Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Constructor | Lotus | ||||||||||
Designer(s) | Colin Chapman (Technical Director) Martin Ogilvie (Chief Designer) Peter Wright (Head of Aerodynamics) | ||||||||||
Predecessor | 80 | ||||||||||
Successor | 86 / 87 / 88 | ||||||||||
Technical specifications | |||||||||||
Chassis | Aluminium monocoque | ||||||||||
Suspension (front) | Double wishbones, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar | ||||||||||
Suspension (rear) | Double wishbones, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar | ||||||||||
Length | 4,623 mm (182.0 in) | ||||||||||
Width | 2,134 mm (84.0 in) | ||||||||||
Height | 965 mm (38.0 in) | ||||||||||
Axle track | Front: 1,700 mm (67 in) Rear: 1,638 mm (64.5 in) | ||||||||||
Wheelbase | 2,789 mm (109.8 in) | ||||||||||
Engine | Ford Cosworth DFV, 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in), 90° V8, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted | ||||||||||
Transmission | Hewland FGA 400 5-speed manual | ||||||||||
Weight | 580 kg (1,280 lb) | ||||||||||
Fuel | Essex | ||||||||||
Tyres | Goodyear (1980) Michelin (1981) | ||||||||||
Competition history | |||||||||||
Notable entrants | Team Essex Lotus | ||||||||||
Notable drivers | Mario Andretti Elio de Angelis Nigel Mansell | ||||||||||
Debut | 1980 Argentine Grand Prix | ||||||||||
Last event | 1981 Belgian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
n.b. Unless otherwise stated, all data refer to Formula One World Championship Grands Prix only. |
The Lotus 81 was a Formula One racing car built by Colin Chapman's Lotus team for the 1980 Formula One season. Unlike many of forebears the 81 was not a terribly innovative or competitive car, coming as it did at a time when Chapman's interest in his racing activities was waning.[ citation needed ]
Instead it was a very standard ground effect design with sliding skirts and the ubiquitous Cosworth DFV 3.0 litre V8 powerplant. The car was said to generate a great deal of downforce but have excessive pitch sensitivity problems, ultimately leading Chapman to develop the innovative twin-chassis Lotus 88.
Mario Andretti and Elio de Angelis used the 81 in all 14 rounds of the 1980 Formula One world championship, and the car also gave Nigel Mansell his Formula One debut, with the British driver lining up in a total of three races that season. The best result for the car was Elio de Angelis's 2nd place in Brazil.
Chapman had intended to use the Lotus 88 for the 1981 season,[ citation needed ] but a massive furore over the legality of the new car meant that the 81 was kept on as a stop gap for the first four races Lotus competed in, as they boycotted the 1981 San Marino Grand Prix, with Mansell taking 3rd place in the Belgian Grand Prix and de Angelis claiming three points finishes. The car was replaced by the Lotus 87.
(key)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Points | WCC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1980 | Team Essex Lotus | 81 | Ford Cosworth DFV | G | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | BEL | MON | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | CAN | USA | 14 | 5th | ||
Mario Andretti | Ret | Ret | 12 | Ret | Ret | 7 | Ret | Ret | 7 | Ret | 8 | Ret | Ret | 6 | ||||||||
Elio de Angelis | Ret | 2 | Ret | Ret | 10 | 9 | Ret | Ret | 16 | 6 | Ret | 4 | 10 | 4 | ||||||||
81B | Nigel Mansell | Ret | Ret | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||||
1981 | Team Essex Lotus | 81B | Ford Cosworth DFV | M | USW | BRA | ARG | SMR | BEL | MON | ESP | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | CAN | CPL | 22* | 7th | |
Nigel Mansell | Ret | 11 | Ret | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
Elio de Angelis | Ret | 5 | 6 | 5 |
* Of those, 9 points were scored with the 81 model.
Nigel Ernest James Mansell, is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship (1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series (1993). Mansell was the reigning F1 champion when he moved over to CART, becoming the first person to win the CART title in his debut season, and making him the only person to hold both the World Drivers' Championship and the American open-wheel National Championship simultaneously.
Elio de Angelis was an Italian racing driver who participated in Formula One between 1979 and 1986, racing for the Shadow, Lotus and Brabham teams. He was killed in an accident while testing the Brabham BT55 at the Paul Ricard circuit, near the commune of Le Castellet, France, in 1986. De Angelis was a very competitive and highly popular presence in Formula One during the 1980s, and is sometimes referred to as Formula One's "last gentleman player".
Thierry Marc Boutsen is a Belgian former racing driver who raced for the Arrows, Benetton, Williams, Ligier and Jordan teams in Formula One. He competed in 164 World Championship Grands Prix, winning three races, achieving 15 podiums and scoring 132 career points. His best finish in the World Drivers' Championship was fourth in 1988 whilst driving for Benetton. He also twice finished second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans sportscar race.
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