1988 Formula One season facts for kids
The 1988 Formula One season was a super exciting year for Formula One racing! It was the 39th time this big championship happened. The main champion was Ayrton Senna, who won after a really close fight.
Contents
Who Raced in 1988?
Many talented drivers and powerful teams competed in the 1988 Formula One season. Here's a look at some of the main teams and their drivers:
| Team Name | Car Name | Engine | Main Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
 Lotus |
Lotus 100T | Honda |  Nelson Piquet,  Satoru Nakajima |
| Tyrrell |
Tyrrell 017 | Ford Cosworth | Jonathan Palmer, Julian Bailey |
| WilliamsF1 |
Williams FW12 | Judd | Nigel Mansell,  Riccardo Patrese |
| McLaren |
McLaren MP4/4 | Honda | Ayrton Senna,  Alain Prost |
| Benetton |
Benetton B188 | Ford Cosworth | Alessandro Nannini,  Thierry Boutsen |
| Ferrari |
Ferrari F187/88C | Ferrari | Michele Alboreto,  Gerhard Berger |
Exciting Races of 1988
The 1988 season had 16 thrilling races, called Grand Prix events. Here are the winners for each race:
| Race Number | Race Name | Date | Winning Driver | Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazilian Grand Prix |
April 3 | Alain Prost |
McLaren-Honda |
| 2 |  San Marino Grand Prix |
May 1 | Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda |
| 3 |  Monaco Grand Prix |
May 15 | Alain Prost |
McLaren-Honda |
| 4 |  Mexican Grand Prix |
May 29 | Alain Prost |
McLaren-Honda |
| 5 |  Canadian Grand Prix |
June 12 | Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda |
| 6 |  United States Grand Prix East |
June 19 | Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda |
| 7 | French Grand Prix |
July 3 | Alain Prost |
McLaren-Honda |
| 8 | British Grand Prix |
July 10 | Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda |
| 9 |  German Grand Prix |
July 24 | Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda |
| 10 |  Hungarian Grand Prix |
August 7 | Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda |
| 11 | Belgian Grand Prix |
August 28 | Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda |
| 12 | Italian Grand Prix |
September 11 | Gerhard Berger |
Ferrari |
| 13 |  Portuguese Grand Prix |
September 25 | Alain Prost |
McLaren-Honda |
| 14 |  Spanish Grand Prix |
October 2 | Alain Prost |
McLaren-Honda |
| 15 | Japanese Grand Prix |
October 30 | Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda |
| 16 |  Australian Grand Prix |
November 13 | Alain Prost |
McLaren-Honda |
Top Teams of 1988
The "Constructors' Championship" is for the teams. Teams earn points based on how well their drivers do in each race. Here are the top teams from 1988:
| Place | Team | Points | Wins | Podiums | Pole Positions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLaren-Honda |
199 | 15 | 25 | 15 |
| 2 | Ferrari |
65 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| 3 | Benetton-Ford |
39 | 7 | ||
| 4 | Arrows-Megatron |
23 | 1 | ||
| 5 | Lotus-Honda |
23 | 3 |
Who Were the Best Drivers?
The "Drivers' Championship" is for individual drivers. Drivers get points for finishing in the top spots in races. The driver with the most points at the end of the season wins the championship!
In 1988, only the best 11 race results for each driver counted towards the championship. This rule made the final standings very exciting!
| Place | Driver | Country | Points (Total) | Wins | Podiums | Pole Positions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayrton Senna |
Brazil | 90 (94) | 8 | 11 | 13 |
| 2 | Alain Prost |
France | 87 (105) | 7 | 14 | 2 |
| 3 | Gerhard Berger |
Austria | 41 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 4 | Thierry Boutsen |
Belgium | 27 | 5 | ||
| 5 | Michele Alboreto |
Italy | 24 | 3 | ||
| 6 | Nelson Piquet |
Brazil | 22 | 3 | ||
| 7 | Ivan Capelli |
Italy | 17 | 2 | ||
| 8 | Derek Warwick |
Britain | 17 | |||
| 9 | Nigel Mansell |
Britain | 12 | 2 | ||
| 10 | Alessandro Nannini |
Italy | 12 | 2 |
- Even though Alain Prost scored more total points (105) during the year, only his best 87 points counted towards the championship. Ayrton Senna scored 94 points, with 90 points counting. Because of this special rule, Senna became the World Champion!
Images for kids
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Ayrton Senna won the first of his three Drivers' Championships in 1988.
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Ayrton Senna won eight races in his McLaren-Honda car on his way to becoming champion.
-
Alain Prost was almost the champion, winning seven races, but was just beaten by his McLaren teammate Senna.
-
Gerhard Berger finished third in the Drivers' Championship. His team, Ferrari, came second in the teams' championship, but they were quite a bit behind McLaren.
See also
In Spanish: Temporada 1988 de Fórmula 1 para niños
