1988 Japanese Grand Prix

Lore & Background

The race was won by McLaren's Ayrton Senna, who had 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 and Jim Clark for the most wins in a season with seven, before his record was beaten by Nigel Mansell.

Reader's Guide

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 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.

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 on lap 16, the first time a non-turbo car had led a Grand Prix since an unspecified earlier race.
• Senna gestured for the race to be stopped due to wet conditions, but the race ran its full distance.
• Nelson Piquet retired on lap 34 due to fatigue from a virus and double vision.