A Black Swan Moment by McLaren... #BLACKSWANMOMENTS - MP4/1 On April 12th 1981 in Argentina, McLaren lined up on the grid with a car that would change Formula 1™ forever. The MP4/1’s innovative design went on to influence not only every one of its competitors, but fields as far away as the military and space travel. Brought to the McLaren team by Ron Dennis, John Barnard was the visionary behind the car’s unique and game-changing feature; the carbon fibre composite monocoque. Barnard was relatively inexperienced in Formula 1™ having previously worked in Indycar with Parnelli and Chaparral in the United States. However, this was potentially his greatest asset. Barnard had the ability to approach the sport from a completely new angle. For some time he’d been hearing great things about carbon fibre composites. Its impressive strength and lightness seemed to lend itself perfectly to Formula 1™. This combined with Barnard’s admiration for Lotus chief Colin Chapman who’d introduced the monocoque chassis some 20 years earlier, Barnard conceived the first fully carbon fibre composite monocoque. But what made the MP4/1’s chassis such a significant breakthrough? Why was it a Black Swan Moment? Barnard’s monocoque had huge controversy and doubt surrounding it. Industry leaders, Chapman included, believed it was a disaster waiting to happen with concerns for the drivers safety at the forefront of the argument. Most believed the chassis would end up in a pile of black dust if it ever crashed, leaving the driver with little to no chance of living. Staying true to their vanguard attitude McLaren pushed on, teaming up with the Utah-based Hercules Corporation, a group known for their research and development in daring and cutting-edge projects. And so the first ever carbon fibre composite monocoque was born. It looked a little rough around the edges, but it was stronger than Barnard had ever expected. In fact the first attempts were considered too strong and layers of the composite were removed, which only made it lighter. This was great in theory but the fears of safety were still lingering over McLaren and John Barnard’s creation. Although not initially ready for the beginning of the 1981 season, the car’s advantages soon became apparent as performances by McLaren improved race by race. By the middle of the racing calendar McLaren driver John Watson landed podium finishes in Spain and France before finally taking home a win at Silverstone, their first in four years ... and the first ever for a carbon fibre composite car. Then, at Monza, the true test of the MP4/1 arrived. As John Watson accelerated out of the two fast Lesmo corners his car came off the track at 140mph. Careering across the road into barriers, as other drivers swerved to avoid collision, the car was destroyed. The engine and gearbox were torn off whilst the bodywork still sat on the opposite side of the track. All that was left was John Watson sat in the fully intact carbon fibre composite monocoque. He pulled himself out, and walked away. The critics were silenced. John Barnard and McLaren had proved the improbable was possible. From that day forward not only did the world of Formula 1™ acknowledge and adopt the radical McLaren way of thinking, but much of the world beyond motor racing opened their eyes to the true potential of carbon fibre composites. The MP4/1 started a new era and the carbon chassis became the biggest single contributor to safety in Formula 1™. For McLaren it paved the way to the MP4/4, one of the most successful Formula 1™ cars ever built. It took 15 out of 16 wins in the 1988 season claiming the title for Ayrton Senna and finishing with a points total of just two shy of the combined total of every other team on the grid. This approach to chassis design and construction proved so revolutionary that every car McLaren have built, for track or for road, since the MP4/1 has had a carbon chassis at its heart.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 18:10:47 +0000
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