McLAREN MP4/1 Ford-Cosworth DFV

   In 1976 Ron Dennis, former mechanic of the Brabham team in Formula 1, decides to found his own team to participate in the British Formula 3 and European Formula 2 championships, calling it Project Four Racing. In 1980 there are the first contacts with the McLaren team for entry into the top flight and, thanks to the support of Marlboro, historic sponsor of the Woking team, the new project is called MP4 (Marlboro Project Four). With the arrival of Ron Dennis for McLaren, a new "era" begins that will bring the English team to the top of Formula 1 in the seasons to come.

McLAREN MP4/1, John Watson
 Montréal, Canadian GP 1981

   The revolution begins in the design department with the arrival of executive engineer John Barnard, designer Steve Nichols and chief engineer Alan Jenkins. Thanks to Barnard's previous experiences in the top flight (in '72 he collaborated with Coppuck in McLaren to build the winning M23 twice World Champion with Fittipaldi and Hunt, as well as having built Andretti's Parnelli VPJ4 in '75) and experience gained by Nichols working for Hercules Aerospace, an innovative frame is designed that combines the concepts of modern ground effect Formula 1 with the typical materials of the aeronautical industry, such as carbon fiber and Kevlar. In 1979, after a visit to the Rolls Royce plant, where engineers were already working with carbon fiber on the Rolls-Royce RB211 jet engine, Barnard sees the potential of this technology and convinces Ron Dennis to finance the design and construction of a completely new car made with this new material, supplied by Hercules Aerospace thanks to the contacts maintained by Nichols with the American company.

McLAREN MP4/1, John Watson
 Jarama, Spanish GP 1981

   The new McLaren Mp4/1 car is thus the first single-seater in F1 history to adopt a carbon fiber frame, a very resistant material, lighter than aluminum and above all much more moldable and therefore suitable for creating particular shapes, as well as ensuring greater protection for the rider in the event of an accident. Furthermore, the lightness of the synthetic fiber allows the use of specific ballasts and reinforcements made by adding additional sheets of carbon fiber in the points of the frame subjected to greater stress. To tell the truth, Lotus in 1981 also made a carbon fiber frame for the car "88" which, however, was taken to the track in the fourth seasonal Grand Prix at Imola while the MP4/1 had already made its debut in the previous race in Long Beach.

McLAREN MP4/1, John Watson
 Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1981

   The clean lines and sleek lines of the single-seater built under the guidance of Barnard are the main features of this new car which uses traditional mechanical components, a 510hp Ford Cosworth engine developed by Nicholson Engine and a five-speed Hewland FGA 400 gearbox, with a wheelbase of 2640mm and a weight of 585kg with ballast. The Mp4/1 makes its debut in the 1981 Argentine GP with John Watson at the wheel and after a few "running-in" races to better set up the car, the results begin to arrive from mid-season with 1 third place, 2 seconds and 1 victory in the Great Britain, all results obtained by Watson that allow the English driver to close the world championship in sixth place in the drivers' standings with 27 points to his credit.

McLAREN M29F, Andrea de Cesaris
Long Beach, USA West GP 1981

   More unfortunate is the season of the second driver, the Italian Andrea DeCesaris, who gets only 1 point conquered aboard the old M29F, while the rest of the season aboard the MP4 / 1 is dotted with continuous retirements and poor performances that make his position within the team very precarious, until the basement at the end of the season.