The Lotus 72 is a Formula One car designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe of Lotus for the 1970 Formula One season. The 72 was a pioneering design featuring inboard brakes, side-mounted radiators in sidepods (as opposed to the nose-mounted radiators, which had been commonplace since before World War II), and aerodynamic wings producing down-force.

Development

The overall shape of the 72 was innovative, resembling a wedge on wheels which was inspired by the earlier Lotus 56 gas turbine car. The shape made for better air penetration and higher speeds. In a back-to-back test with the Lotus 49, the 72 was 12 mph faster with the same Cosworth engine.

Chapman's and Phillippe's efforts produced one of the most remarkable and successful designs in F1 history. Taking the stressed engine layout technique from the Lotus 49 and adding advanced aerodynamics produced a car that was years ahead of its rivals. To begin with, however, problems with the handling of the car had to be overcome, due to a lack of 'feel' caused by the anti-dive suspension geometry – which was designed to prevent the nose of the car dipping significantly under braking – and the anti-squat set-up at the rear, which was supposed to stop the car 'squatting down' under acceleration. Once the suspension was modified, there were no further major problems aside from front inboard brake shafts failing. The car caused a sensation amongst the media and fans, with many people clamouring to see the remarkable car in action.

A total of nine chassis were built.

Race history 1970

The car was introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix in April, the 2nd race of the 1970 season, and continued the red, cream and gold paint scheme of Gold Leaf cigarettes, first introduced with the Lotus 49. The cars were driven by Jochen Rindt and John Miles, but the 72 was withdrawn from competition after Spanish Grand Prix, due to poor performance, for suspension modification.

It was re-entered for the Dutch GP, and Rindt soon made the car successful, by winning the Dutch, French, British and German Grands Prix in quick succession. Rindt was almost certainly going to win the world championship but was killed in a qualifying crash at Monza, driving the 72 with its wings removed, when a front brake shaft failed sending the car at high speed into a poorly installed safety barrier. His replacement, Emerson Fittipaldi, won the United States race, helping Rindt become F1's only posthumous world champion. Rindt's and Fittipaldi's combined points for the season helped Lotus to its fourth constructors' championship.

1971–1972

The car was developed during 1971 by Tony Rudd who had formerly worked at BRM. He worked especially on redesigning the rear suspension and modified the rear wing to produce more downforce. Fittipaldi struggled during the season but scored good results and finished a respectable sixth, whilst the following season was much better. The development work done behind the scenes helped him become the youngest world champion in F1's history in 1972 winning five races in the 72, whilst Lotus again won the constructors' championship. The car now sported a striking paint scheme of black and gold; Imperial Tobacco had introduced a new brand, and decided to increase exposure and provide more funds to Lotus as part of the deal. Lotus was now sponsored by John Player Special cigarettes.

1973 The 1973 season saw new rules introduced to increase car safety. This included mandatory deformable structure to be built into the sides of the cars, causing the 72 to be further updated with integrated sidepods, larger bodywork and new wing mounts. Fittipaldi was joined for 1973 by Swede Ronnie Peterson. Peterson fell in love with the 72. In his first season with Lotus, Peterson won four races, while Fittipaldi won three, but a number of retirements helped Jackie Stewart snatch the drivers' championship, although the large points tally built up by their two drivers helped Lotus keep the constructors' championship. Fittipaldi left for McLaren in 1974, to drive a car closely based on the 72, the McLaren M23.

1974 This left Peterson as team leader, while Jacky Ickx joined the team to partner him. The 72 was meant to be replaced by the Lotus 76, intended to be a lighter and leaner version of the 72, but the car's technology proved to be too ambitious and the project flopped. Lotus turned to the venerable 72 for the 1974 season. A further update to the car, increasing the front and rear track kept the car competitive. Peterson won another three races and challenged for the championship in a very closely contested season, ably supported by Ickx who turned in solid performances and scored several podiums. The now aging 72 did remarkably well for a four-year-old design, finishing fourth in the constructors' championship.

1975

For 1975, without a replacement chassis, the 72 was again pressed into service. By now it was obvious that the car, even with further modifications including a wider track and redesigned suspension, was no match for the new Ferrari 312T, which took the title, or even the latest Brabham BT44 and Lotus finished 6th in the constructors' championship.

After 20 wins, two drivers' and three constructors' championships, the 72 was retired for the 1976 season and replaced by the Lotus 77. Its longevity has placed it among the most successful Formula 1 cars.

Historic Formula One Championship The car was later used to win the 1996 Historic Formula One Championship.

Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Chassis Entrant Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points WCC 7272B72C Gold Leaf Team Lotus Ford Cosworth DFV RSA ESP MON BEL NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA MEX 59 1st Jochen Rindt Ret PO 1 1 1 1 Ret DNS John Miles DNQ Ret 7 8 Ret Ret Ret DNS Emerson Fittipaldi DNS 1 Ret Reine Wisell 3 NC Brooke Bond Oxo Racing Graham HillDNA DNS NC Ret Ret World Wide Racing Alex Soler-Roig DNQ 72C72D Gold Leaf Team Lotus Ford Cosworth DFV RSA ESP MON NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA 21 5th Emerson Fittipaldi Ret Ret 5 3 3 Ret 2 7 NC Reine Wisell 4 NC Ret DSQ 6 8 4 5 Ret Dave Charlton DNS Ret Villiger Cigar Team Herbert MüllerDNA 72D John Player Team Lotus Ford Cosworth DFV ARG RSA ESP MON BEL FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA611st Emerson Fittipaldi Ret 2 1 3 1 2 1 Ret 1 1 11 Ret David Walker DSQ 10 9 14 14 18 Ret Ret Ret Ret Tony TrimmerDNA Reine Wisell Ret 10 Scribante Lucky Strike Racing Dave Charlton Ret DNQ Ret Ret 72D72E John Player Team Lotus Ford Cosworth DFV ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE FRA GBR NED GER AUT ITA CAN USA92 (96)1st Emerson Fittipaldi 1 1 3 1 3 2 12 Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 2 2 6 Ronnie Peterson Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret 3 2 1 2 11 Ret 1 1 Ret 1 Scribante Lucky Strike Racing Dave Charlton Ret 72E John Player Team Lotus Ford Cosworth DFV ARG BRA RSA ESP BEL MON SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA 42 4th Ronnie Peterson 13 6 1 Ret 8 1 10 Ret 1 3 Ret Jacky Ickx Ret 3 Ret Ret 11 5 3 5 13 Ret Team Gunston Paddy Driver Ret Ian Scheckter 13 Scribante Lucky Strike Racing John McNicolDNA 72E72F John Player Team Lotus Ford Cosworth DFV ARG BRA RSA ESP MON BEL SWE NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA USA 9 7th Ronnie Peterson Ret 15 10 Ret 4 Ret 9 15 10 Ret Ret 5 Ret 5 Jacky Ickx 8 9 12 2 8 Ret 15 Ret Ret Jim Crawford Ret 13 Brian Henton 16 DNS NC John Watson Ret Team Gunston Guy Tunmer 11 Eddie Keizan 13 Includes 14 points scored using the Lotus 49. Includes 3 points scored using the Lotus 76.

Non-championship Formula One results

(key) Year Entrant Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1970 Gold Leaf Team Lotus Ford Cosworth DFV ROC INT OUL John Miles 17 Jochen Rindt 2 R.R.C. Walker Racing Graham Hill Ret 1971 Gold Leaf Team Lotus Ford Cosworth DFV ARG ROC QUE SPR INT RIN OUL VIC Reine Wisell Ret Ret Ret 13 10 Emerson Fittipaldi Ret Ret 7 2 Tony Trimmer Ret DNS David Walker 9 John Player Team Lotus Ford Cosworth DFV ROC BRA INT OUL REP VIC Emerson Fittipaldi 1 Ret 1 2 1 Ret David Walker 9 5 DNS Ret John Player Team Lotus Ford Cosworth DFV ROC INT Emerson Fittipaldi Ret Ret Ronnie Peterson Ret 2 John Player Team Lotus Ford Cosworth DFV PRE ROC INT Jacky Ickx 1 John Player Team Lotus Ford Cosworth DFV ROC INT SUI Ronnie Peterson 3 DNS 4 Jacky Ickx 4 Jim Crawford DNS

Legacy In 1973, Brazilian singer-songwriter Zé Roberto released a single titled "Lotus 72D", inspired by Emerson Fittipaldi's victory at the 1973 Brazilian Grand Prix.

The special edition of the second generation Lotus Elise commemorates the car with two versions, the Type 72 edition and the 72D edition.

The Lotus 72 appears as a playable vehicle in multitude video games including Lotus Challenge and F1 2019.

References

Bibliography