1988 Japanese Grand Prix

Lore & Background

The race was won by McLaren's Ayrton Senna, who clinched his first world championship in doing so. He finished ahead of his teammate and championship rival Alain Prost and Thierry Boutsen from Benetton who came in third. By winning the race, he took his eighth Grand Prix victory of the season, eclipsing the record previously held by Prost in 1984 and Jim Clark in 1963 for the most wins in a season with seven, before his record was beaten by Nigel Mansell in 1992.

In Their Own Story

The air at Suzuka was thick with humidity and the smell of burnt rubber. On the final lap, Senna's MP4/4 surged past Prost, the roar of the Honda V6 engines echoing off the grandstands. As they approached the chicane, the gap vanished. A screech of tires, a sickening crunch of carbon fiber against tire walls, and then silence for the Frenchman. Senna, eyes wide with desperation, pushed his mangled car forward, crossing the line in first place before the stewards' gavel fell, turning a moment of triumph into the most infamous controversy in F1 history.

Reader's Guide

Qualifying: On Honda's home track, the McLarens of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost filled the front row. Senna's pole time was 1.8 seconds slower than Gerhard Berger's 1987 time. Just 30 minutes prior to the start of Friday morning's Free Practice session, local hero Satoru Nakajima was informed that his mother had died that morning. That he chose to drive in such circumstances won the much maligned Japanese driver new fans in the F1 paddock. Berger himself could only manage third on the grid, joined on the second row by Ivan Capelli in the naturally aspirated March-Judd. On the third row were the two Lotus-Hondas of outgoing World Champion Nelson Piquet, who was suffering from a virus, and home town favourite Nakajima. Lotus showed great faith in Nakajima by announcing that they had re-signed him for the 1989 season, despite the fact that they would have to use Judd engines after Honda's decision to supply McLaren exclusively. According to US race broadcaster ESPN throughout the second half of the season after Honda's announcement that they were leaving Lotus, Honda had allegedly offered US$2 million to any team willing to sign Nakajima as a driver. French driver Yannick Dalmas was declared medically unfit for the race and was replaced in the Larrousse team by Japan's Aguri Suzuki, who was on his way to winning the 1988 Japanese Formula 3000 Championship. Suzuki qualified 20th on his F1 debut, one place behind temporary teammate Philippe Alliot. Dalmas, originally thought to have an ear infection that kept him out of both Japan and the final race in Australia, was diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease later in the year.

Race: The all-McLaren front row was the 11th of the year, but its drivers had contrasting fortunes. Prost led away from Berger and Capelli, while Senna stalled on the grid. However, Suzuka had the only sloping grid of the year and so the Brazilian was able to bump start his car into action. He had dropped to 14th place, but immediately made a charge through the field, gaining six places by the end of the first lap and then passing Riccardo Patrese, Thierry Boutsen, Alessandro Nannini and Michele Alboreto to run fourth on lap 4. Meanwhile, Derek Warwick and Nigel Mansell collided and had to pit for a puncture and a new nose cone, respectively, while Capelli not only set the fastest lap but also passed Berger – who was already troubled with fuel

Did You Know?

• Senna stalled on the grid but bump-started his car due to Suzuka's sloping grid, dropping to 14th before charging to victory.
• Ivan Capelli briefly led the race in a non-turbo March-Judd, the first non-turbo car to lead a Grand Prix since 1983.
• Satoru Nakajima drove despite being informed his mother had died 30 minutes before Friday's free practice.
• Senna's eighth win of the season broke the record for most wins in a season, previously held by Jim Clark (1963) and Alain Prost (1984).