My friend and former colleague Peter Wright, who has died aged 79, was a racing car engineer. He helped the Lotus Formula One team win the world championship in 1978 by co-inventing (with Ralph Bellamy) the “ground effect” chassis design, an innovation that improved tyre contact with the track, thereby greatly enhancing adhesion and handling.

He later became managing director of Lotus Engineering , where he finessed the revolutionary “active suspension” system that he had pioneered in an earlier role with Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus.

Despite dwindling financial resources, Peter worked with many others to keep the Lotus racing team going until 1994, when the money finally ran out.

His career then took a sideways turn when Max Mosley , the boss of the sport’s governing body,

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