I just got this great decal of the years in which Team Lotus won the F1 constructors championship. It may have been well before my time but there was a period in the 60s and 70s that Lotus was by far and away the best team in Formula 1. The genius of Colin Chapman combined with the talent of drivers like Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti resulted in Lotus not only having the fastest cars but also the best drivers – makes you feel sorry for their opposition 
For more info on the racing history of Lotus check out their wikipedia page. Another good source of information is Classic Team Lotus an independent company formed by Clive Chapman to preserve and promote the cars raced by Team Lotus.