In the lead-up to the Dutch GP at Zandvoort, much attention is focused on four-time world champion Max Verstappen, the local hero who upholds Dutch honor on the dune circuit. However, Lotus recently spotlighted another Dutch Formula 1 driver. Jan Lammers, former driver and sporting director of the Dutch GP, was reunited with the Type 79 at Lotus’s test circuit, in which he once conducted a Formula 1 test.
In an official press release, Lotus speaks of a ‘warm welcome’ for Jan Lammers at Hethel, the British headquarters of the car manufacturer and the illustrious Formula 1 team. Various mechanics and engineers who once worked with Lammers welcomed him. The former driver was also reunited with the Lotus Type 79. Former world champion Mario Andretti used this specific chassis to win the 1978 Zandvoort GP, as well as both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships that year.
Test Laps
A year later, Lammers completed a test with this Lotus at the Paul Ricard circuit, hoping to secure a coveted Formula 1 seat with the factory team. However, Lotus ultimately chose Italian Elio de Angelis. Along with Clive Chapman, son of team founder Colin Chapman, Jan Lammers was allowed to relive those test laps this week in Hethel. To his great surprise, he was also allowed to take a look at the handwritten test notes from his Paul Ricard session.”It was great to see the people from Lotus again,” Lammers declared afterwards. After a few ‘memorable’ laps in the Type 79, he also got to sit in the Lotus Evija, an electric hypercar from the British manufacturer. This 2,039 horsepower racing beast is the world’s most powerful electric production car ever built. “The fact that a dominant Formula 1 car from that era and the modern Lotus Evija of today are hardly inferior to each other in terms of performance and handling, is indicative of the evolution of the entire automobile industry,” said Lammers.
