Team Lotus prepares for the 1978 British F1 Grand Prix

[@harryanders2877]

Wonderful clip from behind the scenes of the greatest era in F1 history, in my opinion. Thanks for sharing.

[@michaelwhelan564]

As a lotus owner of over 35 years i can only dream of the tractors reliability 😂

[@Erik-fl9nu]

For anyone wondering, here's what the Swedish text on the engine says: "Ronnie, enough with the constant second! Because here is the engine to beat him Bill"

[@4517onlyglory]

Ronnie was the 1970s Mansell

[@yallowrosa]

congratulation to the English objectivity ... No words and images for the winner Reutemann on Ferrari

[@chumleyk]

Good. Ferrari is Italian, the audience for this was wholly British. It was a documentary on Lotus. Try taking Enzo's ghost member out of your pipe. Congratulations on your 'Italian objectivity'.

[@psk1w1]

The British GP was held on 16 July. Sobering to think that less than two months later, Ronnie Peterson was dead, as a result of a multi-car pile-up at the start of the Italian GP held at Monza. He was burned and had multiple fractures of his legs. What killed him was a fat embolism of the brain. It happens sometimes when a person has multiple fractures

[@tiadaid]

Look at how simple those cars were back then. It's no wonder why the racing was close.

[@kjsh987]

you rocked ronnie!

[@eduardopinillos7920]

Gran victoria de: Carlos Reutemann ! :-) Lindo recuerdo de aquella hermosa formula 1 ...

[@amjan]

Amazing times

[@gimmeshelter1969]

"What's making it worse is bloody Lauda is winning it!" -Colin Chapman

[@steviem8466]

So sad what happened to Ronnie, and the coming downfall/death of Colin and those winging other teams, so scared that Lotus would have swept the field again in the 88 Twin chasis!

[@jozefgregor8748]

líbí se mi ,že Colin má na sobě žluté tričko nejlepšího konstruktera v roce 1978 .

[@foothills1956]

Ronnie was brilliant, but he was there to support MA.

[@josedacunhafilho]

Peterson was gypped from a championship title that year because Chapman wanted to sell cars to Americans. Tragically, he lost his life instead, and the world lost one of its greatest drivers. Peterson had been the undisputed fastest driver in F1 during the 1970s, and he was a great human being as well. Loosing him was terrible tragedy.

[@PeterMayer]

That is not true. Stop with that b*******

[@frederickmiles327]

For all Collins explanatory comments, I actually think it might have been faster on full tanks and relatively new tyres for Ronnie in the final session because I don't think his pole time that remarkable, considering. Andretti was always quick here, note his incredibly fast time in the Parnelli March 701 at Brands in 1970, 0.6 faster than Peterson and O.8 faster than Amon in the March 701 like Peterson on Firestones. Its as rough as guts around here of course a bit like Pukekohe and as primitive as hell compared with any modern GP track. Its a mini road circuit like Mosport at the time.

[@AtomicLT11]

4:54 that has to be Eje Elgh,swedish racingdriver and protege of Ronnie

[@houseyUK]

Followed by Tambay I think

[@giovannimattioli518]

Audio???

[@yardelli]

Sad to see poor Ronnie just 2 months before his passing......

[@maxoldin6366]

Ronnie taking pole with a full fueld car

[@maxmulsanne7054]

9 PP (Pole Positions) in 1973 that involved 15 GP events. ⁉️❓Note: if I'm not mistaken, that record stood until Mansell/Williams 1992. *Edit:* my mistake, Ayrton Senna/McLaren 1988.

[@pederfallbom]

Ronnie was way faster than Mario but USA sells more cars then Sweden

[@IntrovertedN00b]

Chapman would've loved Senna. He might have compared him to the late Jim Clark

[@Miklos82]

A very interesting subject, but needs better editing. For example- no sign of the start of the race- an important feature of any racing film. Also, the narrator tells us of both Lotus cars dropping out of the race only to show a Lotus circulating on the track a few seconds later.

[@Liofa73]

starman1968ful --- Do you realise how old this footage is? The editors likely aren't even alive anymore... Therefore you're preaching to the dead.

[@chumleyk]

Do you know anything about broadcast rights? Back then, as now, actual race footage is reserved only for the official broadcast. They were lucky to get what they got.

[@bartiger245]

audio is way off buddy

[@mateo89fl]

@@bartiger245 It's better than nothing

[@BirdyJPE]

Ronnie was by far a better driver than Mario. He was a master of car handeling....just see the Austrian Grand Prix of 1978. 😀👍

[@curiousuranus810]

Ronnie: surely the greatest F1 driver never to win the World championship

[@Evan-ql7sh]

Stirling Moss, Gilles Villeneuve,Carlos reutemann, Tony brooks I would put all those guys up there as well but Ronnie was quite quick imo a bit overrated but quick

[@chumleyk]

Statistically (academically backed) Stirling Moss was.

[@maxmulsanne7054]

I'm gonna through in Dan Gurney as another honorable mention since: 1) he was capable of winning in any category of racing and 2) like Graham Hill, he got into the game a little late in life. 3) Not to mention that he almost certainly would have been a WDC had he remained with Brabham instead of taking on the task & burden of being a constructor in both USAC & F1 racing. 4) Jim Clark in so many civilized words, indicated to his father that Gurney was a bad-ass, and the only driver that Clark recognized as a force to recon with (ever since Monza 1963). Additional note: Chris Amon too, since there's no telling what he could have accomplished given the right amount of luck combined with the right team (see his performance with Ferrari in 1969).

[@Liofa73]

I ride my bike past the test track all the time...

[@hmdwgf]

Milan's Ferrari? More like Maranello (or if they prefer large cities- Bologna)'s Ferrari.

[@mrrolandlawrence]

one thing i never knew till recently about chappers was that he didn't like smoking! in fact smoking was prohibited at lotus! sadly a diet of amphetamines cut his life short like elvis and garland.

[@dineigeo]

Houvir. Triu. Parada. Dura

[@Freshstart6354]

@@lukemaney645 Yes you are right, he was going to jail!

[@RikiNewtonMusicianSongwriter]

Sound's fucked.

[@TheMrmmkkpro]

Lotus designed the LT5 engine in my 1990 ZR-1 corvette, this engine is a work of art. Capable of Turing well over 7k rpm forever. This car showroom stock still holds the 24 hour world speed endurance record for a mass produced production car. Just under 175 mph. Lotus ROCKS! Cool video. 👍👍🏁

[@jozefgregor8748]

na 50 tet vypadá Colin velice sešle.

[@mark4lev]

Can you imagine how stressful running a team is

[@pepejose4958]

Gano reutemman, no lo nombran ni lo muestran jajajajajja

[@TheFokker03]

`Peterson was a better driver,imo,than Andretti.had he not played second fiddle to Mario,he would have been '78 WC.Trouble is,he was probably his own enemy,accepting number 2 status to Andretti.

[@Evan-ql7sh]

There’s a reason a team doesn’t make you a number one over another guy first is the team feels the other guy is faster the team feels the other guy has more experience Mario checks all those boxes and you only say Ronnie would have won because your a Ronnie Pettersson fan which I am as well actually I grew up watching Ronnie but he had been there since 1973 and you don’t think the genius that was Colin Chapman would have looked at Pettersson those years leading up to Andretti getting the ride and said no Mario there’s no number one this guys just as fast as you that my friend is something I just can’t accept

[@fritzkatz]

Who set the track record? MARIO !

[@PeterMayer]

No he wasn't. Mario helped rebuild that team. He was much better at setting up the car and with technical feedback. Sorry.

[@maxmulsanne7054]

Though it is common knowledge that Peterson was widely regarded as the *fastest* driver during his era I don't think that necessarily equates to him being the _'better'_ driver compared to his teammate. As mentioned above it was Andretti who was already committed with the team since 1976 - and perhaps more importantly - was noted for his expertise of adjusting the cars on various circuits. *That quality (evident with USAC & WEC) of Mario's capabilities was recognized by Colin Chapman* early in Andretti's career when in 1968 Chapman provided opportunities for Andretti at both Monza and Watkins Glen in 1968. Because of FIA stipulations & USAC commitments, both Andretti and Bobby Unser (with BRM) were allowed to test/practice at Monza but were dismissed because of the FIA's liability concerns for both drivers should a catastrophic event occur with either driver after making cross-Atlantic commutes. *Later that year at Watkins Glen Mario* (along with Unser at BRM) *was able to participate there courtesy of Chapman's extending offer. Stunningly Andretti secured PP (Pole Position) there,* however retired from the event due to clutch problems. Afterwards, Andretti to his credit, informed Chapman (who immediately wanted to hire him for the 1969 campaign) that he - Andretti - thought he was _"in over his head"_ for what F1 racing demands were. Chapman appreciated Mario's honesty and both parties mutually agreed to separate and move on with their particular endeavors..... *Now with reflections of the 1978 season:* Peterson just jumped ship (Lotus) too soon in 1976 when he went to March Engineering. So he subsequently lost his No. 1 status. It's the same mistake that other drivers have done at one point or another. Dan Gurney and Chris Amon being two prime examples of making transitions to other teams before those organizations were able to sort things out mechanically if not logistically. Not to criticize Peterson any further here, but it should also be noted that during his earlier stint at Lotus, *in his VERY first year there in fact,* he DIRECTLY disobeyed team orders when he won the 1973 Italian GP - thus eliminating his teammate's (Fittipaldi) chances of defending his title and subsequently handing the 1973 WDC to Jackie Stewart. *No doubt that event was something Colin Chapman didn't forget - and couldn't possibly allow to happen again for his established, invaluable driver -* Andretti. Chapman lost Fittipaldi because of 1973. He certainly wasn't going to lose Andretti under the same circumstances.

[@zs9811]

@@maxmulsanne7054 And I remember a report around that time by Jackie Stuart on a visit to Lotus's Hethel Test Track. Stuart seemed to get the impression that Peterson was somewhat unsuited to driving this sort of (ground-effect) cars. Of course, Ronnie was a legendary driver and was fast enough, as seen in this video, but it is not inconceivable given his driving style, I also think. He was an old-school type of driver, including in terms of the development and set-up capabilities of the cars mentioned above, though he was younger than them (Stuart and Andretti are almost the same age). According to the article, Stuart's time was faster than Ronnie's even though he had been retired for many years. I think he didn't mentioned Andretti, it is possible that they both were ahead of Mario, though. I don't remember if he was in the US at the time, for example.

[@klauskarnath2935]

Ronnie war immer besser...mein Favorit

[@pepejose4958]

Ronie me hacer cordar a villenueve pilotos inmaduros

[@dtexas2964]

Ronnie could have thrashed Mario.

[@joshhill5932]

Do you really think any team would make the better driver #2? Just cause you like one driver more doesn't make him better.

[@psk1w1]

Ronnie was young, Mario fairly old for an F1 driver. He just had to bide his time. Sadly he didn't have the time....

[@Evan-ql7sh]

Your such a classic fan boy a driver you don’t like wins over another so your unhappy with the results Mario Andretti is fiercely quick and always would be Ronnie Peterson was good but he had spent time with lotus already in his career and you don’t think the genius that is Colin Chapman would have made Pettersson a number two for no reason if he was so much quicker this is such idiocy from I’m sure someone who wasn’t even alive then also Ronnie had chances to win the title before that why didn’t He you likely disrespect Mario because of your xenophobia towards anybody American even and Italian born American like Andretti lol

[@Evan-ql7sh]

Also Mario and Ronnie has great respect and friendship towards one another you should know

[@klauskarnath8233]

Ronnie was definitely the best Driver at this time....see Austrian GP 1978.

[@badgumby9544]

Never cared for Andretti. He was lucky when he won races and a championship. He was hard on cars and wasn't savvy on preserving them, when he needed to. His son was the same.

[@juliataylor2623]

no but he had taken the lotus 76 drive when Ronnie had turned it down, developed it and won a race and was credited with developing the 78.

[@PeterMayer]

You must not no much. And bought into that biased European press. Lotus wasn't s*** until andretti showed up and help rebuild that team. He almost won the 77 championship.

[@terrystevens5261]

@@juliataylor2623 Mario Andretti never set foot in the Lotus 76. it was developed by Peterson and Icks. i suspect you are thinking of the Lotus 78 in which he had four victories in 1977, it being the first F1 ground effect car.

[@marcorinchi5150]

​@@terrystevens5261no. Lui voleva dire la 77 che ha vinto con Andretti in Giappone. La 78 nella stagione 77 ha vinto con Andretti e una volta con Nilsonn

[@marguskiis7711]

Sadly Chapman wasn`t perfectionist completing Lotus cars. Lotuses were notorious for their sloppy construction and it caused many races and several lives of drivers.

[@marguskiis7711]

Lotus` cars sloppyness and unreliability was just notorious. Usually they only stopped without any harm. But Ricardo Rodríguez and Gary Hocking died due suspension failures and Rindt died due a front brake failure, for example.

[@LOTPOR0402]

Maybe with road cars ,but it wasnt just Lotus that had fatalities in F1

[@jamespestell6136]

They were very well made just very light weight in design which then made them less ‘safe’. Use to go there when I was a kid as my father worked for Team from 1972 until they ceased in 94.