Team · 1958–1994 · United Kingdom
Team Lotus
Lotus was founded by engineer Colin Chapman, whose cars more than once changed the idea of what a racing car should be. In 1962 the Lotus 25 became the first Formula 1 car with a load-bearing monocoque instead of a tubular frame; on the Lotus 49 of 1967 the Ford Cosworth DFV engine became part of the car’s structure; and the Lotus 78 and 79 of 1977–1978 were built around ground effect — downforce generated by the floor.
Stirling Moss gave a Lotus its first win, at Monaco in 1960, in Rob Walker’s privately entered car; the works team won for the first time a year later at Watkins Glen with Innes Ireland. Lotus won the Constructors’ Championship seven times, and its drivers were world champion six times: Jim Clark twice, and Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti once each. Rindt’s 1970 title was awarded posthumously — he was killed in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix. Team Lotus raced its last season in 1994.