Lotus

Johnny Dumfries had impeccable credentials when he was signed up to be Ayrton Senna’s team-mate at Lotus for 1986. He was a British Formula 3 Champion, and a dominant one at that. He’d been test driver for Ferrari. And he’d raced in Formula 3000. That wasn’t the CV of a driver who was going to jump into a grand prix-winning car and end up with just three championship points to his name at ...

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However, as Giorgio Piola reveals, while rivals feared the concept, its drivers were not convinced the 88 would have delivered on the track.<br>How did it work? In our video above, Jake Boxall-Legge guides you through Chapman's complex idea to make ground effect cars more user-friendly.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Banned: Why Lotus' twin-chassis concept was outlawed<br>Revealed: Design secrets of the ...

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Ground effect is a catch-all term used to describe the aerodynamic principle applied to the cars designed during that era.<br>The designs, also known as 'wing cars', included large Venturi tunnels housed under the sidepods that reached the back of the car.<br>To take maximum advantage of the Venturis, Lotus pioneered a skirt solution too, which was hung from the edge of the sidepod and touched the ...

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Southgate explains how the 79 was a “cleaned-up version” of the 78 chassis, which he pioneered along with Peter Wright to use “skirts” to seal the sidepods.<br>He talks through the design secrets of the car at the Autosport International Show, where the beautiful black-and-gold machine was on display.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Now that was a car! The Lotus 78<br>Retro: Why this Lotus 72 was ...

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But it was also revolutionary, and formed the basis of renowned technical illustrator Giorgio Piola’s “most important drawing” of an F1 car – which stands at two metres in length.<br>In this video, Piola discusses the Lotus 72’s innovations and the lengthy process he took to draw it in all of its detail, spending 45 days at the drawing table.<br><br>Read Also:<br><br>Retro: Giorgio ...

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Grosjean says that Lotus was so confident in its wind-tunnel figures that he was told that the car was a potential world championship contender in the first year of the new hybrid rules.<br>The Renault-powered E22 performed poorly on track and the team had a disastrous season, managing only eighth place.<br>Grosjean cited it as a case study of how wind-tunnel results are sometimes not replicated ...

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In this video, Giorgio Piola talks about his fantastic illustration of the 72D and the innovations it brought to the sport. Then Emerson Fittipaldi – who was crowned champion in 1972 – gives his views about what he describes as the best car he ever drove.<br><br>Check out Giorgio's new Kickstarter campaign for his Fine Arts collection<br><br>Fittipaldi also discusses what it was like to work ...

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The R10 chassis in question was also raced by Jochen Rindt and Emerson Fittipaldi, enjoying its last outing in the Brazilian’s hands in Austria in 1970.<br>The Lotus was the only classic Formula 1 car to take to the track today as part of the celebrations for the 1000th World Championship race.<br>“It was great fun,” Hill told Motorsport.com. “I’ve driven 49s before, but I’ve never ...

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The Haas VF-19 2019 challenger, which was revealed on Thursday, sports a black-and-gold colour scheme similar to the one the Lotus squad used between 1972 and '86.<br><br>New look photos:<br><br>Gallery: Haas's 2019 Formula 1 car<br><br><br>Rich Energy CEO William Storey explained that the decision to run the colours reflected his passion for F1, which his is using to promote his company.<br>"We ...

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