This was after Amon had nearly won the Spanish G.P. in Montjuic Park. The day after this photo was taken, that tall rear wing behind him was gone, as were everybody else's. The Ferrari's performance fell off as the season progressed and Forghieri concentrated on the new flat-12 engine. When a few of those went bang during testing, Amon had had enough and quit the team. Considering how successful the 312 B and that flat-12 was going by late 1970, Amon probably regretted his decision for the rest of his life.
Graham Hill, Lotus still in green. Watkins Glen 1967. He was second to Jim Clark in the sister car. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I loved it back in the day when you could instantly identify the driver, both at races and in photos, by their distinctive helmet design which also served as their trademark. Graham Hill's helmet in that photo is a good example. Although drivers frequently changed teams their helmet design stayed the same. Putting safety issues aside, nowadays you can hardly see the helmets and, even if you could, many drivers change their helmet designs during the course of a season.
MotorSport magazine called it the greatest racing car of all time, though I think the Lotus 25 was more important.
I can accept that. Colin Chapman was easily the most inventive guy in F1. Sometimes his ideas didn't work but most were brilliant. Ferrari didn't match that until the paddle-shift semi-auto gearbox of 1989.
The difference is that if Colin Chapman himself, the head of Lotus, could claim paternity for the monocoque chassis in F1, the electro-hydraulic transmission with paddle shift operation was designed by John Barnard, a Ferrari employee, not by Enzo.
In this case I was referring to the company, not the man. I think that Colin WAS Lotus much more than even Enzo WAS the company that bears his name.
Brands Hatch 1971 - ENG Race of champions Graham Hill Brabham BT34 Ford Cosworth Image Unavailable, Please Login
I guess the Lobster Claw didn't work as well as expected, since it was replaced by the BT37 which was essentially the same chassis with a conventional single radiator in front. Brabham lost their way design-wise until Gordon Murray's BT42 started them back on the path to the front of the grid.
