Why unloved Lotus 76 may be Colin Chapman's most significant car
A wide variety of Lotus cars are often proffered as the ultimate F1 game-changer – but was the Lotus 76 an unusual candidate which trumps them all?
This week in motor sport from the Archive and Database, as Ligier begins the season with victory, plus nods to Gilles, Pedro and Foyt and more.
1903: Resistance fighter and Grand Prix winner, and all-but forgotten, W Williams is born. In profile
1930: Luki Botha, one-time GP starter, is born. In profile
1935: Le Mans winner and US racing great AJ Foyt is born. In profile
1937: Formula Ford winner and Grand Prix starter Luiz-Pereira Bueno is born. In profile
1952: F3 champ, F1 racer and sports car winner Piercarlo Ghinzani is born. In profile
1895: Le Mans winner John Duff is born. In profile
1938: Rally driver, and Le Mans starter, Rauno Aaltonen is born.
1940: The frighteningly fast Pedro Rodriguez is born. In profile
1942: Johnny Servoz-Gavin, F3 and F2 champion who qualified on the front row on F1 debut, is born. In profile
1950: Gilles Villeneuve is born. In profile
1950: Gianfranco Brancatelli is born. In profile
1971: IMSA champion Christian Fittipaldi is born. In profile
1907: Briggs Cunningham is born. In profile
1914: “Mr Bob” Gerard is born. In profile
1969: Carlo Salamano, Italian Grand Prix winner, dies aged 69. In profile
1980: Jenson Button is born. In profile
1984: Karun Chandhok is born. In profile
1957: Bentley Boy and father of the BRDC, JD Benjafield passes away. In profile
1975: Norberto Fontana is born. In profile
1991: GP2 champion and Renault F1 racer Jolyon Palmer is born. In profile
2004: Alan Brown dies of a heart attack. In profile
1975: Yuji Ide, former Super Aguri driver, is born. In profile
1979: Jacques Laffite wins the Argentine Grand Prix. Report
1959: Mike Hawthorn is killed in a road accident. In profile
2007: British Grand Prix winner Emmanuel de Graffenried dies at the age of 92. In profile
A wide variety of Lotus cars are often proffered as the ultimate F1 game-changer – but was the Lotus 76 an unusual candidate which trumps them all?
Finishing sixth in the Bahrain Grand Prix with broken wrists and a fractured toe, Lance Stroll is the latest racer to block out torturous pain rather than miss a race. Here are some of the most incredible stories
The hot pursuit of keeping up with Red Bull is causing serious headaches for Mercedes and Ferrari, with Aston Martin remaining realistic
Williams was the second-most improved F1 team at the Bahrain GP, with Alex Albon scoring a point. But new team principal James Vowles says that it will take years to break into the midfield fight, as he overcomes the legacy left by seasons of struggle