Lotus 79
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Transmission | Hewland FG 400, 5-speed manual | ||||||||||
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Power | 475 hp @ 11,000 rpm[1] | ||||||||||
Fuel | 1978: Valvoline 1979: Essex | ||||||||||
Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||||||
Competition history | |||||||||||
Notable entrants | John Player Team Lotus Martini Racing Team Lotus Team Rebaque | ||||||||||
Notable drivers | Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Carlos Reutemann, Héctor Rebaque | ||||||||||
Debut | 1978 Belgian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
First win | 1978 Belgian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
Last win | 1978 Dutch Grand Prix | ||||||||||
Last event | 1979 United States Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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Constructors' Championships | 1 (1978) | ||||||||||
Drivers' Championships | 1 (Mario Andretti, 1978) |
The Lotus 79 is a
Over the span of its lifetime, the Lotus 79 took 7 wins, 10 pole positions, 121 points and won the last drivers' and constructors' world championships for Lotus. The 79 is credited with pushing Formula One into the modern aerodynamics era. After Rubens Barrichello drove the 79 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2000, he spoke of its "phenomenal grip and traction", and stated that "it felt like a modern Grand Prix car".[2]
Development
The Lotus 79's
The car was powered by the
The car was secretly tested in late 1977 by Ronnie Peterson and proved extremely fast, but the chassis suffered early fatigue due to the severe suction and g-forces generated by the ground effect. The 79 produced about 30% more downforce than the 78, something not foreseen by Ogilvie and Rudd, who went back to the drawing board. The chassis was strengthened in specific points, mostly around the monocoque and load bearing points on the chassis tub, and the car was found to be even faster than before.[4]
The need for smooth airflow dictated the car must have clean lines. Nicknamed "Black Beauty" by the press and F1 fans alike, for its graceful design and sleek profile and its black and gold livery through sponsorship by
The 79 was not without its problems, however. Wright and Ogilvie noted that the car was very marginal in some aspects of its design. Andretti had reservations over the car's brakes, which faded noticeably over a race distance, especially in hot conditions; the exhaust had a tendency to overheat, and the monocoque tub was not as stiff as the team would have liked, which meant a new casting had to be fabricated several times during the two seasons the car was used.[3]
Racing history
1978
The 79 proved to be almost unbeatable during the 1978 Formula One season and provided an unprecedented level of domination; the team had already won in Argentina with Andretti and South Africa with Peterson. The 79 was first used during practice for the Monaco Grand Prix with Mario Andretti driving but he used the 78 in the race. The 79 was ready for the following round in Belgium with one car available for Andretti with Peterson using the older 78, the pair finished first with Andretti and second with Peterson. Same results in the same order at the Spanish Grand Prix as both drivers had exclusive use of the 79. The Swedish Grand Prix caused anger from several teams including Lotus because Brabham had redesigned their Brabham BT46B which was known as the "fan car". Andretti took pole and led till Niki Lauda's fan car passed him, Andretti would have his engine blow up and Peterson finish third behind Lauda and Riccardo Patrese's Arrows. After the race, Brabham voluntarily withdrew the BT46B.[6] The 79 was first and second at France with Andretti first and Peterson second. The 79 had a double retirement at the British Grand Prix with Peterson retired from second place after seven laps with a fuel leak, Andretti led until lap twenty four when he pitted with a left rear puncture and whilst chasing the leading pack he blew his engine up. In Germany Andretti won but Peterson retired when his gearbox failed, the Austrian Grand Prix saw Peterson win but Andretti retired after he tried to pass Carlos Reutemann's Ferrari and the two touched with Andretti car spinning into the barriers. Holland was the last first and second for Lotus in its career with Andretti first and Peterson second. The Italian Grand Prix was a weekend to remember for all the right and wrong reasons for Lotus, Andretti qualified on pole but Peterson qualified sixth and had to use the older 78 after the 79 had sudden brake failure in the warm-up plus he was unable to fit into Andretti's spare car. The start was chaotic with Andretti being passed by Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari and Lauda's Brabham. Peterson had a poor start plus bunching around him caused a collision between him, Patrese's Arrows and James Hunt's McLaren. Peterson's car caught fire and Hunt dragged the Swede free and laid in the middle of the track fully conscious, but with severe leg injuries. Peterson had an operation and would die on the Monday after the race. Andretti would take the restart and would be first on the road but finished sixth after he and Villeneuve both jumped the restarted race. Jean-Pierre Jarier took over the second Lotus in the United States and was running third till he ran out of fuel with four laps to go, Andretti led for the opening laps but he had a brake issue and later on his engine blew. The Canadian Grand Prix had problems for Andretti as he attempted to pass John Watson's Brabham and the two made contact dropping the American almost to the back of the field and finished tenth. Jarier took pole and led until an oil leak. [7]
The Lotus 79 was so dominant the only real threat was the Ferrari 312T3, and the advantage its Michelin tyres gave in hot weather conditions. Its other threat was the Brabham BT46B "fan car" but Brabham withdrew it after its victory in Sweden. Meanwhile, the Ferraris only won when the Lotus failed to finish. So superior was the Lotus, that most races became a scrap for minor placings, as Andretti and Peterson regularly finished first and second, more often than not by a considerable margin ahead of the rest of the field. On the rare occasion the 79 did not win or fail, one or other driver was usually on the podium. Andretti was comfortably world champion in 1978 and Peterson finished runner-up posthumously; Lotus won the constructors’ championship with 86 points.
1979
In 1979, Lotus kept Andretti but recruited
In popular culture
A playable version of the Lotus 79 can be found on the
The car is also featured in the game F1 2018 by Codemasters, being one of the classic cars available to drive.[10]
The car is featured as a tribute in the final episode of
This car is now also recreated in the PC based racing simulation 'Automobilista 2' by Reiza Studios
Formula One World Championship results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | John Player Team Lotus | Ford Cosworth DFV V8 | G | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | MON | BEL | ESP | SWE | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | USA | CAN | 861 | 1st1 | |
Mario Andretti | PO | 1 | 1 | Ret | 1 | Ret | 1 | Ret | 1 | 6 | Ret | 10 | ||||||||||
Ronnie Peterson | 2 | 3 | 2 | Ret | Ret | 1 | 2 | PO | ||||||||||||||
Jean-Pierre Jarier | 15 | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||||
1979 | Martini Racing Team Lotus | Ford Cosworth DFV V8 | G | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | BEL | MON | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | CAN | USA | 392 | 4th2 | ||
Mario Andretti | 5 | Ret | 4 | 4 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 5 | 10 | Ret | ||||||||||
Carlos Reutemann | 2 | 3 | 5 | Ret | 2 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 8 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 7 | Ret | Ret | |||||||
Team Rebaque | Héctor Rebaque | Ret | DNQ | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 12 | 9 | Ret | DNQ | 7 |
^1 This total includes points scored by the Lotus 78.
^2 This total includes points scored by the Lotus 80 used by Andretti in three races.
Non-Championship results
Year | Entrants | Engine | Drivers | Tyres | 1 | 2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | John Player Team Lotus | Ford Cosworth DFV V8 | G | INT | ||
Mario Andretti | Ret | |||||
Ronnie Peterson | PO | |||||
1979 | Martini Racing Team Lotus | Ford Cosworth DFV V8 | G | ROC | DIN | |
Mario Andretti | 3 | |||||
Carlos Reutemann | 2 |
References
- ^ "Engine Ford Cosworth • STATS F1".
- ^ F1 Racing Magazine, August 2000.
- ^ a b "Tech Tuesday: The Lotus 79, F1's ground effect marvel". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Goodwood - Doug Nye – Ground Effect, Painting Cars To The Ground". www.goodwood.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ Pruett, Marshall (31 December 2018). "The Last F1 Car to Carry an American to Victory". Road & Track. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ISBN 0-905138-36-8
- ^ "Grand Prix Cars - Lotus-Ford 79". www.grandprixhistory.org. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Five classic Formula 1 ground effect cars". Motor Sport Magazine. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Nigel Mansell". Motor Sport Magazine. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Full List Of F1® 2018 Classic Cars Revealed". Codemasters. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
- ^ "Chris Harris On The Lotus 79 - Top Gear: Series 27". YouTube. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021.