[2] In 1969, Miles had to develop the Lotus 63 4WD car while World Champion Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt refused to drive this design, considering it a death trap.

Miles did qualify mid-grid for the Canadian GP at Mosport, where the difficult combination of fast sweeping bends suited the 4-wheel-drive Lotus 63, which was a 'disaster' on twisty tracks.

Graham Hill was slower in practice, but had a guaranteed grid place as a past World Champion, and was allocated Miles's 49C for the race, which was won by Rindt.

Miles made an excellent start, jumping into fifth and was running in the opening laps with eight of the greatest GP drivers nose to tail, held behind by good line, brakes and skilful blocking or the luck of a tyro in auto sport.

Miles qualified seventh at Brands Hatch, 1.2 seconds slower than Rindt on pole, who beat Brabham on the finishing line to win the British GP.

Rindt scored a final victory at Hockenheim where Miles qualified tenth and diced with Surtees and Denny Hulme, until the Lotus 72's Cosworth blew.

With the three car team, Miles's car did not get the same attention as Chapman obviously saw Fittipaldi as the future, as his old Lotus was seriously prepared and finished eighth and fourth in the British and German races, while the failure to discover, the fracture leaking water saw Miles retire at both races and had blown three Cosworth V8s during the practice sessions.

During the Hockenheim practice sessions, Miles spent many laps providing a slipstream tow to enable Fittipaldi to qualify.

[3] Matters came to a head at the Italian GP, where Chapman ordered Miles to follow Rindt in running a new Lotus 72 without front and rear wings to take advantage of the Monza circuit's long straights and fast, low-downforce corners.

His teammate Rindt was killed when one of the brake shafts on his new Type 72 failed and his car veered off the track, ploughing into the steel barrier which was placed too high for the revolutionary wedge design of the 72.

That was too much for Miles, who was widely regarded as too cerebral and sensitive to fit Chapman's idea of a race driver, and he left the team.