<< Prev Page 2 of 2 Chapman knew he had a winner on his hands and went about refining the 'ground effects' Lotus for the 1978 season. Much of the honeycomb used for the chassis was replaced by more conventional sheet aluminium. This increased the weight by quite a bit, but it would proof to make quite a difference. To maximize the 'ground effects', even larger side pods were fitted to the car, which now featured full length skirts. At the rear the side pod floors swooped to create two massive Venturis. Compared to the 78, the new car featured a much cleaner and smoother body. Wind tunnel tests suggested that the Lotus 79 was 25% more effective than its predecessor. Sadly the car was not ready in time for the start of the season and Team Lotus had to make do with the 78 for the first few races of 1978.
Ill health forced Nilsson to leave Formula 1 and he was replaced by the talented Swede Ronnie Peterson. Before the 79 was ready, Peterson and Andretti both scored a win in the old car. The Lotus 79 appeared for the first time at the Belgian Grand Prix and Andretti scored a very convincing debut victory from pole position. Team Lotus dominated the remainder of the season with Andretti winning a total of six races and Peterson two. Andretti and Lotus were crowned Champions well before the season was over. There was a very sad note to the season after Ronnie Peterson was involved in a fatal start accident at Monza. He had to start in a 78 after he damaged his 79 in a practice session. Posthumously Peterson finished the season second in the championship.
In 1979 the competition had really caught up and the once dominant Lotus 79 was no longer a race winner. Team Lotus had to rely on its 1978 World Champion for most of the season as the new Lotus 80 had turned out to be a complete disaster. Chapman had taken his 'ground effects' ideas a few steps too far and created a car that was notoriously difficult to drive. Especially Williams' Patrick Head had taken the ground effect design in the right direction and his FW07 formed the basis for most early 1980s designs. 'Ground effects' or 'wing cars' were eventually banned at the end of 1982 as the cornering speeds were getting far too high. One of Chapman's many great innovations underbody aerodynamics still play a vital role in the racing car design, although full 'ground effects' cars are no longer eligible in any race series. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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Chapman knew he had a winner on his hands and went about refining the 'ground effects' Lotus for the 1978 season. Much of the honeycomb used for the chassis was replaced by more conventional sheet aluminium. This increased the weight by quite a bit, but it would proof to make quite a difference. To maximize the 'ground effects', even larger side pods were fitted to the car, which now featured full length skirts. At the rear the side pod floors swooped to create two massive Venturis. Compared to the 78, the new car featured a much cleaner and smoother body. Wind tunnel tests suggested that the Lotus 79 was 25% more effective than its predecessor. Sadly the car was not ready in time for the start of the season and Team Lotus had to make do with the 78 for the first few races of 1978.