F1: 5 Best Teams of all time

#4 Lotus

Jim Clark spent his entire F1 career driving for Lotus.

The only constructor that is on this list which isn't competing in the 2019 season is Team Lotus. Colin Chapman's outfit was the most experimental and innovative during its time in Formula 1, with breakthrough developments being manufactured throughout the '60s, 70's and '80s.

The downside to their success and speed, however, was the mortality rate. Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt, Ricardo Rodriguez and Ronnie Peterson all met their maker in a Lotus.

The success they achieved, though, is remarkable. Seven constructor's championships, and six driver's titles between 1963 and 1978, one for almost every year during that period.

Mercedes have more wins and podiums, but this is largely down to Formula 1 seasons being much longer these days than 40 years ago. Lotus have more championships overall than the Silver Arrows and had some of the greatest drivers ever sit in the cockpit of their cars.

In addition to the legends I mentioned before, Graham Hill, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna and others have also driven for Team Lotus.

Lotus won their last championships in 1978 and their final race in 1987 thanks to Senna before eventually financially collapsing at the end of the 1994 season, after over 3 decades in the pinnacle of motorsport. The Lotus name briefly returned to F1 in 2010 and would remain in different guises until being rebranded to the current Renault team for 2016.