In1980 John Barnard designed the McLaren MP4/1 which would be the first Carbon-Fibre-Composite chassis in F1. This revolutionised racing car design with new levels of rigidity and driver protection. The new carbon fibre monocoque and his introduction in 1983 of the ‘coke bottle’ rear-end resulted in McLaren having the best-looking, most ground-breaking and dominant cars during of the mid-1980s taking drivers titles for Niki Lauda in 1984 and Alain Prost in 1985 & 1986. John Barnard then moved to Ferrari working from his own design studios in Guildford where he pioneered in 1989 the semi-automatic gearbox which is operated via two paddles on the steering wheel. During the 1990’s he undertook design work for Benetton (including the car in which Michael Schumacher won his first two world championships) as well as Arrows, Prost and Ferrari (again).
John Barnard
