Car · Team Lotus · 1973–1975

Lotus 72E

Twelve miles an hour quicker than the 49 on the same engine. The 72 raced for six seasons, which nothing else of its era managed, and it won the 1970 title for a driver who had died at Monza with four rounds to go - Rindt remains the only posthumous World Champion.

Seasons
1973–1975
Entries
33
Wins
0
Poles
0
Fastest laps
0
Constructors' titles
3
Drivers' titles
2

One of the design family that has a specified page of its own.

Why it mattered

The idea. Move the mass to the middle, get the radiators out of the nose, and make the whole car a wedge

New on this car. Side-mounted radiators in the sidepods, freeing the nose to be a pure aerodynamic wedge; inboard brakes to cut unsprung weight; torsion-bar suspension with anti-dive and anti-squat geometry

What it did. 75 races, 20 wins, 17 poles. Drivers' titles for Rindt (1970) and Fittipaldi (1972); constructors' in 1970, 1972 and 1973.

Designers
Colin Chapman, Maurice Philippe, Tony Rudd
Supersedes
lotus-49
Design life
1970–1975
Confidence
high

Specification

Chassis
—
Front suspension
—
Rear suspension
—
Brakes
inboard disc
Gearbox
—
Gears
—
Tyres
Firestone, Goodyear
Fuel
—
Engine
Ford Cosworth DFV V8
Configuration
90-degree V8
Capacity
2,993 cc
Aspiration
naturally aspirated
Power
—
Power note
440-465 bhp at 10,000-10,800 rpm
Weight
—
Wheelbase
—
Track, front
—
Track, rear
—

A blank is a figure nobody published for this car. Where several teams quote the same number in a season it is usually the rule they were all built to rather than a measurement, so it is kept with the regulation limits instead of here.

Seasons that cannot be attributed 2

Seasons that cannot be attributed
SeasonAlso entered by this constructor
1971lotus-56b+lotus-69-special
1974lotus-76
In these seasons the team ran more than one design and no source says which car raced which round, so the results are left unattributed rather than guessed.

Every entry 33 entries

Every entry
SeasonGrand PrixDriverGridResultOut
1975United States Grand PrixRonnie Peterson145Finished
1975United States Grand PrixBrian Henton19NCNC
1975Italian Grand PrixJim Crawford2513Finished
1975Italian Grand PrixRonnie Peterson11DNFEngine
1975Austrian Grand PrixRonnie Peterson135Finished
1975Austrian Grand PrixBrian Henton22DNSAccident
1975German Grand PrixJohn Watson14DNFSuspension
1975German Grand PrixRonnie Peterson18DNFClutch
1975British Grand PrixBrian Henton2116Accident
1975British Grand PrixJim Crawford25DNFAccident
1975British Grand PrixRonnie Peterson16DNFEngine
1975French Grand PrixRonnie Peterson1710Finished
1975French Grand PrixJacky Ickx19DNFBrakes
1975Dutch Grand PrixRonnie Peterson1615Out of fuel
1975Dutch Grand PrixJacky Ickx21DNFEngine
1975Swedish Grand PrixRonnie Peterson99Finished
1975Swedish Grand PrixJacky Ickx1815Finished
1975Belgian Grand PrixJacky Ickx16DNFBrakes
1975Belgian Grand PrixRonnie Peterson14DNFBrakes
1975Monaco Grand PrixRonnie Peterson44Finished
1975Monaco Grand PrixJacky Ickx148Finished
1975Spanish Grand PrixJacky Ickx162Finished
1975Spanish Grand PrixRonnie Peterson12DNFSuspension
1975South African Grand PrixRonnie Peterson810Finished
1975South African Grand PrixGuy Tunmer2511Finished
1975South African Grand PrixJacky Ickx2112Finished
1975South African Grand PrixEddie Keizan2213Finished
1975Brazilian Grand PrixJacky Ickx129Finished
1975Brazilian Grand PrixRonnie Peterson1615Finished
1975Argentine Grand PrixJacky Ickx188Finished
1975Argentine Grand PrixRonnie Peterson11DNFEngine
1974South African Grand PrixIan Scheckter2213Finished
1974South African Grand PrixPaddy Driver26DNFClutch
Show all 33 entriesShow the first 10, Every entry

Where this comes from

Constructor
Team Lotus
Predecessor
—
Successor
—
Races (published)
—
Wins (published)
—
Poles (published)
—
Confidence
reference
Specification source
—
Register source
https://github.com/f1db/f1db