Car · McLaren · 1983
McLaren MP4/1E
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
- 1983
- Entries
- 7
- Wins
- 0
- Poles
- 0
- Fastest laps
- 0
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
- —
- Front suspension
- —
- Rear suspension
- —
- Brakes
- disc
- Gearbox
- —
- Gears
- —
- Tyres
- Michelin
- Fuel
- —
- Engine
- Ford Cosworth DFV V8
- Configuration
- 90-degree V8
- Capacity
- 2,993 cc
- Aspiration
- naturally aspirated
- Power
- —
- Power note
- 510 bhp at 11,000 rpm; a TAG-Porsche turbo V6 of about 700 bhp was fitted late in 1983
- 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 7 entries
| Season | Grand Prix | Driver | Grid | Result | Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | South African Grand Prix | Niki Lauda | 12 | 11 | Electrical |
| 1983 | South African Grand Prix | John Watson | 15 | DSQ | Overtaking on formation lap |
| 1983 | European Grand Prix | John Watson | 10 | DNF | Spun off |
| 1983 | European Grand Prix | Niki Lauda | 13 | DNF | Engine |
| 1983 | Italian Grand Prix | Niki Lauda | 13 | DNF | Electrical |
| 1983 | Italian Grand Prix | John Watson | 15 | DNF | Electrical |
| 1983 | Dutch Grand Prix | Niki Lauda | 19 | DNF | Brakes |
Where this comes from
- Constructor
- McLaren
- Predecessor
- —
- Successor
- —
- Races (published)
- —
- Wins (published)
- —
- Poles (published)
- —
- Confidence
- reference
- Specification source
- —
- Register source
- https://github.com/f1db/f1db