Team Lotus enjoyed some success in the 1980s. Its drivers included Nigel Mansell at the start of his F1 career but he had to wait until he joined Williams to score his first Grand Prix victory and Aryton Senna also at the early stages of his F1 career who gained his first GP victory with Lotus in Portugal in 1985.The Essex sponsorship came to an end with controversy surrounding the business ethics of David Thieme. Also following Colin Chapmans death, allegations were made that large amounts of public money from the De Lorean project had been misused. Observers have commented that these problems made it difficult for Lotus to obtain large scale corporate sponsorship necessary to provide funds required for a first class team.

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