Philippe Adams drove twice for Lotus at a time the team close to the end and down to taking any drivers that came its way. Although he had some pedigree - he had a British Formula Two title under his belt - he was certainly not able to challenge for a seat in his own right and his total experience in F1 cars amounted to 66 laps of testing. However, he came with the promise of cash for the team, his backers promising US$500,000 for two races. Even then the move was questionable, with concerns over the businesses backing him leading to other sponsors asking for their logos to be taken off the car.

His practice sessions on his debut at Spa on the Friday were terrible, with several spins and one crash. On the Sunday he managed to line up in the wrong spot on the grid (harder when the fact was he was 26th and last) and after 16 undistinguished laps, spun off.

Two races later he was given his second outing. Although he finished in 16th, he was the last car running more than 20 seconds behind the one in front.

The deal completed, he disappeared back to national saloon car categories.
Martin Williamson