Black & Gold: Lotus 72 F1

9 August 2018 Redazione Racing Cars, Roberto Marrone

Words by Roberto Marrone

Like every two years, we have had the opportunity to relive the magical atmosphere of Formula 1 golden days, thanks to the G.P. Historique de Monaco, an event that you should not miss at all. The memory runs back to those years, when I was anxiously following every Grand Prix, cheering for my idol Jackie Stewart. While admiring his blue Tyrrell, however always innovative in shape, I have always been attracted by other cars, just like the one that I still judge as the most fascinating that has ever been built, the Lotus 72 (the one with JPS livery) with which Emerson Fittipaldi conquered the title in 1972. It was presented in 1970 and its development was carried out by John Miles (recently deceased) who joined Jochen Rindt, the one who managed, despite the tragic accident that cost him his life at Monza, to win the championship with the red and gold Lotus bearing the famous “Gold Leaf Team Lotus” signature.

The ’70 version presented aesthetic variants that concerned the presence of different types of wings and for example at Monza, for the total lack of the front and rear spoilers; in 1971 the rear axle suspension was further developed and the rear wing got bigger, even the little air intakes behind the driver became bigger and bigger, but it was a year of domination for Tyrrell – Emerson scored no victories. The following year the black with gold colors arrived under the flag of J.P.S and Fittipaldi was able to win 5 G.P. and the world championship. In 1973 there were introductions of new rules, including those creating deformable structures inside the sides of the cars that became wider and inevitably require extensive structural changes: three wins for Emerson and four for his teammate, the Swedish Ronnie Peterson. Lotus won the Constructors Championship as it did in 1970 and 1972, but the Drivers’ title went to Jackie Stewart (his third one). In 1974 the Lotus 72 was supposed to be replaced by the Lotus 76, but that project was too ambitious and did not give the expected guarantees, so the 72 still remained on track conquering the fourth place in the standings, with Ronnie winning again three more GPs, while the Brazilian found other successes and Title passing to McLaren and replaced by Jacky Ickx.

In 1975, the “old Lotus 72” still reached the sixth place at the end of the season. Coming back to talk about the car wanted by Colin Chapman and designed by engineer Maurice Philippe, it’s good to say that the development was carried forward since 1969, the car initially had problems for excessive lightness at the front, there was excessive overheating of the front brakes and the anti-sticking suspension with a variable power, though very ingenious, led to little sensitivity when braking and the situation improved only when the torsion bar defects were solved. During races then, failures were also much more frequent than today and there were no electronic aids or computers helping in this term, many times a victory could fade for a banality, even on the very last lap. Stubbornness, constancy and professionalism were the only weapons. The Lotus 72 became more docile to handle and soon showed its extraordinary potential. The engine was obviously the classic 3-liter 8 cylinder Cosworth, with a DG300 Hewland gearbox. As a peculiarity, it was fitting front discs inside to optimize and reduce the weight of the suspended masses, even if this solution did not give any improvement in terms of cooling, despite the fact that they emerged from the body itself. The thing that makes the Lotus 72C and D appear more modern than the others, is without any doubt the line with an aerodynamics brought to the maximum, a very thin nose made out of fiberglass reinforced with use of carbon fibers; this was possible by moving the radiators on the sides. This, in addition to improving the aerodynamic coefficient, allowed a better reduction and distribution of the weights (another strong point always supported by Lotus founding father) moving the pipes and gaining a lot also in terms of maneuverability. The chassis was conventional, monocoque with a frame with aluminum tubes. Many solutions, from the brakes to the extremely streamlined line, were taken from the 1969 four-wheel drive STP project, which was later abandoned. The fastening of the tail to the body was also simplified with only four 10mm bolts allowing rapid engine disassembly. The rubberized tanks found a place in the side bellies and one around the pilot’s seat for a total of 205 liters of capacity. During the first season the car was fitted with 15-inch (38 cm) front wheels, while the other cars were having 13-inch wheels (33 cm). Another treat concerned the rear wing, a variable depression triplane aerodynamic wizardry.

In Formula 1 everything runs fast and the Lotus 72 was due to retire at the end of ’73, but only in 1976 was replaced properly, resulting in one of the longest projects ever. Colin, as always, was focusing on other great innovations and certainly did not stop surprising the Formula One circus (the story speaks for himself). And as for the day of the G.P. Historique of Monaco, there were many creatures children of the brilliant Chapman and certainly leaps to the eye as in a decade (1965-1975) there has been such a great variety, an evolution of forms, ideas, but then the best part of it, is to listen those diamonds that put a strain on the eardrums, breathing that air mixed with petrol and intense flavors of oil. In those moments I felt so alive, even a few centimeters from the exhaust pipes admiring those legendary cars and relive the memories of unrepeatable Grand Prix.