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Lotus 72

The development of the Lotus 72 F1

Lotus 72 by Jochen Rindt
Lotus 72 by Jochen Rindt
Colin Chapman was the engineer who revolutionized Formula 1 in the 1970s. Working on the development of Lotus cars, he developed the most successful models of this British company. The 72 model had a wedge profile line to optimize aerodynamic efficiency (they were limited knowledge of the time).

Another innovation lay in the location of the radiators, which instead of being in front of the car were now arranged one on either side of the driver, giving rise to the well-known pontoons in today's formula cars.

The implementation of complex suspension systems with torsion bar allowed the then-new soft compound tyres to the maximum extent. The brakes housed within the diameter of the wide rims managed to keep the heat away from the tires. And in turn, these disc brakes were optimized to reduce weight in unsuspended mass.

The development of the Lotus 72 began in the late 1960s, and despite some engine problems, before the mid-1970s the car had a lot of potential. The driver Jochen Rindt won the Netherlands, France, England and Germany Grand Prix.

Lotus 72 wins in F1

After the initial four victories in the 1970 season, in the pre-Italian Grand Prix practice Rindt suffered a fatal accident. The victory of Emerson Fittipaldi at the US Grand Prix ensured that Jochen Rindt was the first post-mortem champion of the sport.

The 1971 season was not very productive in results for Lotus. But in 1972 Fittipaldi won five Grand Prix, crowned Formula One Champion and secured the title in the Constructors Cup for the Lotus team.

In 1973 Lotus won 7 Grand Prix, Fittipaldi won three and Ronnie Peterson four. Still, the Lotus riders did not have the consistency to win the Drivers Championship, which was left in the hands of the spectacular Jackie Stewart aboard a Tyrrell-Ford.

In 1974 Peterson won three other Grand Prix. Finally in 1975 the Lotus 72 was discontinued, keeping the record of 20 victories for more than 20 years.

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© Adrián Blanco 2006 — Prohibited the total or partial reproduction of text and/or images without explicit written consent of the author. —

por Adrian Blanco