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What F 1 is really good at (at least since it became mass entertainment) is giving enough profile to technology to endow it with mainstream credibility . The Chevy Corvair had had turbocharging years before the Renault RS1 in 77 , as had various cars from 911 to Saab 99, turbos had been used in Indy and Le Mans - but it was F1 (and Gp B rally cars) which catapulted turbos into the limelight . Within a year or two, turbos were de rigueur for hot hatches , and turbo branding was everywhere from vacuum cleaners to razors.
Chaparral might have pioneered serious aero , and ground effect , before F1 but their name is unknown outside the sport
Or carbon - a big deal was rightly made of John Barnard's carbon fibre McLaren MP4/1 - but I'd been using carbon fishing rods for years before its debut in 81 .
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