Do any contemporary F1 cars use an automatic transmission or one that can be shifted without using a clutch?
The
1989 Ferrari 640 introduced the paddle shifters that became the norm, first in F1 cars, and later in street cars.
However, it's important to note that relates only to the shifting method. Dual-clutch gearboxes were developed and raced by Audi and Porsche earlier in the decade, in their rally cars and sports prototypes, respectively, under the
PDK moniker, with push buttons. Their early street efforts with hand-shifting, the Tiptronics, were conventional automatics that were shifted manuallly via electronic rocker switches, but otherwise nothing special.
And while the concepts are commonly associated with each other, they are not mutually inclusive.
Conventional gearboxes may have conventional levers, and be shifted sequentially.
A race gearbox may even lack a neutral "gear" entirely, forcing the clutch to be engaged while the engine is running, and car stationary.
"Driver aids" in F1 peaked in the early 90s with the
Williams FW15C, before being outlawed in 1994.