And Colossally That's History: The Lotus 72 - The car that changed F1 forever
The Race F1 Podcast
The Race Media Ltd
4.5 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 23 May 2025
⏱️ 73 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On the latest episode of And Colossally That's History! Richard and Matt are reappraising the legacy of one of F1's most enduring cars: The Lotus 72.
Named by no less than Adrian Newey as the car he wishes he'd designed, the 72 was a revolutionary machine in Formula 1 terms, setting the template, as it did, for all F1 cars that would follow.
It was also one of the longest-serving and most successful cars in F1 history, spending six years in the top flight (from 1970 to 1975) , and being raced to 20 world championship-status Formula 1 grand prix wins, two Formula 1 drivers’ world championships, and three Formula 1 constructors’ world championships.
Richard and Matt explore how innovative Lotus boss Colin Chapman, working with designer Maurice Philippe, arrived at the game-changing 72, and why it became so successful. They also talk about the great drivers that excelled in various iterations of it, with both Matt and Richard describing in brilliant detail their experiences of watching the car being expertly piloted by Ronnie Peterson - a man who seemed its perfect match.
Matt and Richard will be bringing members an exclusive Q&A episode at the end of Season 3, where they'll answer questions on each of the topics covered. Join on Patreon today and get 75% off your first month - we even have an F1-only tier!
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Transcript
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| 1:14.9 | The Athletic |
| 1:16.6 | Hello and welcome to and colossally. |
| 1:26.1 | That's history, the podcast that re-appraises motor racing history. |
| 1:30.9 | I'm Richard Williams and I'm joined as ever by Matt Bishop. And Matt, as we've done a few times recently, |
| 1:37.1 | I'd like to start this episode with a story, if I may. |
| 1:40.2 | By all means, Richard, set the scene. We're going to be talking about the Lotus 72 of the early |
| 1:46.0 | 1970s, in many eyes, one of the most beautiful Formula One cars of all time, which wouldn't matter |
| 1:52.3 | much if its winning record were not just as memorable. It was the car that carried Yucan |
| 1:57.3 | Rint and Emerson Fittipaldi to the World Championship, and it was also driven |
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