It is important to stress that the Team Lotus who competed from 1958 to 1994 have no connection with the current Lotus. This is because the two history's would overlap and intertwine with each other. This being said, it is important to mention just what a history is in the name. Throughout the years the team won 7 constructors championships, ranking them 4th overall behind Ferrari, Williams and McLaren. Five drivers have gone on to win World Championships while driving a Lotus car including; Jim Clark twice, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt (posthumously), Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti. The name is a well established and respected one, with previous drivers such as Sir Stirling Moss, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet, and Ayrton Senna (pictured).
In my eyes, as a British racing car fan and a British F1 fan, Lotus are really our Ferrari. The McLaren and die hard Williams fans are going to grab their pitchforks but they really are just as important. The founding father Colin Chapman was an innovator, so much so that he influenced the minds of Ross Brawn and Adrian Newey. British Motorsport owes a lot to Lotus and where they excelled us to where we are today.
First Entered: 1981
Pole Positions: 1
Race Wins: 0
Points: 26
Constructors Championships: 0
Drivers Championships: 0
Toleman were a British based team who raced from 1981 until 1985, and were far from successful. In their first season they failed to qualify for their first 9 races and only finished one grand prix that whole year. Things did not improve until the 1983 season where they managed to scrape 10 points together. What Toleman should be remembered for however, is the first team to award a drive to the (already mentioned) legend that is Ayrton Senna.
First Entered: 1986
Pole Positions: 15
Race Wins: 27
Points: 851.5
Constructors Championships: 1
Drivers Championships: 2
After taking over from Toleman as sponsors, Benetton slowly but surely asserted their mark on F1 early on. In their first season, Gerhard Berger scored two podiums, including a race win in Mexico, his first and the teams. Drivers such as Nelson Piquet, Jean Alesi and Jenson Button have all driven for this team, but the greatest success came in the form of the most successful driver in Formula 1 history. 7 time World Champion Michael Schumacher won the first of his two world championships back-to-back with in the team in 1994-1995. The team can also boast a talented technical staff with big names such as Flavio Britatore, Ross Brawn, Mike Gascogyne, Pat Symonds and Pat Fry. The team soon full into a slump and was bought over by our next name in 2002.
First Entered: 2002
Pole Positions: 51
Race Wins: 35
Points: 1006*
Constructors Championships: 2
Drivers Championships: 2
*only the years from 2002-2011
Jenson Button continued driving for a year alongside Jarno Trulli but was replaced by Fernando Alonso in 2003 following his year out after Minardi. The fortune from the move came very very soon as in the 2005 and 2006 season, Alonso and the team completed the championship double, ending Michael Schumacher's Ferrari dominance. The Renault team became hugely popular during these times, but the very foundations that team boss Flavio Britatore had put in place to form these championship wins soon fell through.
In 2009, Crash-Gate came to our attention following Nelson Piquet jr's childish ways in un-earthing the dirt surrounded Fernando Alonso's victory in Singapore during its inaugural race in 2008. The scandal put a cloud around the Renault name that would sour in our memory for years.
In 2011, Lotus (who already had a Team Lotus on the grid since 2010) completed an advertising deal with Renault which would re-name the team Lotus-Renault. Following the decision, Team Lotus and Lotus-Renault reached a decision to clear up the remaining confusion, Team Lotus would become Caterham (due to their boss buying Caterham Cars) and Renault Lotus would simply become Lotus.
First Entered: 2012
Pole Positions: 0
Race Wins: 1
Points: 303
Constructors Championships: 0
Drivers Championships: 0
In 2012, Lotus hired Kimi Raikkonen after a two year absence, a move which made the majority question. But The Iceman proved everybody wrong, he had a phenomenal season leading to a few calling him driver of the year. Following his ice cool messages and race win during Abu Dhabi, he reminded us all why we love him. The Enstone factory and the team around him provide him with a relaxed yet motivated platform, something which his former employers Ferrari and McLaren failed to provide. This is the key to Raikkonen's success and he will be one to watch during 2013.
His team mate Romain Grosjean, not so much. In 2012 Grosjean had 10 crashes, 7 of them first lap and won which cased him to get banned for one race. He'll need to improve dramatically, he has the talent and the pace, just not the head.
What's remarkable about the car is that on the body you can see 3 stars which represent the 3 constructors championships. This shows a respect and fond memory of their history while still moving forward in amazing strides. Lotus are my favourite team because I love Kimi and I love the passion of the Lotus team. The future holds many bright moments for us, 2013 will be the beginning.
