The need for smooth airflow dictated the car must have clean lines. Nicknamed "Black Beauty" by the press and F1 fans alike, for its graceful design and sleek profile and its black and gold livery through sponsorship by John Player Special cigarettes, the Lotus 79 was instantly competitive on its debut, the 1978 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. It took the pole position at the hands of Mario Andretti by more than a second, and went on to win the race comfortably. Andretti said after driving the 79 for the first time that, in comparison, the Lotus 78 was „like driving a London bus“. Peterson once quipped, after scoring an impressive pole position, that the car was so brilliantly set up, all he had to do was steer.