Team Lotus also had three cars. Clark with 49/2 that he has been driving since Zandvoort, and Hill with 49/1, the car that crashed in practice at Silverstone, it now being all straightened out and new.
Knowing the ravages that the Nürburgring can inflict on a team the Lotus boys had 49/3 as a stand-by. Since the large Allen screw on the rear suspension on Hill’s car came undone (or was not done up properly) at Silverstone, as illustrated in last Month’s Motor Sport, these vital bolts have been replaced by a fixed stud with a self-locking nut holding the top link in place, there being a lock-nut on the stud itself and this is now wired for safety.
Another change was the removal of all the ignition accessories, and their mounting plate, from the top of the gearbox to a new position in the vee of the engine, between the rear four air intakes.