1988 Hungarian Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:Hungary
Grand Prix:Hungarian
Official Name:Pop 84 Magyar Nagydíj[1]
Date:7 August
Year:1988
Race No:10
Season No:16
Location:Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary[2]
Course:Permanent racing facility
Course Mi:2.494
Course Km:4.014
Distance Laps:76
Distance Mi:189.558
Distance Km:305.064
Weather:Sunny and hot
Pole Driver:Ayrton Senna
Pole Team:McLaren-Honda
Pole Time:1:27.635
Pole Country:Brazil
Pole Flag Suffix:1968
Fast Driver:Alain Prost
Fast Team:McLaren-Honda
Fast Time:1:30.639
Fast Lap:51
Fast Country:France
First Driver:Ayrton Senna
First Team:McLaren-Honda
First Country:Brazil
First Flag Suffix:1968
Second Driver:Alain Prost
Second Team:McLaren-Honda
Second Country:France
Third Driver:Thierry Boutsen
Third Team:Benetton-Ford
Third Country:Belgium

The 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 7 August 1988 at the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was the tenth race of the 1988 Formula One World Championship.

The 76-lap race was won from pole position by Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, driving a McLaren-Honda, with French teammate Alain Prost second and Belgian Thierry Boutsen third in a Benetton-Ford. The win, Senna's sixth of the season, moved him level on points with Prost at the top of the Drivers' Championship.

Report

Qualifying

The tight and twisty Hungaroring offered a chance for the naturally-aspirated cars against the turbos, and they took seven of the top ten positions in qualifying. However, Ayrton Senna still took pole position in his McLaren-Honda, his eighth of the season, pipping the Williams of Nigel Mansell by 0.1 seconds. Mansell was driving against doctor's orders as he had developed chickenpox. On the second row of the grid were Thierry Boutsen in the Benetton and Ivan Capelli in the March, and on the third row were Alessandro Nannini in the second Benetton and Riccardo Patrese in the second Williams. Senna's teammate Alain Prost could only manage seventh, while Gerhard Berger was ninth in his Ferrari, the two separated by the second March of Maurício Gugelmin. Completing the top ten was Alex Caffi in the Dallara.

Race

Mansell made a good start and almost took the lead but Senna held onto his position, and thanks to the superior power of his Honda engine he pulled away slightly down the main straight to head the field into turn 1. Patrese also made an excellent start climbing from 6th to 3rd while Prost was slow away and was only 9th at the end of the first lap. Capelli made a great start and in fact almost overtook Mansell into the first turn before his engine suddenly went sour and he pitted after just 2 laps to have a serious misfire investigated. On lap 12, Mansell lost downforce running close behind the McLaren and spun down to 4th place, leaving Senna to fend off the attacks of the other Williams, that of Patrese. The Italian later dropped back with engine problems, while similar problems were afflicting Nannini.

On lap 32, Prost had climbed to 3rd place behind Senna and Boutsen. On lap 37, Mansell pitted to replace tyres, which were ragged and causing vibrations to the car. Prost passed Boutsen on lap 47 and set out chasing down Senna. Two laps later, while Senna prepared to lap Yannick Dalmas' Lola and Gabriele Tarquini's Coloni, Prost passed all three of them in a breathtaking move down the main straight. However he was too quick going into the first turn and ran wide enabling Senna to regain the lead. Prost set the fastest lap of the race but was forced to drop back with vibrations caused by a loose wheel bearing. On lap 58 Mansell retired still feeling the effects of chickenpox. He later admitted that racing in Hungary was a mistake as he was then forced to miss the next two races. Boutsen closed on Prost, but the Frenchman pressed on and pushed Senna. Just half a second covered the two McLarens as they crossed the line. Boutsen took the third spot on the podium, unable to challenge further due to a broken exhaust. Berger, Gugelmin and Patrese completed the points scorers.

Classification

Pre-qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
136 Alex CaffiDallara-Ford2:01.593
232 Oscar LarrauriEuroBrun-Ford2:03.343+1.750
331 Gabriele TarquiniColoni-Ford2:03.371+1.778
433 Stefano ModenaEuroBrun-Ford2:04.168+2.575
521 Nicola LariniOsella2:05.626+4.033

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
112 Ayrton SennaMcLaren-Honda1:30.4221:27.635
25 Nigel MansellWilliams-Judd1:30.1511:27.743+0.108
320 Thierry BoutsenBenetton-Ford1:30.7801:27.970+0.335
416 Ivan CapelliMarch-Judd1:32.6751:28.350+0.715
519 Alessandro NanniniBenetton-Ford1:29.7791:28.493+0.858
66 Riccardo PatreseWilliams-Judd1:30.3821:28.569+0.934
711 Alain ProstMcLaren-Honda1:29.5891:28.778+1.143
815 Maurício GugelminMarch-Judd1:35.2371:29.099+1.464
928 Gerhard BergerFerrari1:31.1921:29.244+1.609
1036 Alex CaffiDallara-Ford1:32.8871:29.891+2.346
1124 Luis Pérez-SalaMinardi-Ford1:33.4941:30.103+2.468
1217 Derek WarwickArrows-Megatron1:32.5141:30.185+2.550
131 Nelson PiquetLotus-Honda1:35.3461:30.405+2.770
1418 Eddie CheeverArrows-Megatron1:32.5891:30.908+3.273
1527 Michele AlboretoFerrari1:32.3041:31.052+3.417
1623 Pierluigi MartiniMinardi-Ford1:33.5971:31.123+3.488
1729 Yannick DalmasLola-Ford1:33.1921:31.200+3.565
1822Rial-Ford1:48.9941:31.523+3.888
192 Satoru NakajimaLotus-Honda1:34.1941:31.646+4.011
2030Lola-Ford1:33.1321:31.719+4.084
213 Jonathan PalmerTyrrell-Ford1:34.0011:31.741+4.106
2231 Gabriele TarquiniColoni-Ford1:35.9911:32.160+4.525
2314 Philippe StreiffAGS-Ford1:32.9731:32.265+4.630
2426 Stefan JohanssonLigier-Judd1:34.8431:32.342+4.707
2525 René ArnouxLigier-Judd1:35.6851:32.477+4.842
2633 Stefano ModenaEuroBrun-Ford1:35.3891:32.614+4.979
DNQ32 Oscar LarrauriEuroBrun-Ford1:35.9901:32.987+5.352
DNQ10 Bernd SchneiderZakspeed1:36.7161:33.357+5.722
DNQ4 Julian BaileyTyrrell-Ford1:35.6931:33.694+6.059
DNQ9 Piercarlo GhinzaniZakspeed1:36.2231:34.701+7.066

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
112 Ayrton SennaMcLaren-Honda761:57:47.08119
211 Alain ProstMcLaren-Honda76+ 0.52976
320 Thierry BoutsenBenetton-Ford76+ 31.41034
428 Gerhard BergerFerrari76+ 1:28.67093
515 Maurício GugelminMarch-Judd75+ 1 Lap82
66 Riccardo PatreseWilliams-Judd75+ 1 Lap61
72 Satoru NakajimaLotus-Honda73+ 3 Laps19 
81 Nelson PiquetLotus-Honda73+ 3 Laps13 
929 Yannick DalmasLola-Ford73+ 3 Laps17 
1024 Luis Pérez-SalaMinardi-Ford72+ 4 Laps11 
1133 Stefano ModenaEuroBrun-Ford72+ 4 Laps26 
1230 Philippe AlliotLola-Ford72+ 4 Laps20 
1331 Gabriele TarquiniColoni-Ford71+ 5 Laps22 
Ret17 Derek WarwickArrows-Megatron65Brakes12 
Ret5 Nigel MansellWilliams-Judd60Driver Unwell2 
Ret18 Eddie CheeverArrows-Megatron55Brakes14 
Ret27 Michele AlboretoFerrari40Electrical15 
Ret25 René ArnouxLigier-Judd32Engine25 
Ret22 Andrea de CesarisRial-Ford28Halfshaft18 
Ret19 Alessandro NanniniBenetton-Ford24Overheating5 
Ret36 Alex CaffiDallara-Ford22Engine10 
Ret26 Stefan JohanssonLigier-Judd19Throttle24 
Ret23 Pierluigi MartiniMinardi-Ford8Collision16 
Ret14 Philippe StreiffAGS-Ford8Collision23 
Ret16 Ivan CapelliMarch-Judd5Engine4 
Ret3 Jonathan PalmerTyrrell-Ford3Engine21 
DNQ32 Oscar LarrauriEuroBrun-Ford  
DNQ10 Bernd SchneiderZakspeed  
DNQ4 Julian BaileyTyrrell-Ford  
DNQ9 Piercarlo GhinzaniZakspeed  
DNPQ21 Nicola LariniOsella 

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Ayrton Senna66
2 Alain Prost66
3 Gerhard Berger28
4 Thierry Boutsen16
5 Michele Alboreto16
Source: [3]
Constructors' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1 McLaren-Honda132
2 Ferrari44
3 Benetton-Ford22
4 Lotus-Honda16
5 Arrows-Megatron10
Source:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Motor Racing Programme Covers: 1988 . The Programme Covers Project . February 27, 2021.
  2. Web site: 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix. Motor Sport. 8 June 2022.
  3. Web site: Hungary 1988 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 18 March 2019.