Ayrton Senna Lotus 99T Camel (4/5)

After Renault pulled out of F1 at the end of 1986, Lotus signed a deal with Honda for use of their turbocharged 1.5-litre engine. Due to Honda’s existing deal with Williams which allowed that team exclusive use of the 1987-spec RA167-E unit, Lotus instead used the previous season‘s RA166-E. As part of the deal, Lotus agreed to sign Honda’s test driver Satoru Nakajima as teammate to Ayrton Senna. Still, it’s sobering to realize that this year will mark 30 years since Ayrton Senna’s Lotus 99T-Honda, complete with the active suspension system, crossed the line first at both Monaco and Detroit to score Team Lotus’s final grand prix victories. It’s always struck me as tragic that Chapman didn’t live to see his team running the fastest driver of his era in the most complex F1 car of the period. We can be certain he’d have approved.