Lotus 95T
Encyclopedia
The Lotus 95T was an F1 car designed by Gérard Ducarouge
for Team Lotus
' use in the 1984 Formula One season
. It was Lotus' first newly designed chassis since the Lotus 88
. The car was powered by a Renault turbo V6 engine with twin Garrett turbochargers. It was a development of the previous Lotus 94T
, which had proved competitive at the end of 1983. The team switched from Pirelli
to Goodyear
tyres for the new season, but the new rubber was not on a par with the Michelin
s run by the McLaren
team who won 12 of the 16 races in 1984.
The car was a significant improvement, and helped the team be competitive consistently. Elio de Angelis
was in contention for victory on more than one occasion, and four podium places along with several other points finishes helped him to third in the drivers' championship. He also scored a pole position
. It was a surprisingly impressive season for the Italian, who was in with an outside chance for the championship until the German Grand Prix, after which it was a two horse race between McLaren drivers Alain Prost
and eventual champion Niki Lauda
. Nigel Mansell
had a chance to win the Monaco Grand Prix
during a rain hit race, but crashed in the early stages while leading. Other potential podium finishes at Dallas and Estoril
were unrewarded with reliability problems, but he did manage to score his first career pole position at Dallas and finished on the podium twice in France
and at the Dutch Grand Prix
. Mansell departed the team for Wiliams
at the end of the season after enduing a difficult relationship with team boss Peter Warr
.
By season's end, Lotus finished third in the constructors' championship with 47 points, their best result since 1978. The 95T helped to re-establish Lotus as a force in F1 throughout the mid 1980s. It was replaced by the Lotus 97T
in 1985.
Gérard Ducarouge
Gérard Ducarouge is a French former Formula One car designer. Like many designers, his background was based in aeronautical engineering...
for Team Lotus
Team Lotus
Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing...
' use in the 1984 Formula One season
1984 Formula One season
The 1984 Formula One season was the 35th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1984 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1984 Fomula One World Championship for Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a sixteen race series which commenced on March 25,...
. It was Lotus' first newly designed chassis since the Lotus 88
Lotus 88
The Lotus 88 was an innovative ground effect Formula One car designed by Colin Chapman, Peter Wright, Tony Rudd and Martin Ogilvie of Lotus in an effort to maximise the downforce produced by ground effects cars.-History:...
. The car was powered by a Renault turbo V6 engine with twin Garrett turbochargers. It was a development of the previous Lotus 94T
Lotus 94T
The Lotus 94T was a Formula One racing car used by Team Lotus in the second part of the 1983 Formula One season. The car was powered by the Renault Gordini EF1 V6 turbo engine, and ran on Pirelli tyres...
, which had proved competitive at the end of 1983. The team switched from Pirelli
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. SpA is a diverse multinational company based in Milan, Italy. The company, the world’s fifth largest tyre manufacturer, is present in over 160 countries, has 20 manufacturing sites around the world and a network of around 10,000 distributors and retailers.Founded in Milan in 1872,...
to Goodyear
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
tyres for the new season, but the new rubber was not on a par with the Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
s run by the McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...
team who won 12 of the 16 races in 1984.
The car was a significant improvement, and helped the team be competitive consistently. Elio de Angelis
Elio de Angelis
Elio de Angelis was an Italian racing driver who participated in Formula One between and , racing for the Shadow, Lotus and Brabham teams. He was killed during testing at the Paul Ricard circuit at Le Castellet in 1986...
was in contention for victory on more than one occasion, and four podium places along with several other points finishes helped him to third in the drivers' championship. He also scored a pole position
Pole position
The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...
. It was a surprisingly impressive season for the Italian, who was in with an outside chance for the championship until the German Grand Prix, after which it was a two horse race between McLaren drivers Alain Prost
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix...
and eventual champion Niki Lauda
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.- Early years in racing :Born in Vienna,...
. Nigel Mansell
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series...
had a chance to win the Monaco Grand Prix
1984 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1984 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on June 3, 1984. It was the sixth round of the 1984 Formula One season.The race, held amidst heavy rain, was one of the most contentious in Formula One history, and announced the emergence of at least two new stars...
during a rain hit race, but crashed in the early stages while leading. Other potential podium finishes at Dallas and Estoril
1984 Portuguese Grand Prix
The 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Estoril on October 21, 1984. It was the sixteenth and final round of the 1984 Formula One season...
were unrewarded with reliability problems, but he did manage to score his first career pole position at Dallas and finished on the podium twice in France
1984 French Grand Prix
The 1984 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Dijon on May 20, 1984. It was the fifth round of the 1984 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :...
and at the Dutch Grand Prix
1984 Dutch Grand Prix
The 1984 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on August 26, 1984. It was the thirteenth round of the 1984 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...
. Mansell departed the team for Wiliams
WilliamsF1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...
at the end of the season after enduing a difficult relationship with team boss Peter Warr
Peter Warr
Peter E. Warr was an English businessman, racing driver and a manager for several Formula One teams, including Walter Wolf Racing, Fittipaldi Automotive, and Team Lotus....
.
By season's end, Lotus finished third in the constructors' championship with 47 points, their best result since 1978. The 95T helped to re-establish Lotus as a force in F1 throughout the mid 1980s. It was replaced by the Lotus 97T
Lotus 97T
The Lotus 97T was a Formula One racing car designed by Gérard Ducarouge and built by Team Lotus. A development of the Lotus 95T of 1984, it was designed for the 1985 Formula One season by French engineer Gérard Ducarouge and powered by a 1500cc Renault turbocharged engine. Sponsorship came from...
in 1985.
Complete Formula One results
(results in bold indicate pole position)| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Player Team Lotus Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport series including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar and sports car racing... |
Renault Gordini Renault F1 Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking... EF4 V6 V6 engine A V6 engine is a V engine with six cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of three cylinders, usually set at either a right angle or an acute angle to each other, with all six pistons driving a common crankshaft... tc Turbocharger A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance... |
BRA 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jacarepaguá on March 25, 1984. It was the first round of the 1984 Formula One season... |
RSA 1984 South African Grand Prix The 1984 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on April 7, 1984. It was the second round of the 1984 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :*First point: Ayrton Senna... |
BEL 1984 Belgian Grand Prix The 1984 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zolder on April 29, 1984. It was the third round of the 1984 Formula One season.- Finishing Grid :- Notes :*This was the last F1 race to take place at Zolder... |
SMR 1984 San Marino Grand Prix The 1984 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Imola on May 6, 1984. It was the fourth round of the 1984 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :... |
FRA 1984 French Grand Prix The 1984 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Dijon on May 20, 1984. It was the fifth round of the 1984 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :... |
MON 1984 Monaco Grand Prix The 1984 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on June 3, 1984. It was the sixth round of the 1984 Formula One season.The race, held amidst heavy rain, was one of the most contentious in Formula One history, and announced the emergence of at least two new stars... |
CAN 1984 Canadian Grand Prix The 1984 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 17, 1984. It was the seventh round of the 1984 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
DET | DAL | GBR 1984 British Grand Prix The 1984 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on July 22, 1984. It was the tenth round of the 1984 Formula One season.-Qualifying:... |
GER 1984 German Grand Prix The 1984 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Hockenheimring on August 5, 1984. It was the eleventh round of the 1984 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
AUT 1984 Austrian Grand Prix The 1984 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Österreichring on August 19, 1984. It was the twelfth round of the 1984 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* First race: Gerhard Berger... |
NED 1984 Dutch Grand Prix The 1984 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on August 26, 1984. It was the thirteenth round of the 1984 Formula One season.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
ITA 1984 Italian Grand Prix The 1984 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 9 September 1984. It was the fourteenth round of the 1984 Formula One season.- Classification :... |
EUR 1984 European Grand Prix The 1984 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on October 7, 1984. It was the fifteenth round of the 1984 Formula One season... |
POR 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix The 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Estoril on October 21, 1984. It was the sixteenth and final round of the 1984 Formula One season... |
47 | 3rd | |||
| Elio de Angelis Elio de Angelis Elio de Angelis was an Italian racing driver who participated in Formula One between and , racing for the Shadow, Lotus and Brabham teams. He was killed during testing at the Paul Ricard circuit at Le Castellet in 1986... |
3 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Ret | Ret | 4 | Ret | Ret | 5 | ||||||
| Nigel Mansell Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series... |
Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 3 | Ret | 6 | Ret | 6 | Ret | 4 | Ret | 3 | Ret | Ret | Ret |