page_title: Lotus 79
section_title: 1978
hierarchical_section_title: Lotus 79 / Racing history / 1978
caption_attribution_description: English: Carlos Reutemann in his Lotus 79 at the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix
context_page_description: The Lotus 79 is a Formula One car designed in late 1977 by Colin Chapman, Geoff Aldridge, Martin Ogilvie, Tony Rudd and Peter Wright of Lotus.
context_section_description: The 79 proved to be almost unbeatable during the 1978 Formula One season and provided an unprecedented level of domination. The car took six more victories during the season giving the drivers' championship to Andretti, and the constructors' championship to Lotus. Its only serious rivals during the season were the Ferrari 312T3, and the advantage its Michelin tyres gave in hot weather conditions, and the Brabham BT46B "fan car". The fan car only raced once, winning the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix, before Brabham voluntarily withdrew the car. Meanwhile, the Ferraris only won when the Lotus failed to finish. So superior was the Lotus, that most races became a scrap for minor placings, as Andretti and Peterson regularly finished first and second, more often than not by a considerable margin ahead of the rest of the field. On the rare occasion the 79 did not win or fail, one or other driver was usually on the podium. Andretti was comfortably world champion in 1978, and Peterson finished the season as the runner-up, although posthumously, as he died after a startline crash at Monza, the race where Andretti wrapped up the championship. Peterson was not in the 79 for that race; he drove the previous year's 78 due to a severe crash in practice and his being unable to fit into Andretti's spare car. Jean-Pierre Jarier took over the second Lotus for the rest of the season and was leading the race in both America and Canada — he also grabbed pole position in Canada — until the 79 suffered mechanical failures in both. It proved, however, that even with a lesser driver, the 79 was still competitive.
caption: Carlos Reutemann driving the Martini Racing-liveried 79 at the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix
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