after chapman's death, until the late 1980s, lotus was still to be a major player in formula one. ayrton senna drove for the team from 1985 to 1987. senna won twice in each year and earned 17 pole positions. by the company's last formula one race in 1994, the cars were not competitive. at the end of the 1994 season, lotus left formula one racing. team lotus won a total of 79 grand prix races. team lotus was the first team to achieve 50 grand prix victories.