John Barnard | |
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Born | John Edward Barnard 4 May 1946 Wembley, London, England |
Nationality | British |
Occupation(s) | Race car designer, Formula One aerodynamicist, engineer and former technical director. |
Known for | Introducing the first semi-automatic gearbox, the first carbon fibre composite chassis and the "coke bottle" shape of the rear bodywork. |
John Edward Barnard, RDI (born 4 May 1946)[1] is an English engineer and racing car designer. Barnard is credited with the introduction of two new designs into Formula One: the carbon fibre composite chassis first seen in 1981 with McLaren, and the semi-automatic gearbox with shift paddles on the steering wheel, which he introduced with Ferrari in 1989.