Car · McLaren · 1982
McLaren MP4/1B
Barnard got the idea from Rolls-Royce engineers using carbon fibre in turbofan blades, and had the tub built by Hercules Aerospace in Utah because nobody in motor racing could make one. The paddock thought it would shatter. Then John Watson crashed heavily at Monza in 1981, the car broke apart around a tub that stayed intact, and he walked away. Every car on the grid was carbon-fibre within a few years, and it is the single largest reason drivers stopped dying.
- Seasons
- 1982
- Entries
- 30
- Wins
- 4
- Poles
- 0
- Fastest laps
- 2
One of the design family that has a specified page of its own.
Why it mattered
The idea. Aluminium is not stiff enough to carry ground-effect loads; build the tub out of carbon fibre instead
New on this car. The first carbon-fibre composite monocoque to race in Formula One
What it did. 43 races, 6 wins. No championships - its importance is structural, not competitive.
- Designers
- John Barnard, Alan Jenkins, Steve Nichols
- Supersedes
- —
- Design life
- 1981–1983
- Confidence
- high
Specification
- Chassis
- Carbon fibre monocoque
- Front suspension
- —
- Rear suspension
- —
- Brakes
- disc
- Gearbox
- McLaren / Hewland FGA 400
- Gears
- 5-speed
- Tyres
- Michelin
- Fuel
- —
- Engine
- 1981-1983: mid-engine, longitudinally mounted, Ford-Cosworth DFV, 2993 cc, NA, 90° V8; 1983: mid-engine, longitudinally mounted, TAG-Porsche TTE PO1, 1499 cc, turbo, 90° V6
- Configuration
- 90-degree V8
- Capacity
- 2,993 cc
- Aspiration
- naturally aspirated
- Power
- 510 bhp
- Power note
- 510 hp @ 11,000 rpm (Cosworth DFY V8), 700 hp @ 11,500 rpm (TAG-Porsche V6 turbo)
- Weight
- —
- Wheelbase
- —
- Track, front
- —
- Track, rear
- —
A blank is a figure nobody published for this car. Where several teams quote the same number in a season it is usually the rule they were all built to rather than a measurement, so it is kept with the regulation limits instead of here.
Every entry 30 entries
Show all 30 entriesShow the first 10, Every entry
Where this comes from
- Constructor
- McLaren
- Predecessor
- M30
- Successor
- MP4/2
- Races (published)
- 43
- Wins (published)
- 6
- Poles (published)
- 0
- Confidence
- reference
- Specification source
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLaren_MP4/1
- Register source
- https://github.com/f1db/f1db