The "MP4" era began in 1981 when merged his "Project Four" racing team with McLaren. This partnership birthed the MP4/1 , the world's first Formula 1 car to feature a full carbon-fiber monocoque.

Since the MP4/1 , every racing and road car produced by McLaren has featured a carbon-fiber chassis.

: Designed by John Barnard , the MP4/1 sought to replace traditional aluminum with carbon composite to achieve higher torsional stiffness without increasing weight.

: Driven by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost , it won 15 out of 16 races.

: British aerospace companies initially rejected the design's complexity. McLaren eventually partnered with Hercules Aerospace in Salt Lake City, Utah, to manufacture the first chassis using advanced autoclave facilities.

: The new material's strength was dramatically proven at the 1981 Italian Grand Prix, where driver John Watson survived a massive crash that likely would have been fatal in a traditional aluminum car. The Most Dominant Successor: MP4/4