Lotus 79

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Lotus 79 (John Player Special Mk. IV)
TransmissionHewland FG 400, 5-speed manual
Power475 hp @ 11,000 rpm[1]
Fuel1978: Valvoline
1979: Essex
TyresGoodyear
Competition history
Notable entrantsJohn Player Team Lotus
Martini Racing Team Lotus
Team Rebaque
Notable driversUnited States Mario Andretti,
Sweden Ronnie Peterson,
France Jean-Pierre Jarier,
Argentina Carlos Reutemann,
Mexico Héctor Rebaque
Debut1978 Belgian Grand Prix
First win1978 Belgian Grand Prix
Last win1978 Dutch Grand Prix
Last event1979 United States Grand Prix
RacesWinsPodiumsPolesF/Laps
26615105
Constructors' Championships1 (1978)
Drivers' Championships1 (Mario Andretti, 1978)

The Lotus 79 is a

ground effects
aerodynamics.

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

Lotus 79 at Lime Rock
Lotus 79
A view from the rear, looking up the right-hand side venturi tunnel of the Lotus 79
Lotus 79 at the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Lotus 79's

Coke bottle" sidepods. After work in the wind tunnel, these features were found to be unnecessary, as the car generated so much downforce anyway. These features were, however, later incorporated into the Lotus 80. In all, five chassis were built during the design's lifetime, with the prototype 79/1 later sold to Héctor Rebaque to race as a privateer entrant.[3]

The car was powered by the

centre of gravity to the middle of the car, helping cornering and braking. The 79 was also the first F1 car to be designed using computer design aids.[citation needed
] In fact, it was the first F1 car to use computers to analyse it in the pits on race weekends.

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

Zolder. It took the pole position at the hands of Mario Andretti by more than a second, and went on to win the race comfortably. Andretti said after driving the 79 for the first time that, in comparison, the Lotus 78 was "like driving a London bus". Peterson once quipped, after scoring an impressive pole position, that the car was so brilliantly set up, all he had to do was steer.[5]

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

Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson driving their Lotus 79s at the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix.

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

Carlos Reutemann driving the Martini Racing-liveried 79 at the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix
Mario Andretti in the 79 chatting via radio to Team Lotus boss Colin Chapman

In 1979, Lotus kept Andretti but recruited

Ferrari 312T4 and then the Williams FW07 — a car heavily based on the 79 outclassed the Lotus. Although the car was updated with revised bodywork and a new rear wing, Lotus slipped to fourth in the constructors' championship and the car was retired at the end of the 1979 season, without winning any further races, signalling the end of the team's glorious era.[8] The 79 did however provide Nigel Mansell with his first Formula One test in December 1979 at Paul Ricard.[9]

In popular culture

A playable version of the Lotus 79 can be found on the

iRacing.com online, subscription-based racing simulation service for Microsoft Windows, Mac and Linux
.

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

Top Gear Series 27.[11]

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

  1. ^ "Engine Ford Cosworth • STATS F1".
  2. ^ F1 Racing Magazine, August 2000.
  3. ^ a b "Tech Tuesday: The Lotus 79, F1's ground effect marvel". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Goodwood - Doug Nye – Ground Effect, Painting Cars To The Ground". www.goodwood.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. ^ Pruett, Marshall (31 December 2018). "The Last F1 Car to Carry an American to Victory". Road & Track. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Grand Prix Cars - Lotus-Ford 79". www.grandprixhistory.org. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Five classic Formula 1 ground effect cars". Motor Sport Magazine. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Nigel Mansell". Motor Sport Magazine. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Full List Of F1® 2018 Classic Cars Revealed". Codemasters. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Chris Harris On The Lotus 79 - Top Gear: Series 27". YouTube. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021.

External links