Formula 1's great Lotus landmarks - Lotus 72

Last year, we voted the Lotus 72 the greatest Formula 1 car of all time. Whether you agree with that or not, there is no doubting its iconic status and success - five world titles and 20 victories. It was a worthy addition to the line of innovative Lotus F1 machines, such as the monocoque 25 and Cosworth DFV-engined 49.

To mark F1's celebration of the 1000th world championship race at last year's Chinese Grand Prix, Ben Anderson conducted a special track test for Autosport magazine at Lotus Cars' circuit at Hethel. And in the week that the world championship celebrates its 70th birthday, it seemed a good time to revisit four milestone machines.

Thanks to Colin Chapman's son Clive and the Classic Team Lotus concern that he runs, which helps keep the Lotus name alive in historic motorsport, we tested four of the very best Lotus F1 cars to ever grace a circuit.

The type 25, 49, 72 and 79 designs represent F1 at its innovative best - redefining the boundaries of competition for their contemporaries and pioneering concepts that still hold relevance today.

In the third article in a four-part tribute to Lotus and the F1 world championship, we focus on the type 72, which is also 50 years old.

• More Lotus F1 track tests from Autosport Plus
• Formula 1's great Lotus landmarks - Lotus 25
• Formula 1's great Lotus landmarks - Lotus 49

Driving the Lotus 72

By Ben Anderson

For many, the Lotus 72 is the quintessential definition of what a Formula 1 car should be - an aesthetically pleasing bridge between the cigar-tubes of the 1960s and the aerodynamic super-machines we see in F1 today.

Of course, it was successful too, with drivers' titles for Jochen Rindt and Emerson Fittipaldi, and it took the 1973 constructors' crown in the hands of Fittipaldi and Ronnie Peterson.

"The 72 is probably my favourite," says Chapman Jr, "with Emerson and Ronnie, dad throwing his cap in the air, and putting the win stickers on the rear wing. We used to print them before the race! And I got to know the drivers - Emerson once picked me up from school."

With this car Lotus introduced inboard brakes and sidepod-mounted radiators, allied to (initially troublesome) anti-dive and anti-squat suspension, as primitive aerodynamic understanding became slightly more refined. The 72 proved to be 12mph faster than the 49 using the same engine, thanks to its clever profiling.

"The sidepods gave the car less drag, and better airflow over to the rear wing," explains Chapman Jr. "Torsion bar suspension, rising rate, minimum unsprung weight - it was all to do with making a qualifying tyre, or a soft tyre, last a race distance. We were gaining a significant chunk of time because we could run a softer tyre for much longer.

"It ran with the [pitch dive and control] suspension to begin with, but that didn't work so it was taken off. The 72 came alive at that point."

This particular 72, chassis 5, carried Fittipaldi to four grand prix victories - the 1970 US GP, the Austrian and Italian GPs of 1972 and Spain the following year - before he crashed it badly during practice for the 1973 Dutch GP at Zandvoort. The wreckage lay in storage for 40 years, before undergoing a painstaking six-year rebuild that had only recently been completed before Autosport's scheduled outing.

Everything is so pristine on this lovingly restored masterpiece that I'm not even sure I should be allowed to sit in it, let alone drive it

The car is in JPS livery, rather than Gold Leaf, as Chapman Jr explains: "Emerson started racing it in 1970 with Gold Leaf and then it went to JPS colours. This was exactly the spec when it was shunted. Unusually, the 79 is all sign written and painted, everything on it, whereas the 72 was a mixture of gold leaf pinstripe but the livery is actually vinyl. It's a bit odd, but that's how it was in period."

Everything is so pristine on this lovingly restored masterpiece that I'm not even sure I should be allowed to sit in it, let alone drive it. The steering wheel has been signed by Emerson himself. He apparently sat in this car (before its restoration was completed) while it was on display at a historic event.

It's not run much since the rebuild, so Chapman Jr gives me specific instructions to take it easy on this run: "You're clearly very capable, but perhaps start at 80% and build up. Any hint of a problem, or any concern at all, just come straight back in."

His words are ringing in my ears when I start my run and immediately smell something burning. I pull into the pits, but the team doesn't seem unduly concerned. Apparently, it's quite normal for the 72's inboard front brakes to overheat - so much so that seasoned historic F1 racer Katsu Kubota regularly reports his feet toasting when he races his example.

Once unleashed properly on the track, helped no doubt by the near-new Avon slicks fitted to this car, driving the 72 is an awesome experience. I feel even more confident in this car than I did in the 49B, which encourages me to press on and start leaning more on the car through the pit-straight esses in the closing laps.

The only things holding us back are gear ratios that feel too short - meaning I have to back off on the back straight to keep under the 10,000rpm rev limit - and a strange sensation that those front brakes are remaining partly locked on as I try to bleed off the deceleration for the chicane.

As a result it doesn't feel like there is much more acceleration or pure power than the 49B - you're quickly through the gears and, even though the DFV is chucking out 440bhp, it feels like it's running out of puff - but there's more mechanical grip from those slick tyres.

You can feel the step from the 49B. It's much more planted and doesn't feel like it's going to bite you. It's got that bit more poise and gives me the confidence to attack a lot more. It's hard not to push on and I reckon if I had more revs I could take the fast Windsock right-hander flat, or with a little lift.

I imagine, once you get familiar with it, you can really play with the car and dance it around. The closest comparisons I have are the Lola, Trojan and Chevron F5000s I've driven previously, but this car is much more agile.

I just want to be let off the leash, but today is not the day for that - this car already went through enough in 1973. Now is not the time to channel my inner Ronnie Peterson.

Three magic Lotus 72 moments

1970 German GP, Hockenheim

Despite the undoubted quality of the Cosworth DFV, there were times when the 12-cylinder opposition seemed to have a power advantage. And the Ferrari 312B became a serious threat to Lotus during 1970.

At the high-speed Hockenheim circuit, Ferrari's Jacky Ickx beat Rindt to pole, with Clay Regazzoni's 312B third. An early five-car breakaway eventually became a straight duel between Ickx and Rindt. After a superb fight, Rindt took victory by 0.7s and then claimed "a monkey could have won in my car".

"Doubtless the wedge shape of the Lotus 72 was instrumental in Rindt's win, for despite the undoubted power of the Ferrari's flat-12 engine Rindt never had too much trouble in darting out of Ickx's slipstream and going ahead when he wanted to," reckoned Autosport.

1973 Argentine GP, Buenos Aires

Fittipaldi won more top-line F1 races in the 72 than any other driver, as well as the 1972 world championship, and rates his drive in the 1973 season opener as one of his best. Peterson and Fittipaldi followed polesitter Regazzoni's BRM and the Tyrrell of Francois Cevert in the early stages.

As Regazzoni fell back, Jackie Stewart moved forward to make it a Tyrrell-Lotus contest, one that was to last throughout the season. After hounding Stewart for lap after lap, Fittipaldi finally made his move with a late-braking manoeuvre. He then set the fastest laps of the race as he closed on Cevert. Despite stern resistance Fittipaldi grabbed the lead on lap 86 of 96 and held on to beat the Tyrrell twins into second and third.

"The cars and drivers were so evenly matched at the head of the field, I am proud to have won in such company," said Fittipaldi in My Greatest Race, edited by Adrian Ball.

1974 Italian GP, Monza

The McLaren M23 is one of the few cars that could put forward a credible argument against the Lotus 72 being the greatest F1 machine of all time. As the newer design, the M23 did usually outperform the 72 after 1973, but the four-year-old Lotus still had its moments the following year.

At Monza, Peterson had the 72's front suspension changed back to narrow track specification and, from seventh on the grid, he jumped Fittipaldi's M23 early on. All three Brabhams hit trouble, leaving the former team-mates behind only the Ferraris of Niki Lauda and Regazzoni. When both failed, the race for victory became a straight duel between two of F1's greatest car-driver combinations.

Fittipaldi's McLaren was better on the brakes, but the Lotus - no doubt helped by the narrower track - had a slightly better top speed. Peterson held his nerve to give the 72 its 20th and final world championship race win.

PLUS: Ronnie Peterson's greatest drives

Our thanks to John Bowers, Clive Chapman, Classic Team Lotus and Lotus Cars.

Tomorrow's Lotus landmark: the type 79