The History of the Formula 1 Teams: Lotus - Brm - Cooper

Table of Contents

The History of the Formula 1 Teams: Lotus - Brm - Cooper

The British Formula 1 boom era

The history of LOTUS in FORMULA 1 to the rhythm of fast lap

Introduction

Colin Chapman and the origin of the Lotus

Lotus debut in Formula 1

The brilliant decade of the 60s and the legend of Jim Clark

The golden 70s of Rindt, Fittipaldi and Andretti

The 80s and the search for past glory with Elio de Angelis, Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna

The 1990s and the decline of Lotus

The return of Lotus to Formula 1 in 2010

Last leg of Lotus in its partnership with Renault

The history of BRM in FORMULA 1 to the rhythm of fast lap

Introduction

Raymond Mays and the origin of BRM

The comeback through the Owen Racing Organization team

The 1960s and the success of BRM

The fight to maintain the glory

The 70s and the fight for survival

Stanley-BRM, the last attempt to keep BRM alive

The history of COOPER in FORMULA 1 to the rhythm of fast lap

Introduction

Cooper's origin

The first Coopers in Formula 1

The early years of the Cooper Car Company team

Cooper's rear engine revolution

The struggle to maintain glory and the progressive decline

THANKS

The history of the FORMULA 1 teams: Lotus – BRM - Cooper

Charles Sanz

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Cover graphic resources: offbottomseason.pl / motorsportmagazine.com / topdriverz.com

The British Formula 1 boom era

In the year 1950, several of the biggest Formula 1 events that until then had been held independently came together to create the first edition of the World Championship. At that time, what was to become the greatest motor racing competition in history had begun.

The first years were dominated by Italian brands such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Maserati, with the permission of the Mercedes driven by the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio.

However, at the end of the 50's, Vanwall won the constructors' world championship from Ferrari and became the first British brand to do so.

Vanwall's success was the prelude to what would happen in the following years. The British marques showed a great development with the aim of reigning in world motorsport.

In this book you will enjoy a walk through history through simple clues of three historic British constructors that became legends of Formula 1: Lotus and its numerous innovations, BRM and its constant struggle without surrender to success and Cooper and its glory through the rear engine.

I hope you will enjoy the following pages and allow you to learn this beautiful part of racing history or recover fond memories.

The history of LOTUS in FORMULA 1 to the rhythm of fast lap

Introduction

Lotus is one of the most legendary manufacturers in Formula 1, and one of those that has revolutionized the competition the most throughout its history with innovations such as the use of ground effect or the incorporation of active suspension, as a result of the genius from its founder: Colin Chapman.

The history of Lotus is that of a team with constant innovations that was born and grew at the end of the 50s through drivers like Cliff Allison or Innes Ireland to achieve glory through a legend like Jim Clark, being the first constructor in build a one-piece chassis.

Lotus came to dominate Formula 1 in the 70s, with its magnificent single-seaters being driven by great drivers such as Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt or Emerson Fittipaldi. Taking advantage of the ground effect of the Lotus 78, the competition surrendered to the ingenuity of a team that led Andretti to become champion.

After its best stage, Lotus continued to fight to win championships again, counting on future legends such as Nigel Mansell or Ayrton Senna. However, the legendary team had to face a progressive decline, and a difficult return in search of past glory.

In this book you will discover in an entertaining way the main keys to the history of this magnificent constructor, to remember or enjoy one of the most successful and legendary teams in the greatest motor racing competition.

I hope you enjoy the following pages, and enjoy the story of a team that, although part of Formula 1's past, has sown passion in many of its fans who continue to eagerly await a new comeback.

Colin Chapman and the origin of the Lotus

If there is a name associated with Lotus in Formula 1, that is Colin Chapman, the founder of the brand and the team.

Anthony Colin Bruce Champan was born on May 19, 1928 in Richmond, England. The son of the manager of The Railway hotel in Tottenham Lane, he spent his childhood at a Mayfield Road school, after which he was admitted to the University of London Air Squadron, where he studied structural engineering.

In 1948 he was enlisted in the Royal Air Force, but after refusing a lifetime commission, he gave up his military career.

He worked mainly for the British Aluminum company, where he applied his knowledge as an engineer in his work as a salesman to introduce aluminum in the construction of houses.

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However, life had a space saved for him in motorsport. In 1948, he designed the Mk1, a variant of the Austin 7, with which he began to participate in local races. He named his car Lotus. It is believed that he used this name since he used to call his girlfriend Hazel as lotus flower.

As he gained competitions and his financial resources increased, he developed the Lotus Mk2. It was an evolution of the Mk1 (and therefore the Austin 7) with an improved chassis and crossmembers using stronger tubular stays.

He also replaced the engine, beginning to use first the Ford 8 and later the Ford 10. From his early years as a car designer, Chapman was noted for his ability to stay on the edge of regulation in order to improve his vehicles.

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In 1952 he decided to found his own car company: Lotus Engineering Ltd. (later to be renamed Lotus Cars). It was a personal project to which he dedicated his free time along with other fans. The company stood out for creating cars based on good handling over power. Chapman claimed that the power provided more speed on the straights, but a more manageable car allowed for better speed on all sides.

However, Chapman did not put aside his competitive passion and created the competition-oriented Team Lotus team in 1954, to differentiate it from the Lotus Cars company dedicated to the commercial creation of automobiles.

With the continuous development of its racing car one version after another, even its competitive versions ended up being sold, so that the chassis of the Lotus Mark VI was sold so that its buyers could install their favorite engine and gearbox, reaching exceed one hundred units sold. The Lotus 7 increased sales of its competition designs even further.

Chapman even competed in Formula 1, participating with Vanwall in the 1956 French Grand Prix. However, during practice he collided with his teammate Mike Hawthorn, which led him to give up as a driver to focus on his career as an engineer. and creator of single-seaters.

In this way, in 1958 Champan decided to register its own team to participate in Formula 1. Thus began Lotus's career in the largest motorsport competition.

After the first years of the competition, dominated by Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes and Maserati, Chapman would go on to become one of the most important representatives of the rise of British brands in Formula 1.

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Lotus debut in Formula 1

In 1958, the ninth edition of the Formula 1 world championship, Team Lotus debuted in competition with the Lotus 12. The single-seater complied with Chapman's philosophy of creating a manageable car, focusing on reducing its weight and on aerodynamic improvement.

He sought to place the pilot as low as possible, reducing the height of the gearbox and moving it to the rear. This gearbox suffered from oil problems which were slow to be resolved, compromising the reliability of the Lotus 12.

The Lotus 12 wheels were innovative by using a magnesium alloy, which sought to further lighten the car, giving rise to the striking oscillating band wheels.

The car had a Coventry Climax FPF 2.0 L4 engine, which would later be replaced by the FPF 2.2 L4 incorporated into the Lotus 16 that would be used from the sixth race of the year.

The new Lotus 16 bore many similarities to the Vanwall, which Chapman had learned during his time with the British team. This led to him earning the nickname of mini Vanwall. The design improved upon the Lotus 12's fundamentals, with its gearbox traveling to the side of the driver rather than underneath to give the driver more room, allowing him to sit in a distinctive reclining stance. A bulge was also added behind the cockpit to reposition and increase the capacity of the fuel tank.

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The drivers chosen to drive these first two Lotus versions in their first season in Formula 1 were Cliff Allison and Graham Hill. The two Britons had no experience in the newly created Formula 1, so they made their debut in the category with the Lotus team.

However, the two pilots already had a previous relationship with Chapman, who had discovered them in the lower categories and had made them Lotus pilots in other competitions (in fact, Allison shared with Chapman himself the Lotus with which they ended up in sixth position at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1958 before debuting in Formula 1).

Lotus' debut in Formula 1 finally took place on May 18, 1958 in Monaco, the second date of the season. Graham Hill was unable to finish the race after a broken axle. However, Cliff Allison was able to finish in sixth position, although 13 laps behind the leader, he being the last driver able to finish the demanding race.

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This meant a moderate debut for Lotus, but an encouraging one, as Collins was only one position away from having scored the first points for the team.

In the second race in the Netherlands, the result would be identical. Allison was sixth, and Graham Hill retired again, this time with temperature issues. In fact, Hill would end up abandoning one race after another, chaining seven consecutive abandonments, being able to finish only the last two races: Italy and Morocco. In the Italian event he was sixth and in Morocco he was 16th, so he finished the season with no points.

Formula 1 Driver Picture Quiz [6]

As for Allison, in his third race he finished fourth, behind only the three drivers who took the podium: Tony Brooks, Mike Hawthorn and Stuart Lewis-Evans. With this fourth position, Allison achieved the first three points of Team Lotus in Formula 1.

In fact, they would be the