Monza 1994 - Team Lotus's Last Hurrah, by Ibrar Malik

One of the victims from a turbulent 1994 F1 season was Team Lotus, which finally succumbed to its financial struggles during the year. Like Brabham two years earlier, a once-great name would vanish from F1. Lotus was Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi as well as Ayrton Senna's first top team in F1. The upcoming 1983-'89 Lotus book (http://www.1994f1.com/lotusprintbook/) charts how Team Lotus went from being regular a frontrunner during the mid-1980s to a midfielder only a few years later.

After its release on May 1 2020, we then intend to write a follow-up print book covering the team's final years of 1990-'95. This follow-up book explains how Lotus then changed ownership at the end of '90 and went from merely surviving that winter to finishing an incredible fifth in the '92 constructors' championship. It seemed the former seven-time world champion team was on a clear upward trajectory having re-establishing itself as a regular point scorer. More good news came in the form of its leading driver, Johnny Herbert, re-signing within the team for another five years by the end of 1992. Unfortunately this revival under Peter Collins proved short lived because behind the scenes debts were still piling up. The team only survived two more seasons in F1 after '92.

Pedro Lamy's 1994 Silverstone Testing Accident, by Ibrar Malik and Ben Green

This is a special blog to celebrate the launch of the audiobook: Team Lotus, Struggling Beyond The Post Colin Chapman Era.

This blog has been co-written by Ben Green, who is the proud owner of the Lotus Formula 1 car Pedro Lamy crashed during that Silverstone test in May 1994, just prior to that year's Spanish Grand Prix. If you have read the book: 1994 The Untold Story of a Tragic and Controversial F1 Season, you'll know Lamy's crash and its subsequent fallout, was hugely significant to F1 that year. Ben's Lotus chassis is the 107C (chassis no 1).

This is the (restored) Lotus 107C that Lamy almost was killed in during that fateful day at Silverstone in May 1994. Ben purchased the chassis from Team Lotus during 1995, along with a heap of spares.
     
1994 Lotus 107C
At the end of the 1993 season, Team Lotus's finances were in a bad way. The newly released book: Team Lotus, Struggling Beyond The Post Colin Chapman Era details how and why Team Lotus got there by the early 1990s.

Its Chris Murphy-designed 107B was fast but unreliable, while its complex active suspension and customer Cosworth HB engines had drained resources. Along came Honda with the Mugen brand and an updated 1989 ZA5 V10 engine, a no-cost factory option.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Pokemon GO Monsters At Formula 1 Races?

With Jenson Button's help we've cracked the perfect idea to bring younger audiences to F1 races – install Pokemon Go monsters at every Grand Prix! Maybe they're already working on this and decided to live test in Singapore on the perfect target audience, Max Verstappen. Yes, we are referring to the 'Godzilla' on track. Although, this novel idea of ours may lead to more jaywalkers on track - like the marshal in Singapore (but seriously, shouldn't the FIA be penalised for this incident?)! After encountering the Hulk at the start of the race on Sunday, young Verstappen did have the perfect teenager of a weekend.

Nico Rosberg won in Singapore, but the race went down to the wire. In an attempt to bring Lewis Hamilton back on the podium, did Mercedes jeopardise Rosberg's win? What if the situations were reversed? There'd be carnage!

It was also Rosberg's 200th Formula One start – and another driver's 300th, tune in to find out who. As the Drivers' Championship battle continues, we're not taking sides yet - 6 races or nearly 1/3rd of the season yet remaining. But Ferrari, what were they thinking? Or were they thinking at all? After being butted off the podium, maybe Kimi Raikkonen tipped the Singapore cops about Maurizio Arrivabene's cigarette butt, we think.

Ferrari praised Raikkonen's race as a 'World Champion' effort, but they didn't act like a World Champion team. We'd not blame them though; it's been nearly a decade since their last crown. While we missed Raikkonen's uncomfortable waving on the podium and the mumbling, the Iceman did get some overtaking practice in Singapore along with some opportunity for to play his radio classics.

We thank Red Bull Racing for allowing us to enjoy the Max Verstappen vs. Daniil Kvyat battle on-track without issuing team orders. Although, we were almost certain to hear back a 'NO' had they instructed Kvyat to move over. In some ways, did this 'personal' battle help Kvyat get some closure on the unceremonious demotion? Let's hope so. And of course, thank you to Red Bull Racing for livening up the last 14 laps of the race with a well though of tyre strategy for Daniel Ricciardo, who is increasingly becoming our choice for the 'Driver of the Season' and should've won 'Driver of the Day' in Singapore.

We are impressed by Niki Lauda's humour, top marks for his comeback to Max Verstappen on their ongoing "psychiatrist" banter. A new but expected power struggle seems to be brewing in Formula 1 between Bernie Ecclestone and Chase Carey, which way will things go? Carey's biggest short-term task will be to retain Fernando Alonso after 2017. In the meanwhile, we're happy to enjoy some hilarious jokes at Mr. Chase Carey's expense. Are we the first ones to do so?

NASCAR has named a race 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles', will Formula 1 ever get so cool? And if it ever thinks of doing so, let's call the Singapore Grand Prix night race the 'The Dark Night'! Finally, we congratulate Alex Zanardi, a true champion and remember one of our greatest - Keep Fighting Michael! Tune in!

(Season 2016, Episode 30)