# What was the best era of the Lotus F1 team?

> Championship-winning wedges, ground-effect wizardry and lean years under famous liveries. Pick the stretch when this team mattered most.

*By YPB Team · Published October 30, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-was-the-best-era-of-the-lotus-f1-team*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Jim Clark Era (1962–1965)** — score 1000/1000
   The monocoque Lotus 25 and 33 carried Jim Clark to world titles in 1963 and 1965 and redefined chassis design.
2. **Ayrton Senna Era (1985–1987)** — score 733/1000
   The black-and-gold Renault turbo cars gave Ayrton Senna his first Grand Prix wins and a run of pole positions.
3. **Lotus 72 Era (1970–1975)** — score 732/1000
   The wedge-shaped Lotus 72 won titles with Jochen Rindt and Emerson Fittipaldi and stayed competitive for six seasons.
4. **Ground-Effect Era (1977–1978)** — score 599/1000
   The Lotus 78 and 79 wing cars dominated 1978 and won Mario Andretti the last drivers' title for Team Lotus.
5. **Early Years (1958–1961)** — score 0/1000
   Colin Chapman's first Formula 1 seasons, when the rear-engined Lotus 18 gave the team its first Grand Prix wins.
6. **De Angelis–Mansell Years (1979–1984)** — score 0/1000
   A turbulent stretch of twin-chassis experiments and Chapman's death, lit up by Elio de Angelis's 1982 Austrian win.
7. **Final Years (1988–1994)** — score 0/1000
   The last chapter of the original Team Lotus, from Nelson Piquet's podiums to a young Mika Häkkinen before the 1994 collapse.
8. **Lotus F1 Team (2012–2015)** — score 0/1000
   The rebranded Enstone team whose black-and-gold cars won with Kimi Räikkönen in Abu Dhabi 2012 and Australia 2013.
9. **Lotus 49 Era (1967–1969)** — score 0/1000
   The Cosworth DFV-powered Lotus 49 won on debut and took Graham Hill to the 1968 drivers' championship.

Tags: cars, formula-1, teams, motorsport, lotus