Ayrton Senna answered his Brazilian disappointment with a commanding victory at the 1988 San Marino Grand Prix. McLaren finished first and second at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, lapping everybody else as Alain Prost recovered from a poor start and Nelson Piquet took another third place for Lotus.
Race Guide
Season: 1988 F1 World Championship
Race date: 1 May 1988
Race start time: Start time unconfirmed local time (UTC+02:00)
Circuit: Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari
Laps: 60 laps
Circuit length: 5.040 km
1987 winner: Nigel Mansell
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Ayrton Senna | McLaren |
| Pole time | 1:27.148 | |
| Fastest lap | Alain Prost | McLaren |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:29.685 on lap 53 | |
| First | Ayrton Senna | McLaren |
| Second | Alain Prost | McLaren |
| Third | Nelson Piquet | Lotus |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 29 April 1988 | Free practice (pre-qualifying not required) | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 29 April 1988 | Qualifying 1 | Start time unconfirmed |
| 30 April 1988 | Practice 2 | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 30 April 1988 | Qualifying 2 | Start time unconfirmed |
| 1 May 1988 | Warm-up | Morning; start unconfirmed |
| 1 May 1988 | Race | Start time unconfirmed |
All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.
Championship background
Alain Prost arrived at round 2 leading the 1988 F1 World Championship on 9 points, with Gerhard Berger on 6. McLaren – Honda headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 9 points.
Race entries
Alex Caffi finally received Scuderia Italia’s purpose-built Dallara Formula 1 car after the team’s improvised Brazilian appearance. Nicola Larini’s weekend ended before practice: Osella’s new car failed scrutineering, reducing the field to 30 and removing the need to eliminate anyone through pre-qualifying.
Pre-qualifying
Pre-qualifying had been planned within Friday morning practice, but Osella’s exclusion left 30 cars eligible for the main qualifying sessions. No pre-qualifying elimination was therefore required. Nicola Larini’s absence was a technical exclusion, rather than a failure to set a sufficiently quick time.
Friday Free Practice
Persistent rain made Friday morning a demanding start to the meeting. Andrea de Cesaris crashed the Rial heavily enough to leave the mechanics rebuilding around their second monocoque for the rest of the day. Ayrton Senna was quickest, but Gerhard Berger and Alessandro Nannini gave the home crowd something to follow in second and third. Those wet laps were useful preparation for the afternoon, although they offered little reassurance about dry-weather form.
Friday Practice Classification
1988 San Marino Grand Prix Practice, 29 April 1988
Friday Qualifying
The first qualifying hour remained damp. A drying line tempted drivers onto slick tyres near the end, but the quickest laps were still set on wet-weather rubber. Alain Prost took provisional pole in 1:41.278, with Ayrton Senna close behind and Gerhard Berger third. With Saturday expected to offer better conditions, the opening order was far from secure.
Friday Qualifying Classification
1988 San Marino Grand Prix first qualifying session, 29 April 1988
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Alain Prost | McLaren | 1:41.278 | — |
| 2 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren | 1:41.597 | — |
| 3 | 28 | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1:43.394 | — |
| 4 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Lotus | 1:44.806 | — |
| 5 | 19 | Alessandro Nannini | Benetton | 1:45.090 | — |
| 6 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams | 1:45.616 | — |
| 7 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams | 1:45.673 | — |
| 8 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:45.982 | — |
| 9 | 29 | Yannick Dalmas | Lola | 1:46.062 | — |
| 10 | 30 | Philippe Alliot | Lola | 1:47.215 | — |
| 11 | 3 | Jonathan Palmer | Tyrrell | 1:47.265 | — |
| 12 | 2 | Satoru Nakajima | Lotus | 1:47.399 | — |
| 13 | 14 | Philippe Streiff | AGS | 1:47.465 | — |
| 14 | 16 | Ivan Capelli | March | 1:47.518 | — |
| 15 | 31 | Gabriele Tarquini | Coloni | 1:48.146 | — |
| 16 | 36 | Alex Caffi | Dallara | 1:48.156 | — |
| 17 | 18 | Eddie Cheever | Arrows | 1:48.399 | — |
| 18 | 9 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Zakspeed | 1:48.463 | — |
| 19 | 33 | Stefano Modena | EuroBrun | 1:48.466 | — |
| 20 | 26 | Stefan Johansson | Ligier | 1:48.633 | — |
| 21 | 23 | Adrian Campos | Minardi | 1:49.012 | — |
| 22 | 25 | Rene Arnoux | Ligier | 1:49.054 | — |
| 23 | 17 | Derek Warwick | Arrows | 1:49.081 | — |
| 24 | 24 | Luis Perez-Sala | Minardi | 1:49.211 | — |
| 25 | 15 | Mauricio Gugelmin | March | 1:49.306 | — |
| 26 | 10 | Bernd Schneider | Zakspeed | 1:51.498 | — |
| 27 | 32 | Oscar Larrauri | EuroBrun | 1:54.566 | — |
| 28 | 4 | Julian Bailey | Tyrrell | 2:12.385 | — |
Saturday Free Practice
The improving weather transformed Saturday morning. Alain Prost alone broke the 1 minute 30 second barrier, recording 1:29.272 as the teams finally gained more representative dry running. Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger followed, but neither was within a second of the leading McLaren. Ferrari’s lack of speed was particularly frustrating at home, while the two McLarens were beginning to turn a strong opening day into a substantial advantage.
Saturday Practice Classification
1988 San Marino Grand Prix Practice, 30 April 1988
Saturday Qualifying
Ayrton Senna settled the front-row contest on the dry track with 1:27.148, beating Alain Prost by 0.771 seconds. Nelson Piquet was third but more than three seconds away despite sharing Honda power. Alessandro Nannini qualified fourth for Benetton, ahead of Gerhard Berger, while both Ligiers failed to qualify. Nigel Mansell could manage only eleventh, leaving him a considerable recovery job on Sunday.
Saturday Qualifying Classification
1988 San Marino Grand Prix second qualifying session, 30 April 1988
Combined Qualifying Classification
Each driver’s faster time from the two qualifying sessions determined the overall order.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Friday Time | Saturday Time | Best Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren | 1:41.597 | 1:27.148 | 1:27.148 | — |
| 2 | 11 | Alain Prost | McLaren | 1:41.278 | 1:27.919 | 1:27.919 | — |
| 3 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Lotus | 1:44.806 | 1:30.500 | 1:30.500 | — |
| 4 | 19 | Alessandro Nannini | Benetton | 1:45.090 | 1:30.590 | 1:30.590 | — |
| 5 | 28 | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1:43.394 | 1:30.683 | 1:30.683 | — |
| 6 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams | 1:45.673 | 1:30.952 | 1:30.952 | — |
| 7 | 18 | Eddie Cheever | Arrows | 1:48.399 | 1:31.300 | 1:31.300 | — |
| 8 | 20 | Thierry Boutsen | Benetton | no time | 1:31.414 | 1:31.414 | — |
| 9 | 16 | Ivan Capelli | March | 1:47.518 | 1:31.519 | 1:31.519 | — |
| 10 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:45.982 | 1:31.520 | 1:31.520 | — |
| 11 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams | 1:45.616 | 1:31.635 | 1:31.635 | — |
| 12 | 2 | Satoru Nakajima | Lotus | 1:47.399 | 1:31.647 | 1:31.647 | — |
| 13 | 14 | Philippe Streiff | AGS | 1:47.465 | 1:32.013 | 1:32.013 | — |
| 14 | 17 | Derek Warwick | Arrows | 1:49.081 | 1:32.483 | 1:32.483 | — |
| 15 | 30 | Philippe Alliot | Lola | 1:47.215 | 1:32.712 | 1:32.712 | — |
| 16 | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris | Rial | no time | 1:33.037 | 1:33.037 | — |
| 17 | 31 | Gabriele Tarquini | Coloni | 1:48.146 | 1:33.236 | 1:33.236 | — |
| 18 | 24 | Luis Pérez-Sala | Minardi | 1:49.211 | 1:33.239 | 1:33.239 | — |
| 19 | 29 | Yannick Dalmas | Lola | 1:46.062 | 1:33.374 | 1:33.374 | — |
| 20 | 15 | Maurício Gugelmin | March | 1:49.306 | 1:33.448 | 1:33.448 | — |
| 21 | 4 | Julian Bailey | Tyrrell | 2:12.385 | 1:33.874 | 1:33.874 | — |
| 22 | 23 | Adrian Campos | Minardi | 1:49.012 | 1:33.903 | 1:33.903 | — |
| 23 | 3 | Jonathan Palmer | Tyrrell | 1:47.265 | 1:33.972 | 1:33.972 | — |
| 24 | 36 | Alex Caffi | Dallara | 1:48.156 | 1:34.204 | 1:34.204 | — |
| 25 | 9 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Zakspeed | 1:48.463 | 1:34.567 | 1:34.567 | — |
| 26 | 33 | Stefano Modena | EuroBrun | 1:48.466 | 1:34.782 | 1:34.782 | — |
| DNQ | 32 | Oscar Larrauri | EuroBrun | 1:54.566 | 1:35.077 | 1:35.077 | — |
| DNQ | 26 | Stefan Johansson | Ligier | 1:48.633 | 1:35.654 | 1:35.654 | — |
| DNQ | 25 | René Arnoux | Ligier | 1:49.054 | 1:36.123 | 1:36.123 | — |
| DNQ | 10 | Bernd Schneider | Zakspeed | 1:51.498 | 1:36.218 | 1:36.218 | — |
| EX | 21 | Nicola Larini | Osella | — | — |
Sunday warm-up
Alain Prost remained fastest in the warm-up, half a second ahead of Ayrton Senna. Elsewhere, the final preparations were far less comfortable: Michele Alboreto suffered an engine failure, and Rial discovered a problem around the front suspension mounting on its rebuilt car. Andrea de Cesaris consequently faced more hurried repairs. For both teams, getting a serviceable car to the start had become a more immediate concern than matching McLaren’s race pace.
Warm-up Classification
1988 San Marino Grand Prix Warm-up, 1 May 1988
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time / Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Alain Prost | McLaren | 1:32.027 | — |
| 2 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren | +0.517s | — |
| 3 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams | +1.281s | — |
| 4 | 28 | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | +1.311s | — |
| 5 | 20 | Thierry Boutsen | Benetton | +1.341s | — |
| 6 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Lotus | +1.875s | — |
| 7 | 18 | Eddie Cheever | Arrows | +1.916s | — |
| 8 | 19 | Alessandro Nannini | Benetton | +2.129s | — |
| 9 | 15 | Mauricio Gugelmin | March | +2.417s | — |
| 10 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams | +2.427s | — |
| 11 | 17 | Derek Warwick | Arrows | +2.984s | — |
| 12 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | +3.029s | — |
| 13 | 14 | Philippe Streiff | AGS | +3.053s | — |
| 14 | 36 | Alex Caffi | Dallara | +3.108s | — |
| 15 | 29 | Yannick Dalmas | Lola | +3.126s | — |
| 16 | 2 | Satoru Nakajima | Lotus | +3.546s | — |
| 17 | 24 | Luis Perez-Sala | Minardi | +3.769s | — |
| 18 | 31 | Gabriele Tarquini | Coloni | +4.241s | — |
| 19 | 16 | Ivan Capelli | March | +4.441s | — |
| 20 | 33 | Stefano Modena | EuroBrun | +4.600s | — |
| 21 | 23 | Adrian Campos | Minardi | +4.606s | — |
| 22 | 3 | Jonathan Palmer | Tyrrell | +4.846s | — |
| 23 | 30 | Philippe Alliot | Lola | +5.252s | — |
| 24 | 4 | Julian Bailey | Tyrrell | +5.506s | — |
| 25 | 9 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Zakspeed | +9.967s | — |
| 26 | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris | Rial | +18.034s | — |
What happened in the 1988 San Marino Grand Prix?
Ayrton Senna led away cleanly, while Alain Prost’s hesitant start dropped him into the chasing pack. The Frenchman worked back through the traffic and regained second by lap eight, but his team-mate was already clear. From there the McLarens controlled the race, balancing their speed with fuel consumption and the constant task of passing slower cars.
Nelson Piquet headed a much closer fight behind them. Alessandro Nannini challenged the Lotus before a spin cost him ground, and Nigel Mansell briefly got ahead of Nelson Piquet before the Williams ran into trouble and retired. Thierry Boutsen emerged from that contest in fourth, giving Benetton a useful result after its difficult practice and qualifying.
Ayrton Senna eased across the line 2.334 seconds ahead of Alain Prost, with Nelson Piquet a lap down in third. Gerhard Berger snatched fifth from Alessandro Nannini on the final lap, completing the points behind Thierry Boutsen. The result gave Ayrton Senna his first McLaren victory and left the rest of the field with an imposing challenge: the winning car had combined extraordinary speed with the fuel discipline Imola demanded.
After the race, Alain Prost headed the drivers’ standings with 15 points, followed by Ayrton Senna on 9. McLaren – Honda led the constructors’ table on 24, with Ferrari on 10.
1988 San Marino Grand Prix race results
The 1988 San Marino Grand Prix was held on 1 May 1988.
1988 San Marino Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Alain Prost | McLaren | 53 | 1:29.685 |
| 2 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren | 56 | 1:29.815 |
| 3 | 28 | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 56 | 1:31.394 |
| 4 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 50 | 1:31.864 |
| 5 | 18 | Eddie Cheever | Arrows | 49 | 1:32.017 |
| 6 | 19 | Alessandro Nannini | Benetton | 57 | 1:32.034 |
| 7 | 20 | Thierry Boutsen | Benetton | 55 | 1:32.317 |
| 8 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams | 35 | 1:32.372 |
| 9 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Lotus | 57 | 1:32.414 |
| 10 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams | 32 | 1:32.758 |
| 11 | 30 | Philippe Alliot | Lola | 56 | 1:32.863 |
| 12 | 2 | Satoru Nakajima | Lotus | 58 | 1:33.209 |
| 13 | 33 | Stefano Modena | EuroBrun | 49 | 1:33.214 |
| 14 | 29 | Yannick Dalmas | Lola | 56 | 1:33.623 |
| 15 | 3 | Jonathan Palmer | Tyrrell | 54 | 1:33.660 |
| 16 | 15 | Mauricio Gugelmin | March | 55 | 1:33.890 |
| 17 | 24 | Luis Perez-Sala | Minardi | 57 | 1:34.014 |
| 18 | 17 | Derek Warwick | Arrows | 41 | 1:34.056 |
| 19 | 14 | Philippe Streiff | AGS | 41 | 1:34.226 |
| 20 | 4 | Julian Bailey | Tyrrell | 48 | 1:35.288 |
| 21 | 31 | Gabriele Tarquini | Coloni | 31 | 1:35.395 |
| 22 | 23 | Adrian Campos | Minardi | 39 | 1:35.708 |
| 23 | 9 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Zakspeed | 14 | 1:36.122 |
| 24 | 36 | Alex Caffi | Dallara | 17 | 1:36.285 |
| 25 | 16 | Ivan Capelli | March | 2 | 1:37.842 |
Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.
1988 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings
Championship standings after the 1988 San Marino Grand Prix.
1988 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
| POS | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alain Prost | French | McLaren | 15 |
| 2 | Ayrton Senna | Brazilian | McLaren | 9 |
| 3 | Gerhard Berger | Austrian | Ferrari | 8 |
| 4 | Nelson Piquet | Brazilian | Lotus | 8 |
| 5 | Thierry Boutsen | Belgian | Benetton | 3 |
| 6 | Derek Warwick | British | Arrows | 3 |
| 7 | Michele Alboreto | Italian | Ferrari | 2 |
| 8 | Satoru Nakajima | Japanese | Lotus | 1 |
| 9 | Alessandro Nannini | Italian | Benetton | 1 |
| – | Eddie Cheever | American | Arrows | 0 |
| – | Stefan Johansson | Swedish | Ligier | 0 |
| – | Philippe Streiff | French | AGS | 0 |
| – | Luis Pérez-Sala | Spanish | Minardi | 0 |
| – | Yannick Dalmas | French | Lola | 0 |
| – | Riccardo Patrese | Italian | Williams | 0 |
| – | Jonathan Palmer | British | Tyrrell | 0 |
| – | Maurício Gugelmin | Brazilian | March | 0 |
| – | Adrián Campos | Spanish | Minardi | 0 |
| – | Philippe Alliot | French | Lola | 0 |
| – | Andrea de Cesaris | Italian | Rial | 0 |
| – | Gabriele Tarquini | Italian | Coloni | 0 |
| – | René Arnoux | French | Ligier | 0 |
| – | Stefano Modena | Italian | EuroBrun | 0 |
| – | Nigel Mansell | British | Williams | 0 |
| – | Julian Bailey | British | Tyrrell | 0 |
| – | Ivan Capelli | Italian | March | 0 |
| – | Alex Caffi | Italian | Dallara | 0 |
| – | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Italian | Zakspeed | 0 |
| – | Oscar Larrauri | Argentine | EuroBrun | 0 |
| – | Nicola Larini | Italian | Osella | 0 |
1988 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings
| POS | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLaren – Honda | 24 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 10 |
| 3 | Lotus – Honda | 9 |
| 4 | Benetton – Ford | 4 |
| 5 | Arrows – Megatron | 3 |
| — | Ligier – Judd | 0 |
| — | AGS – Ford | 0 |
| — | Minardi – Ford | 0 |
| — | Lola – Ford | 0 |
| — | Williams – Judd | 0 |
| — | Tyrrell – Ford | 0 |
| — | March – Judd | 0 |
| — | Rial – Ford | 0 |
| — | Coloni – Ford | 0 |
| — | EuroBrun – Ford | 0 |
| — | Zakspeed | 0 |
| — | Osella | 0 |
| — | Dallara – Ford | 0 |
Drivers counted their best eleven results; constructors counted every round. The standings here show the position after this race.
1988 Formula 1 Race Calendar
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