1988 Brazilian Grand Prix

Infobox Grand Prix race report
Type = F1
Country = Brazil
Grand Prix = Brazilian
Official name = 17o

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Date = April 3
Year = 1988
Race_No = 1
Season_No = 16
Location = Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Course = Permanent racing facility
Course_mi = 3.126
Course_km = 5.031
Distance_laps = 60
Distance_mi = 186.417
Distance_km = 301.860
Weather = Cloudy and hot
Pole_Driver = Ayrton Senna
Pole_Team = McLaren-Honda
Pole_Time = 1:28.096
Pole_Country = Brazil
Fast_Driver = Gerhard Berger
Fast_Team = Ferrari
Fast_Time = 1:32.943
Fast_L

Fast_Country = Austria
First_Driver = Alain Prost
First_Team = McLaren-Honda
First_Country = France
Second_Driver = Gerhard Berger
Second_Team = Ferrari
Second_Country = Austria
Third_Driver = Nelson Piquet
Third_Team = Lotus-Honda
Third_Country = Brazil

The 1988 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on April 3, 1988 at the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, Rio de Janeiro. It was the first race of the 1988 Formula One season.

Race summary

Winter testing had indicated Ferrari would be maintaining the edge that they had gained at the end of the 1987 season, with McLaren and Williams also producing cars that looked like potential race winners. During the qualifying session there was controversy when Nelson Piquet made comments in the local media publicly insulting Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, their wives and families.
Mansell produced a sensational performance to qualify 2nd, just five months after his crash at the 1987 Japanese Grand Prix. The pole was Senna in his first drive for the McLaren team; the second row was occupied by Gerhard Berger's Ferrari and Piquet's Lotus.

On the parade lap, Senna's gear selector mechanism broke and he had to complete the lap jammed in first gear. The first start was aborted and Senna started from the spare car in the pits. At the second start, Alain Prost led from the first lap, with Mansell in 2nd place. On lap 19, the temperature gauge showed that the British's Williams was overheated and he entered the pits to investigate, handing the position to Gerhard Berger; during the process, his engine stalled. Senna was making a remarkable drive from the rear of the grid, climbing to 21st on lap 1, 15th on lap 4, 8th on lap 10, into the points on lap 13 and by lap 20 was in second place.
Prost pitted on lap 26 without losing the lead, and Senna pitted a lap later. He stalled the engine and dropped to 6th place. Shortly afterwards he was shown the black flag and disqualified for changing cars after the parade lap, a move that was not allowed. Despite closing to within 10 seconds of leader Prost, Berger was unable to catch him.
Piquet came home in 3rd ahead of Derek Warwick in the Arrows with a fine drive, Michele Alboreto in the second Ferrari and Satoru Nakajima in the second Lotus.

Classification

Notes

* Ayrton Senna was disqualified for starting illegally with the spare car after the first start.

References

* "Unless otherwise indicated, all race results are taken from cite web |title=The Official Formula 1 website |url=http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1988/263/ |accessdate=2007-07-12

F1 race report
Name_of_race = Brazilian Grand Prix
Year_of_race = 1988
Previous_race_in_season = 1987 Australian Grand Prix
Next_race_in_season = 1988 San Marino Grand Prix
Previous_year's_race = 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix
Next_year's_race = 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix