS - -
MexicoMexico P. Rodríguez DNF
United KingdomUnited Kingdom P. Courage DNF
1967 Lotus 33
lotus 43
Flag of South Africa (1928–1994) .svg Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of France.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Canada.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico (1934-1968) .svg 8th. 6th
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Clark DNF
United KingdomUnited Kingdom G. Hill DNF 2
Lotus 33 United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Clark DNF - -
Lotus 49
lotus 48
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Clark 1 6th DNF 1 DNF DNF 3 1 1 2. 44
United KingdomUnited Kingdom G. Hill DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF 4th DNF 2 DNF
CanadaCanada E. Wietzes DSQ
ItalyItaly G. Baghetti DNF
MexicoMexico M. Solana DNF DNF
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Oliver 5 - -
1968 Lotus 49
Lotus 49B
Flag of South Africa (1928–1994) .svg Flag of Spain (1945–1977) .svg Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of Belgium (civil) .svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of France.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of Canada.svg Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg 1. 62
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Clark 1
United KingdomUnited Kingdom G. Hill 2 1 DNF 1 9 DNF DNF 2 DNF 4th 2 1
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Oliver DNF 5 NC DNS DNF 11 DNF DNF DNS 3
United StatesUnited States M. Andretti DNS DNF
CanadaCanada B. Brack DNF
MexicoMexico M. Solana DNF
1969 Lotus 49B
Lotus 63
Flag of South Africa (1928–1994) .svg Flag of Spain (1945–1977) .svg Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of France.svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Germany.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of Canada.svg Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg 3. 47
United KingdomUnited Kingdom G. Hill 2 DNF 1 7th 6th 7th 4th 9 DNF DNF
AustriaAustria J. Rindt DNF DNF DNF DNF 4th DNF 2 3 1 DNF
United StatesUnited States M Andretti DNF DNF DNF
United KingdomUnited Kingdom R. Attwood 4th
United KingdomUnited Kingdom J. Miles DNF 10 DNF DNF DNF
  1. Formula 2 vehicles are excluded from the evaluation.
  2. Formula 2 vehicles are excluded from the evaluation.

See also

literature

  • David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2000. 1st edition, London 2001, ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English)
  • David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1993 . Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
  • Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-1965 . Motor Racing Publications (London) 1998. ISBN 1-899870-39-3

Web links

Commons : Team Lotus  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Team Lotus: 1994 Season
  2. ^ Save Team Lotus ( Memento from November 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Section Trade Marks
  3. Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-1965, p. 186.
  4. Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945, p. 144.
  5. The Type 18 appeared in autumn 1959 and was initially only launched in Formula Junior.
  6. a b Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945–65, S: 187.
  7. ^ Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars 1906-2001, p. 131.
  8. ^ "From 'Team Shambles' to a major force". See Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-65, p. 190.
  9. a b Hodges: Racing cars from AZ after 1945, p. 145.
  10. ^ Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1, S: 353.
  11. Rob Walker Racing competed in every world championship run with the Lotus 18. In addition, the private team Taylor-Crawley Racing was involved in a Formula 1 race in 1960.
  12. ^ Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars 1906-2001, p. 132.
  13. Overview of the Formula 1 races of the 1962 season that are not part of the World Championship on the website www.formula2.net (accessed on September 10, 2012).
  14. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 181.
  15. ^ Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars 1906-2001, p. 133.
  16. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 183 f.
  17. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 185.
  18. Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-65, p. 196.
  19. The other races won Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart and Richie Ginter.
  20. Lotus did not compete in the second race of the season, the Monaco Grand Prix; instead it contested the simultaneous Indianapolis 500 race, which Clark won.
  21. Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-65, p. 198: "A typical Lotus Number Two Season".
  22. From 1968 to 1982 12 world championships went to teams that used Cosworth engines; The only exceptions were the years 1975, 1977 and 1979, in each of which Ferrari won the drivers' championship.
  23. Cimarosti: The century of racing, S: 199th
  24. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, S: 202.
  25. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 203.
  26. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 205.
  27. The McLaren M9A was only used at the 1969 British Grand Prix. He didn't finish.
  28. Matras all-wheel drive M84 reached a world championship point at the Grand Prix of Canada under Johnny Servroz-Gavin.
  29. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 226.
  30. Brief description of the history of GRD on the website www.f3history.co.uk (accessed December 19, 2012).
  31. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 238.
  32. Dave Walker's biography on www.f1rejects.com .
  33. Heinz Prüller, Grand Prix Story 71 and the men who lived them, ORAC 1971, pages 68 and 69
  34. See Dave Walker's biography on the website www.f1rejects.com .
  35. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 249.
  36. Race report on the website www.grandprix.com (accessed on September 8, 2013).
  37. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 255.
  38. For the Lotus 72E R9 cf. the website www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on September 8, 2013).
  39. a b For the Lotus 72 R8 cf. the website www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on September 8, 2013).
  40. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 261.
  41. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 275.
  42. a b Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 267.
  43. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 295.
  44. a b c d e Hodges: Racing cars from AZ after 1945, p. 151.
  45. Cimarosti: The century of racing, S. 316th
  46. a b c d e f Hodges: Racing cars from AZ after 1945, p. 152.
  47. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 326.
  48. Ian Bamsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars, S. 144th
  49. Ian Bamsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars, S. 155th
  50. a b Ian Bamsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars, S. 156th
  51. ^ Nigel Mansell: My Autobiography, p. 137.
  52. a b Ian Bamsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars, S. 147th
  53. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 360 f.
  54. Ian Bramsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars, S. 150th
  55. a b Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 376.
  56. Ian Bamsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars, S. 117th
  57. On the whole: Cimarosti. The Century of Racing, p. 383.
  58. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 387.
  59. Motorsport Aktuell, issue 39/1988, p. 25.
  60. Motorsport Aktuell, issue 40/1988, p. 3.
  61. Cimarosti: The century of racing, S. 429th
  62. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 398.
  63. a b c d e f g Hodges: Racing cars from AZ after 1945, p. 154.
  64. a b c d e Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars, pp. 141.
  65. Burch Cold, Galeron: Tout sur la Formule 1 1991 S. 54th
  66. a b Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 439.
  67. Cimarosti: The Century of Racing, p. 455.
  68. ^ History of the Pacific Racing team on the website www.f1rejects.com (archived version) ( Memento from March 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed June 8, 2018).
  69. Willy Knupp (Ed.): Grand prix 1995 experienced live . Zeitgeist Verlag 1995, ISBN 3-926224-91-6 , p. 59.
  70. Lotus F1: Drivers should be determined by the end of October
  71. Lotus changes the team name to motorsport-total.com for 2011
  72. ^ "Formula 1 chiefs approve name changes for Lotus, Renault and Virgin" (autosport.com on November 3, 2011)
  73. Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-65, p. 190. Because of this network of relationships, it was not possible for the Lotus customer team Rob Walker to buy cars for his driver Moss from Lotus that corresponded to the standard of the factory cars.
  74. On sponsoring: Cimarosti. The Century of Racing, p. 212.
  75. The cosmetics company Yardley supported the BRM team from 1969.
  76. ^ Hodges: Racing Cars from AZ after 1945, p. 147.