This unassuming car stands at the turning point of Formula 1. This is the dividing line between Juan Manuel Fangio's F1 and Michael Schumacher's.
Graham Hill drove a Lotus with the number 5 on the side only once. New Years Day at the first race of the 1968 season; the South African Grand Prix. He finished 2nd that day but would win three times that season and be crowned World Champion. However his one win in 1969 would be his last.
- The South African Grand Prix was won by Jim Clark. He would die before the next race.
- The South African Grand Prix was the last time that Lotus would race in its iconic green and yellow livery. The following race in Spain, they debuted the Gold Leaf livery, the first overtly sponsored car in Formula 1.
- The South African Grand Prix was the penultimate race for the Lotus 49. The Lotus 49B showed up in Monaco with the first front wings and rear spoiler in the sport.
- The Cosworth-Ford DFV was introduced by Team Lotus in 1967 and they had exclusive exclusive rights to it. Matra had one for the South African Grand Prix. McLaren had them by the next race in Spain. That August, Ford made the DFV available to everyone. It won every race in 1969 and by the time it was retired in 1985 it had become the winningest engine in F1, possibly for all-time.
- 1968 was the last year where all the races were run on tracks with almost no safety modifications.