In the video, Fittipaldi describes being at the very same Hethel test track when Jochen Rindt first drove the Type 72 chassis No 1.
Rindt went on to record four consecutive wins in the car during a 1970 season that he never finished; his championship awarded posthumously.
Fittipaldi won at Watkins Glen after replacing the late Rindt. The following year, Firestone introduced slick tyres and the extra grip unsettled the car, which was designed with flexible suspension. “We worked the whole year in 1971 to get better, rigid suspension,” said Fittipaldi. “By the end of the year at Brands Hatch, the Rothmans 50,000 race, the car really worked and then we knew we have a very competitive car for 72.
“After [those] two years I talk to the car and the car talks to me. “Before I sat in it, I knew how I was going to drive. We understand each other.”
Fittipaldi and the rejuvenated Type 72 prevented Jackie Stewart from retaining his championship, and delivered a double drivers’ and constructors’ championship for Lotus in 1972.
Its success, innovative design and six-year spell of racing in the top flight has led many to name it the greatest Formula 1 car of all time.
Joining chassis 72/5 on track was:
• 72/7, carrying the number 5, which won five world championship races in the hands of Fittipaldi.
• Chassis 72/8 was built for Ronnie Peterson in 1973, and won three grands prix.
• Jacky Ickx’s 72E/5 in which he won the 1974 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch in the wet.
• Chassis 72/4, painted in Gold Leaf colours, which was built as a customer car for Rob Walker Racing and Graham Hill, but initially proved unreliable.
• Another Ronnie Peterson car: Chassis 72/6. Initially driven by Renei Wisell and Dave Walker, Peterson used it to win four grands prix.