The Lotus
years
Johnny joined Lotus after Martin Donnelly's terrible
accident in practice for the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix.
Johnny stood in for Martin in Japan and Australia during
the season's closing GPs and then shared a car with
Julian Bailey and Michael Bartels in 1991. Showing that
he still had the will to win, Johnny managed to qualify
the recalcitrant car 7 out of 8 times, whereas Bartels
never qualified and Bailey qualified only once. Johnny
frequently outshone highly rated team-mate Mika Hakkinen
both that season and in 1992 when they both raced against
each other at Lotus all season long.
 Unfortunately,
Johnny joined Lotus, formerly one of the greatest of all
F1 teams, when they were in decline. Johnny worked hard
for the team but it was unable to produce a consistently
competitive car to get him on to the podium. His best
season with the team was 1993 when he scored 11 points
and finished 9th in the Championship.
The year before, Johnny had been able to produce a few
demonstrations of his true abilities. One of these was at
Brazil, where he ran sixth, ahead of the Ligiers of Comas
and Boutsen after a brilliant drive through the field
from 26th on the grid. Through no fault of his own,
Johnny got entangled in a coming together of the Ligiers
(not the only time they got in each other's way!) and
ended up in the gravel trap. One of the all too frequent
examples of Johnny's bad luck at Lotus.
Things brightened up momentarily at Monza in 1994,
when Johnny placed the car with its brand new Mugen
engine on the second row of the grid behind the Ferraris
of Alesi and Berger and the Williams of Damon Hill. But
it was to be a false dawn. Eddie Irvine wrecked the hopes
of a good finish for Johnny and the team when an
over-ambitious late braking manoeuvre at the first
chicane ended in a coming together. Johnny was forced to
restart in the spare car with its older version of the
Mugen, but it only lasted 13 laps. Sadly, the team's
decline then became terminal and the end followed soon
after in the hands of the liquidators.
The cloud which enveloped Lotus produced one silver
lining - it freed Johnny to pursue his F1 career
elsewhere. He was signed by Ligier before the 1994
European GP at Jerez, qualifying the car a creditable
7th, four places and 0.4 sec ahead of his talented
team-mate, Olivier Panis. The move helped rekindle
Johnny's enthusiasm which had waned considerably with
Lotus that season. Johnny then replaced the injured Jos
Verstappen at Benetton for the final two races of the
1994 season, producing two very good performances which
were enough to secure a full time seat with Benetton in 1995.
Race
Results: F1 at Lotus
1994 Circuit Grid Race Out (laps)
----------------------------------------------------------
*13 Nov Adelaide (AUS) 7th DNF Gearbox (13)
*6 Nov Suzuka (JPN) 5th DNF Spin (3)
±16 Oct Jerez (EUR) 7th 8th
25 Sept Estoril (P) 20th 11th
11 Sept Monza (IT) 4th DNF Engine (13)
28 Aug Spa-Francorchamps (B) 20th 12th
14 Aug Hungaroring (H) 24th DNF Electrics (34)
31 July Hockenheim (D) 15th DNF Accident (0)
10 July Silverstone (GB) 21st 12th
3 July Magny-Cours (F) 19th 7th
12 Jun Montreal (CAN) 17th 8th
29 May Catalunya (SP) 22nd DNF Spin (41)
15 May Monaco (MC) 16th DNF Gearbox (68)
1 May Imola (SM) 20th 10th
17 Apl TI Aida (PAC) 23rd 7th
27 Mar Interlagos (BR) 21st 7th
No points.
Lotus-Mugen to Portugal.
Lotus team mates: Zanardi, Lamy, Adams, Bernard, and Salo.
[± Ligier-Renault - EUR only. Team mate: Panis]
[* Benetton-Ford - JPN and AUS. Team mate: Schumacher.]
1993 Circuit Grid Race Out (laps completed)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
7 Nov Adelaide (AUS) 20th DNF Hydraulics (9)
24 Oct Suzuka (JPN) 19th 11th
26 Sept Estoril (P) 14th DNF Accident (60)
12 Sept Monza (IT) 7th DNF Accident (14)
29 Aug Spa-Francorchamps (B) 10th 5th
15 Aug Hungaroring (H) 20th DNF Spin (38)
25 July Hockenheim (D) 13th 10th
11 July Silverstone (GB) 7th 4th
4 July Magny-Cours (F) 19th DNF Spin (16)
13 Jun Montreal (CAN) 20th 10th
23 May Monaco (MC) 14th DNF Accident (61)
9 May Catalunya (SP) 10th DNF Suspension (2)
25 Apl Imola (SM) 12th 8th
11 Apl Donington (EUR) 11th 4th
28 Mar Interlagos (BR) 12th 4th
14 Mar Kyalami (SA) 17th DNF Fuel pressure (38)
Lotus-Ford. Team mates: Zanardi and Lamy
11 points. 9th in Championship.
1992 Circuit Grid Race Out (laps)
----------------------------------------------------------
8 Nov Adelaide (AUS) 12th 13th
25 Oct Suzuka (JPN) 6th DNF Gearbox (15)
27 Sept Estoril (P) 9th DNF Steering (2)
13 Sept Monza (IT) 13th DNF Engine (18)
30 Aug Spa-Francorchamps (B) 10th 13th
16 Aug Hungaroring (H) 13th DNF Spin (0)
26 July Hockenheim (D) 11th DNF Engine (23)
12 July Silverstone (GB) 7th DNF Gearbox (31)
5 July Magny-Cours (F) 12th 6th
14 Jun Montreal (CAN) 6th DNF Clutch (34)
31 May Monaco (MC) 9th DNF Accident (17)
17 May Imola (SM) 26th DNF Gearbox (8)
3 May Catalunya (SP) 26th DNF Spin (13)
5 Apl Interlagos (BR) 26th DNF Accident (36)
22 Mar Mexico (MEX) 12th 7th
1 Mar Kyalami (SA) 11th 6th
Lotus-Ford. Team mate: Mika Hakkinen.
2 points. 15th in Championship.
1991 Circuit Grid Race Out (laps completed)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
3 Nov Adelaide (AUS) 21st 11th
20 Oct Suzuka (JPN) 21st DNF Engine (31)
22 Sept Estoril (P) 22nd DNF Engine (1)
25 Aug Spa-Francorchamps (B) 21st 7th
14 July Silverstone (GB) 24th 14th
7 July Magny-Cours (F) 20th 10th
16 Jun Mexico (MEX) 25th 10th
2 Jun Montreal (CAN) DNQ
Lotus-Judd. Team mate: Mika Hakkinen.
No points. Car driven by Julian Bailey and Michael Bartels in other
races (they only qualified once between them - Bailey 26th at Imola,
finishing 6th in the race)
1990 Circuit Grid Race Out (laps completed)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
4 Nov Adelaide (AUS) 18th DNF Clutch (57)
21 Oct Suzuka (JPN) 15th DNF Engine (31)
Lotus-Lamborghini. Team mate: Derek Warwick.
No Points. Did not compete before Japan.
Stood in for Martin Donnelly after his accident in Spain.
Every effort is made to
ensure factual accuracy but
no responsibility is accepted for this information.
The superb photo of Johnny in the Lotus at Silverstone
is reproduced by kind permission of AJ Samuels.
Last updated 30th December 1997.
All rights reserved.
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