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{{short description|Formula One motor race}}
{{use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox Grand Prix race report
{{Infobox Grand Prix race report
|Type = F1
|Type = F1
|Country = France
|Country = France
|Grand Prix = French
|Grand Prix = French
|Official name = [[Rhône-Poulenc]] [[French Grand Prix|Grand Prix de France]]
|Official name = Rhône-Poulenc Grand Prix de France
|Date = July 3
|Date = 3 July
|Year = 1988
|Year = 1988
|Race_No = 7
|Race_No = 7
|Season_No = 16
|Season_No = 16
|Image = Paul Ricard 1986.jpg
|Image = Paul Ricard 1986.png
|Location = [[Circuit Paul Ricard]], [[Le Castellet, Var|Le Castellet]], [[France]]
|Location = [[Circuit Paul Ricard]], [[Le Castellet, Var|Le Castellet]], [[France]]
|Course = Permanent racing facility
|Course = Permanent racing facility
Line 18: Line 20:
|Weather = Sunny and hot
|Weather = Sunny and hot
|Pole_Driver = [[Alain Prost]]
|Pole_Driver = [[Alain Prost]]
|Pole_Team = [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]
|Pole_Team = [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
|Pole_Time = 1:07.589
|Pole_Time = 1:07.589
|Pole_Country = France
|Pole_Country = France
|Fast_Driver = [[Alain Prost]]
|Fast_Driver = [[Alain Prost]]
|Fast_Team = [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]
|Fast_Team = [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
|Fast_Time = 1:11.737
|Fast_Time = 1:11.737
|Fast_Lap = 45
|Fast_Lap = 45
|Fast_Country = France
|Fast_Country = France
|First_Driver = [[Alain Prost]]
|First_Driver = [[Alain Prost]]
|First_Team = [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]
|First_Team = [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
|First_Country = France
|First_Country = France
|Second_Driver = [[Ayrton Senna]]
|Second_Driver = [[Ayrton Senna]]
|Second_Team = [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]
|Second_Team = [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
|Second_Country = Brazil
|Second_Country = Brazil
|second_flag_suffix = 1968
|Third_Driver = [[Michele Alboreto]]
|Third_Driver = [[Michele Alboreto]]
|Third_Team = [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
|Third_Team = [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
|Third_Country = Italy
|Third_Country = Italy
|lapchart = {{F1Laps1988|FRA}}
}}
}}


The '''1988 French Grand Prix''' was a [[Formula One]] race held on July 3, 1988 at the [[Circuit Paul Ricard]], [[Le Castellet, Var|Le Castellet]]. It was the seventh race of the [[1988 Formula One season]].
The '''1988 French Grand Prix''' was a [[Formula One]] motor race held on 3 July 1988 at the [[Circuit Paul Ricard]], [[Le Castellet, Var|Le Castellet]]. It was the seventh race of the [[1988 Formula One World Championship]].

The 80-lap race was won by local driver [[Alain Prost]], driving a [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]], after he started from [[pole position]]. Prost's Brazilian teammate [[Ayrton Senna]] finished second, with Italian [[Michele Alboreto]] third in a [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]].


==Qualifying==
==Qualifying==
The two [[McLaren MP4/4|McLaren]]s lined up in their usual front row places, but, for the first time this season, [[Alain Prost]] was ahead of [[Ayrton Senna]], the Frenchman beating the Brazilian by almost half a second to take his first pole since the [[1986 Monaco Grand Prix]]. The two [[Ferrari F1/87#F1/87/88C|Ferrari]]s filled the second row, [[Gerhard Berger]] beating [[Michele Alboreto]] by over 1.1 seconds. On the third row were the two [[Naturally aspirated engine|normally-aspirated]] [[Benetton B188|Benetton]]s of [[Thierry Boutsen]] and [[Alessandro Nannini]], while the [[Lotus 100T|Lotus]]es of [[Nelson Piquet]] and [[Satoru Nakajima]] filled the fourth row. The top ten was completed by the [[Williams FW12|Williams]] of [[Nigel Mansell]] and the [[March 881|March]] of [[Ivan Capelli]], who had recovered after fracturing his left foot in a crash during practice in [[1988 Detroit Grand Prix|Detroit]] two weeks before.
The two [[McLaren MP4/4|McLaren]]s lined up in their usual front row places, but, for the first time this season, [[Alain Prost]] was ahead of [[Ayrton Senna]], the Frenchman beating the Brazilian by almost half a second to take his first pole since the [[1986 Monaco Grand Prix]] and in doing so stopping his teammate from a record-breaking 7th pole in succession. The two [[Ferrari F1/87#F1/87/88C|Ferrari]]s filled the second row, [[Gerhard Berger]] beating [[Michele Alboreto]] by over 1.1 seconds, though neither driver believed they could race with the McLarens simply because of fuel consumption. On the third row were the two [[Naturally aspirated engine|normally-aspirated]] [[Benetton B188|Benetton]]s of [[Thierry Boutsen]] and [[Alessandro Nannini]], while the [[Lotus 100T|Lotus]]es of [[Nelson Piquet]] and [[Satoru Nakajima]] filled the fourth row, Piquet being the last driver to qualify under 1:10. The top ten was completed by the [[Williams FW12|Williams]] of [[Nigel Mansell]] (over 2.7 seconds slower than Prost and almost 4 seconds slower than his [[1987 French Grand Prix|1987]] pole time) and the [[March 881|March]] of [[Ivan Capelli]], who had recovered after fracturing his left foot in a crash during practice in [[1988 Detroit Grand Prix|Detroit]] two weeks before.


Meanwhile, [[Equipe Ligier|Ligier]] had a disastrous weekend on their home turf with both [[René Arnoux]] and [[Stefan Johansson]] failing to qualify, though they did have a celebration of sorts over the weekend as Arnoux turned 40 the day after the race. [[Julian Bailey]] also failed to qualify in his [[Tyrrell 017|Tyrrell]], while [[Piercarlo Ghinzani]] qualified 22nd in his [[Zakspeed 881|Zakspeed]] but was excluded for missing a weight check, thus promoting [[Oscar Larrauri]]'s [[EuroBrun ER188|EuroBrun]] to the last grid spot.
Meanwhile, [[Equipe Ligier|Ligier]] had a disastrous weekend on their home turf with both [[René Arnoux]] and [[Stefan Johansson]] failing to qualify, though they did have a celebration of sorts over the weekend as Arnoux turned 40 the day after the race. [[Julian Bailey (racing driver)|Julian Bailey]] also failed to qualify in his [[Tyrrell 017|Tyrrell]], while [[Piercarlo Ghinzani]] qualified 22nd in his [[Zakspeed 881|Zakspeed]] but was excluded for missing a weight check, thus promoting [[Oscar Larrauri]]'s [[EuroBrun ER188|EuroBrun]] to the last grid spot.


==Race summary==
==Race summary==
Prost led away from Senna and the two Ferraris, with Piquet passing the two Benettons for fifth. Despite worries in the McLaren pit about overly high fuel consumption (the fuel readouts in the cars were showing less fuel used than what the Honda telemetry was telling the team), Ron Dennis was reportedly prepared to let his drivers run out of fuel at the expense of a perfect season if it taught them to be more conservative given their obvious advantage over the field, though ultimately the onboard readouts were proved correct. Prost maintained a two-second advantage over Senna until the mid-race pit stops, while a spin by Berger on lap 22 allowed team-mate Alboreto through into third. While both McLarens were racing each other out front, they were still pulling away from the field at sometimes a second per lap.
Prost led away from Senna and the two Ferraris, with Piquet passing the two Benettons for fifth. Despite worries in the McLaren pit about overly high fuel consumption (the fuel readouts in the cars were showing less fuel used than what the Honda telemetry was telling the team), Ron Dennis was reportedly prepared to let his drivers run out of fuel at the expense of a perfect season if it taught them to be more conservative given their obvious advantage over the field, though ultimately the onboard readouts were proved correct. Prost maintained a two-second advantage over Senna until the mid-race pit stops, while an early stop by Berger on lap 22 allowed teammate Alboreto through into third. While both McLarens were racing each other out front, they were still pulling away from the field at sometimes a second per lap.


Senna made his pit stop three laps before Prost, enabling him to take the lead, but traffic on the Mistral Straight (including a less than helpful Piquet who most likely enjoyed seeing Senna lose the lead to Prost at close quarters) and a gearbox problem allowed Prost to close right up to him and then overtake him on lap 61 as they lapped [[Alex Caffi]] and [[Pierluigi Martini]] at the Signes corner. Meanwhile, Berger reclaimed third only for Alboreto to pass him again during the pit stops, while Mansell suffered his seventh consecutive retirement, dropping out on lap 49 with suspension problems. After returning to the pits and getting himself cleaned up, the Englishman left the circuit profoundly fed up with the performance of the Williams, fueling ongoing speculation in the press that he would leave the team at the end of the year to join Ferrari after the Italian team had announced they would not be keeping Alboreto for 1989. Despite the rumors turning out to be correct, Mansell continued to deny he was joining Ferrari.
Senna made his pit stop three laps before Prost, enabling him to take the lead thanks to a slow stop for Prost with a sticking front wheel, but traffic on the Mistral Straight (including a less than helpful Piquet who most likely enjoyed seeing Senna lose the lead to Prost at close quarters) and a gearbox problem allowed Prost to close right up to him and then overtake him on lap 61 as they lapped [[Alex Caffi]] and [[Pierluigi Martini]] at the Signes corner. Meanwhile, Berger reclaimed third only for Alboreto to pass him again during the pit stops, while Mansell suffered his seventh consecutive retirement, dropping out on lap 49 with suspension problems, though he had been dropping back for a number of laps with power loss from his [[Judd (engine)#CV|Judd]] [[V8 engine]]. After returning to the pits and getting himself cleaned up, the Englishman left the circuit profoundly fed up with the performance of the Williams, fuelling ongoing speculation in the press that he would leave the team at the end of the year to join Ferrari after the Italian team had announced they would not be keeping Alboreto for 1989. Despite the rumours turning out to be correct, Mansell continued to deny he was joining Ferrari.


In the closing laps, Prost pulled away as Senna's gearbox troubles continued, losing several gears. The Brazilian eventually finished nearly 32 seconds behind the Frenchman, though he was still nearly 35 seconds ahead of Alboreto, the last man on the lead lap. Berger was fourth ahead of Piquet, who also suffered gearbox problems in the later stages of the race; the final point went to the Benetton of Nannini. France was the first time since the [[1987 Monaco Grand Prix]] that Alboreto had finished in front of his team mate in a race where they both finished.
In the closing laps, Prost pulled away as Senna's gearbox troubles continued, losing several gears. The Brazilian eventually finished nearly 32 seconds behind the Frenchman, though he was still nearly 35 seconds ahead of Alboreto, the last man on the lead lap. Berger was fourth ahead of Piquet, who also suffered gearbox problems in the later stages of the race; the final point went to the Benetton of Nannini. France was the first time since the [[1987 Monaco Grand Prix]] that Alboreto had finished in front of his teammate in a race where they both finished. During the race Alboreto had the advantage of an almost perfectly balanced car, while Berger complained of severe understeer, something not needed at the high speed Signes corner at the end of the Mistral.


The fastest lap of the race, a 1:11.737 set by Prost on lap 45, was over two seconds slower than the 1:09.548 set by Piquet in a Honda-powered Williams the [[1987 French Grand Prix|previous year]] - a consequence of the restrictions imposed on [[Turbocharger|turbocharged]] engines this season with the major difference being the speeds attained on the now 1 km long Mistral Straight. In 1987 the fastest turbo cars (Honda powered) were timed at {{Convert|325|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}} on the straight. In 1988 the top speed was recorded at {{Convert|311|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}}.
The fastest lap of the race, a 1:11.737 set by Prost on lap 45, was over two seconds slower than the 1:09.548 set by Piquet in a Honda-powered Williams the [[1987 French Grand Prix|previous year]] – a consequence of the restrictions imposed on [[Turbocharger|turbocharged]] engines this season with the major difference being the speeds attained on the now 1 km long Mistral Straight. In 1987 the fastest turbo cars (Honda powered) were timed at {{Convert|325|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}} on the straight. In 1988 the top speed was recorded at {{Convert|311|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}}.


For Prost it was his third win in his home Grand Prix after winning in both [[1981 French Grand Prix|1981]] at [[Dijon-Prenois|Dijon]] (his first Grand Prix victory) and [[1983 French Grand Prix|1983]] at the full length Paul Ricard. On both occasions he had been driving for the factory [[Equipe Renault|Renault]] team.
For Prost it was his third win in his home Grand Prix after winning in both [[1981 French Grand Prix|1981]] at [[Dijon-Prenois|Dijon]] (his first Grand Prix victory) and [[1983 French Grand Prix|1983]] at the full length Paul Ricard. On both occasions he had been driving for the factory [[Equipe Renault|Renault]] team.


== Classification ==
== Classification ==

=== Pre-qualifying ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
!Pos
!No
!Driver
!Constructor
!Time
!Gap
⚫
|-
!1
|33
⚫
|{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Stefano Modena]]
⚫
|[[EuroBrun]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
|1:12.805
⚫
|
⚫
|-
!2
|36
|{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Alex Caffi]]
|[[Dallara]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
|1:12.891
| +0.086
⚫
|-
!3
|22
|{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Andrea de Cesaris]]
|[[Rial Racing|Rial]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
|1:12.898
| +0.093
|-
!4
|32
|{{flagicon|ARG}} [[Oscar Larrauri]]
|[[EuroBrun]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
|1:13.452
| +0.647
|-
!data-sort-value="5"|DNPQ
⚫
|31
|{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Gabriele Tarquini]]
|[[Scuderia Coloni|Coloni]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
|1:14.214
| +1.409
|}


===Qualifying===
===Qualifying===
Line 65: Line 116:
| 11
| 11
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Alain Prost]]
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Alain Prost]]
| [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]
| [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
| 1:08.171
| 1:08.171
| '''1:07.589'''
| '''1:07.589'''
Line 72: Line 123:
! 2
! 2
| 12
| 12
| {{flagicon|BRA}} [[Ayrton Senna]]
| {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} [[Ayrton Senna]]
| [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]
| [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
| 1:08.456
| 1:08.456
| '''1:08.067'''
| '''1:08.067'''
Line 112: Line 163:
! 7
! 7
| 1
| 1
| {{flagicon|BRA}} [[Nelson Piquet]]
| {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} [[Nelson Piquet]]
| [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]
| [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
| '''1:09.734'''
| '''1:09.734'''
| 1:09.900
| 1:09.900
Line 120: Line 171:
! 8
! 8
| 2
| 2
| {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Satoru Nakajima]]
| {{flagicon|JPN|1947}} [[Satoru Nakajima]]
| [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]
| [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
| 1:11.394
| 1:11.394
| '''1:10.250'''
| '''1:10.250'''
Line 129: Line 180:
| 5
| 5
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Nigel Mansell]]
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Nigel Mansell]]
| [[Williams F1|Williams]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| [[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| 1:11.112
| 1:11.112
| '''1:10.337'''
| '''1:10.337'''
Line 177: Line 228:
| 6
| 6
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Riccardo Patrese]]
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Riccardo Patrese]]
| [[Williams F1|Williams]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| [[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| 1:11.671
| 1:11.671
| '''1:11.286'''
| '''1:11.286'''
Line 184: Line 235:
! 16
! 16
| 15
| 15
| {{flagicon|BRA}} [[Mauricio Gugelmin]]
| {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} [[Maurício Gugelmin]]
| [[March Engineering|March]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| [[March Engineering|March]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| '''1:11.315'''
| '''1:11.315'''
Line 244: Line 295:
| 1:13.063
| 1:13.063
| '''1:12.316'''
| '''1:12.316'''
| +4.272
| +4.727
|-
|-
! 24
! 24
Line 270: Line 321:
| +4.949
| +4.949
|-
|-
! data-sort-value="27"|DNQ
! DNQ
| 25
| 25
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[René Arnoux]]
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[René Arnoux]]
Line 278: Line 329:
| +5.065
| +5.065
|-
|-
! data-sort-value="28"|DNQ
! DNQ
| 4
| 4
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Julian Bailey]]
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Julian Bailey (racing driver)|Julian Bailey]]
| [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| 1:13.839
| 1:13.839
Line 286: Line 337:
| +5.108
| +5.108
|-
|-
! data-sort-value="29"|DNQ
! DNQ
| 26
| 26
| {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Stefan Johansson]]
| {{flagicon|SWE}} [[Stefan Johansson]]
Line 300: Line 351:
| 1:14.797
| 1:14.797
| '''''1:12.121'''''
| '''''1:12.121'''''
⚫
|
⚫
|-
! DNPQ
⚫
| 31
⚫
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Gabriele Tarquini]]
⚫
| [[Enzo Coloni Racing Car Systems|Coloni]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
⚫
|
⚫
|
|
|
|}
|}
Line 326: Line 369:
| 11
| 11
| {{flagicon|FRA}} '''[[Alain Prost]]'''
| {{flagicon|FRA}} '''[[Alain Prost]]'''
| '''[[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]'''
| '''[[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]'''
| 80
| 80
| 1:37:37.328
| 1:37:37.328
Line 334: Line 377:
! 2
! 2
| 12
| 12
| {{flagicon|BRA}} '''[[Ayrton Senna]]'''
| {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} '''[[Ayrton Senna]]'''
| '''[[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]'''
| '''[[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]'''
| 80
| 80
| + 31.752
| + 31.752
Line 355: Line 398:
| '''[[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]'''
| '''[[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]'''
| 79
| 79
| + 1 Lap
| + 1 lap
| 3
| 3
| '''3'''
| '''3'''
Line 361: Line 404:
! 5
! 5
| 1
| 1
| {{flagicon|BRA}} '''[[Nelson Piquet]]'''
| {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} '''[[Nelson Piquet]]'''
| '''[[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]'''
| '''[[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]'''
| 79
| 79
| + 1 Lap
| + 1 lap
| 7
| 7
| '''2'''
| '''2'''
Line 373: Line 416:
| '''[[Benetton Formula|Benetton]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]'''
| '''[[Benetton Formula|Benetton]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]'''
| 79
| 79
| + 1 Lap
| + 1 lap
| 6
| 6
| '''1'''
| '''1'''
Line 379: Line 422:
! 7
! 7
| 2
| 2
| {{flagicon|JPN}} [[Satoru Nakajima]]
| {{flagicon|JPN|1947}} [[Satoru Nakajima]]
| [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]
| [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
| 79
| 79
| + 1 Lap
| + 1 lap
| 8
| 8
|  
|  
Line 388: Line 431:
! 8
! 8
| 15
| 15
| {{flagicon|BRA}} [[Maurício Gugelmin]]
| {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} [[Maurício Gugelmin]]
| [[March Engineering|March]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| [[March Engineering|March]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| 79
| 79
| + 1 Lap
| + 1 lap
| 16
| 16
|  
|  
Line 400: Line 443:
| [[March Engineering|March]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| [[March Engineering|March]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| 79
| 79
| + 1 Lap
| + 1 lap
| 10
| 10
|  
|  
Line 409: Line 452:
| [[Rial Racing|Rial]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| [[Rial Racing|Rial]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| 78
| 78
| + 2 Laps
| + 2 laps
| 12
| 12
|  
|  
Line 418: Line 461:
| [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]]-[[BMW M12|Megatron]]
| [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]]-[[BMW M12|Megatron]]
| 78
| 78
| + 2 Laps
| + 2 laps
| 13
| 13
|  
|  
Line 427: Line 470:
| [[Dallara]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| [[Dallara]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| 78
| 78
| + 2 Laps
| + 2 laps
| 14
| 14
|  
|  
Line 436: Line 479:
| [[Lola Cars|Lola]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| [[Lola Cars|Lola]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| 78
| 78
| + 2 Laps
| + 2 laps
| 19
| 19
|  
|  
Line 445: Line 488:
| [[EuroBrun]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| [[EuroBrun]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| 77
| 77
| + 3 Laps
| + 3 laps
| 20
| 20
|  
|  
Line 454: Line 497:
| [[Minardi]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| [[Minardi]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| 77
| 77
| + 3 Laps
| + 3 laps
| 22
| 22
|  
|  
Line 463: Line 506:
| [[Minardi]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| [[Minardi]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| 70
| 70
| + 10 laps
| Not Classified
| 25
| 25
|  
|  
Line 497: Line 540:
| 5
| 5
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Nigel Mansell]]
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Nigel Mansell]]
| [[Williams F1|Williams]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| [[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| 48
| 48
| Suspension
| Suspension
Line 524: Line 567:
| 6
| 6
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Riccardo Patrese]]
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Riccardo Patrese]]
| [[Williams F1|Williams]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| [[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams]]-[[Judd (engine)|Judd]]
| 35
| 35
| Brakes
| Brakes
Line 544: Line 587:
| [[Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives|AGS]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| [[Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives|AGS]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| 20
| 20
| Fuel Leak
| Fuel leak
| 17
| 17
|  
|  
Line 553: Line 596:
| [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]]-[[BMW M12|Megatron]]
| [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]]-[[BMW M12|Megatron]]
| 11
| 11
| Spun Off
| Spun off
| 11
| 11
|  
|  
Line 568: Line 611:
! DNQ
! DNQ
| 4
| 4
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Julian Bailey]]
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Julian Bailey (racing driver)|Julian Bailey]]
| [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
|  
|  
Line 587: Line 630:
| 31
| 31
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Gabriele Tarquini]]
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Gabriele Tarquini]]
| [[Enzo Coloni Racing Car Systems|Coloni]]-[[Cosworth|Ford]]
| [[Scuderia Coloni|Coloni]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
|  
|  
|  
|  
Line 601: Line 644:
|
|
|  
|  
|-
!colspan="8"|{{center|Source:<ref>{{cite web |title=1988 French Grand Prix |url=http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1988/269/ |publisher=formula1.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118230143/http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1988/269/ |archive-date=18 January 2015 |access-date=23 December 2015}}</ref>}}
|}
|}


==Standings after the race==
==Championship standings after the race==
{{col-start}}
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
{{col-2}}
Line 615: Line 660:
| 1
| 1
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Alain Prost]]
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Alain Prost]]
| align="right"| 54
|align=right| 54
|-
|-
| 2
| 2
| {{flagicon|BRA}} [[Ayrton Senna]]
| {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} [[Ayrton Senna]]
| align="right"| 39
|align=right| 39
|-
|-
| 3
| 3
| {{flagicon|AUT}} [[Gerhard Berger]]
| {{flagicon|AUT}} [[Gerhard Berger]]
| align="right"| 21
|align=right| 21
|-
|-
| 4
| 4
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Michele Alboreto]]
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Michele Alboreto]]
| align="right"| 13
|align=right| 13
|-
|-
| 5
| 5
| {{flagicon|BRA}} [[Nelson Piquet]]
| {{flagicon|BRA|1968}} [[Nelson Piquet]]
| align="right"| 13
|align=right| 13
|-
!colspan=4|Source: <ref name="champ">{{Cite web|url=https://www.statsf1.com/en/1988/france/championnat.aspx|title=France 1988 - Championship • STATS F1|website=www.statsf1.com|access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref>
|}
|}
{{col-2}}
{{col-2}}
Line 642: Line 689:
|-
|-
| 1
| 1
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[McLaren]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
| align="right"|93
|align=right|93
|-
|-
| 2
| 2
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| align="right"|34
|align=right|34
|-
|-
| 3
| 3
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Honda in Formula One#Honda as an engine supplier|Honda]]
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Team Lotus|Lotus]]-[[Honda in Formula One|Honda]]
| align="right"|14
|align=right|14
|-
|-
| 4
| 4
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Benetton Formula|Benetton]]-[[Ford]]
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Benetton Formula|Benetton]]-[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]]
| align="right"|13
|align=right|13
|-
|-
| 5
| 5
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]]-[[BMW M12|Megatron]]
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Arrows Grand Prix International|Arrows]]-[[BMW M12|Megatron]]
| align="right"|9
|align=right|9
|-
!colspan=4|Source: <ref name="champ"/>
|}
|}
{{col-end}}
{{col-end}}


* <small>'''Note''': Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.</small>
*{{small|'''Note''': Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
* ''Unless otherwise indicated, all race results are taken from {{cite web |title=The Official Formula 1 website |url=http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1988/269/ |accessdate=2007-07-12}}


{{F1 race report
{{F1 race report
Line 682: Line 730:
[[Category:French Grand Prix]]
[[Category:French Grand Prix]]
[[Category:1988 in French motorsport|Grand Prix]]
[[Category:1988 in French motorsport|Grand Prix]]
[[Category:July 1988 sports events in Europe|French Grand Prix]]

Latest revision as of 19:17, 10 May 2023

1988 French Grand Prix
Race 7 of 16 in the 1988 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 3 July 1988
Official name Rhône-Poulenc Grand Prix de France
Location Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 3.813 km (2.369 miles)
Distance 80 laps, 305.040 km (189.543 miles)
Weather Sunny and hot
Pole position
Driver
McLaren-Honda
Time 1:07.589
Fastest lap
Driver France Alain Prost McLaren-Honda
Time 1:11.737 on lap 45
Podium
First
McLaren-Honda
Second
McLaren-Honda
Third
Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 1988 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 July 1988 at the Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet. It was the seventh race of the 1988 Formula One World Championship.

The 80-lap race was won by local driver Alain Prost, driving a McLaren-Honda, after he started from pole position. Prost's Brazilian teammate Ayrton Senna finished second, with Italian Michele Alboreto third in a Ferrari.

Qualifying

[edit]

The two McLarens lined up in their usual front row places, but, for the first time this season, Alain Prost was ahead of Ayrton Senna, the Frenchman beating the Brazilian by almost half a second to take his first pole since the 1986 Monaco Grand Prix and in doing so stopping his teammate from a record-breaking 7th pole in succession. The two Ferraris filled the second row, Gerhard Berger beating Michele Alboreto by over 1.1 seconds, though neither driver believed they could race with the McLarens simply because of fuel consumption. On the third row were the two normally-aspirated Benettons of Thierry Boutsen and Alessandro Nannini, while the Lotuses of Nelson Piquet and Satoru Nakajima filled the fourth row, Piquet being the last driver to qualify under 1:10. The top ten was completed by the Williams of Nigel Mansell (over 2.7 seconds slower than Prost and almost 4 seconds slower than his 1987 pole time) and the March of Ivan Capelli, who had recovered after fracturing his left foot in a crash during practice in Detroit two weeks before.

Meanwhile, Ligier had a disastrous weekend on their home turf with both René Arnoux and Stefan Johansson failing to qualify, though they did have a celebration of sorts over the weekend as Arnoux turned 40 the day after the race. Julian Bailey also failed to qualify in his Tyrrell, while Piercarlo Ghinzani qualified 22nd in his Zakspeed but was excluded for missing a weight check, thus promoting Oscar Larrauri's EuroBrun to the last grid spot.

Race summary

[edit]

Prost led away from Senna and the two Ferraris, with Piquet passing the two Benettons for fifth. Despite worries in the McLaren pit about overly high fuel consumption (the fuel readouts in the cars were showing less fuel used than what the Honda telemetry was telling the team), Ron Dennis was reportedly prepared to let his drivers run out of fuel at the expense of a perfect season if it taught them to be more conservative given their obvious advantage over the field, though ultimately the onboard readouts were proved correct. Prost maintained a two-second advantage over Senna until the mid-race pit stops, while an early stop by Berger on lap 22 allowed teammate Alboreto through into third. While both McLarens were racing each other out front, they were still pulling away from the field at sometimes a second per lap.

Senna made his pit stop three laps before Prost, enabling him to take the lead thanks to a slow stop for Prost with a sticking front wheel, but traffic on the Mistral Straight (including a less than helpful Piquet who most likely enjoyed seeing Senna lose the lead to Prost at close quarters) and a gearbox problem allowed Prost to close right up to him and then overtake him on lap 61 as they lapped Alex Caffi and Pierluigi Martini at the Signes corner. Meanwhile, Berger reclaimed third only for Alboreto to pass him again during the pit stops, while Mansell suffered his seventh consecutive retirement, dropping out on lap 49 with suspension problems, though he had been dropping back for a number of laps with power loss from his Judd V8 engine. After returning to the pits and getting himself cleaned up, the Englishman left the circuit profoundly fed up with the performance of the Williams, fuelling ongoing speculation in the press that he would leave the team at the end of the year to join Ferrari after the Italian team had announced they would not be keeping Alboreto for 1989. Despite the rumours turning out to be correct, Mansell continued to deny he was joining Ferrari.

In the closing laps, Prost pulled away as Senna's gearbox troubles continued, losing several gears. The Brazilian eventually finished nearly 32 seconds behind the Frenchman, though he was still nearly 35 seconds ahead of Alboreto, the last man on the lead lap. Berger was fourth ahead of Piquet, who also suffered gearbox problems in the later stages of the race; the final point went to the Benetton of Nannini. France was the first time since the 1987 Monaco Grand Prix that Alboreto had finished in front of his teammate in a race where they both finished. During the race Alboreto had the advantage of an almost perfectly balanced car, while Berger complained of severe understeer, something not needed at the high speed Signes corner at the end of the Mistral.

The fastest lap of the race, a 1:11.737 set by Prost on lap 45, was over two seconds slower than the 1:09.548 set by Piquet in a Honda-powered Williams the previous year – a consequence of the restrictions imposed on turbocharged engines this season with the major difference being the speeds attained on the now 1 km long Mistral Straight. In 1987 the fastest turbo cars (Honda powered) were timed at 325 km/h (202 mph) on the straight. In 1988 the top speed was recorded at 311 km/h (193 mph).

For Prost it was his third win in his home Grand Prix after winning in both 1981 at Dijon (his first Grand Prix victory) and 1983 at the full length Paul Ricard. On both occasions he had been driving for the factory Renault team.

Classification

[edit]

Pre-qualifying

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 33 Italy Stefano Modena EuroBrun-Ford 1:12.805
2 36 Italy Alex Caffi Dallara-Ford 1:12.891 +0.086
3 22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Rial-Ford 1:12.898 +0.093
4 32 Argentina Oscar Larrauri EuroBrun-Ford 1:13.452 +0.647
DNPQ 31 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Coloni-Ford 1:14.214 +1.409

Qualifying

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Gap
1 11 France Alain Prost McLaren-Honda 1:08.171 1:07.589 —
2 12 Brazil Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda 1:08.456 1:08.067 +0.478
3 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Ferrari 1:09.032 1:08.282 +0.693
4 27 Italy Michele Alboreto Ferrari 1:09.624 1:09.422 +1.833
5 20 Belgium Thierry Boutsen Benetton-Ford 1:11.170 1:09.587 +1.998
6 19 Italy Alessandro Nannini Benetton-Ford 1:10.743 1:09.718 +2.129
7 1 Brazil Nelson Piquet Lotus-Honda 1:09.734 1:09.900 +2.145
8 2 Japan Satoru Nakajima Lotus-Honda 1:11.394 1:10.250 +2.661
9 5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Williams-Judd 1:11.112 1:10.337 +2.748
10 16 Italy Ivan Capelli March-Judd 1:11.779 1:10.496 +2.907
11 17 United Kingdom Derek Warwick Arrows-Megatron 1:11.339 1:10.634 +3.045
12 22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Rial-Ford 1:11.854 1:10.861 +3.272
13 18 United States Eddie Cheever Arrows-Megatron 1:11.567 1:10.979 +3.390
14 36 Italy Alex Caffi Dallara-Ford 1:13.144 1:11.211 +3.622
15 6 Italy Riccardo Patrese Williams-Judd 1:11.671 1:11.286 +3.697
16 15 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin March-Judd 1:11.315 1:11.404 +3.726
17 14 France Philippe Streiff AGS-Ford 1:12.004 1:11.466 +3.877
18 30 France Philippe Alliot Lola-Ford 1:12.286 1:11.511 +3.922
19 29 France Yannick Dalmas Lola-Ford 1:12.547 1:11.747 +4.158
20 33 Italy Stefano Modena EuroBrun-Ford 1:12.997 1:12.007 +4.418
21 10 West Germany Bernd Schneider Zakspeed 1:13.527 1:12.026 +4.437
22 23 Italy Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 1:13.039 1:12.268 +4.679
23 3 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer Tyrrell-Ford 1:13.063 1:12.316 +4.727
24 21 Italy Nicola Larini Osella 1:13.037 1:12.406 +4.817
25 24 Spain Luis Pérez-Sala Minardi-Ford 1:12.938 1:12.525 +4.936
26 32 Argentina Oscar Larrauri EuroBrun-Ford 1:13.888 1:12.538 +4.949
DNQ 25 France René Arnoux Ligier-Judd 1:12.654 1:12.736 +5.065
DNQ 4 United Kingdom Julian Bailey Tyrrell-Ford 1:13.839 1:12.697 +5.108
DNQ 26 Sweden Stefan Johansson Ligier-Judd 1:13.629 1:12.801 +5.212
EX 9 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani Zakspeed 1:14.797 1:12.121

Race

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 11 France Alain Prost McLaren-Honda 80 1:37:37.328 1 9
2 12 Brazil Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda 80 + 31.752 2 6
3 27 Italy Michele Alboreto Ferrari 80 + 1:06.505 4 4
4 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Ferrari 79 + 1 lap 3 3
5 1 Brazil Nelson Piquet Lotus-Honda 79 + 1 lap 7 2
6 19 Italy Alessandro Nannini Benetton-Ford 79 + 1 lap 6 1
7 2 Japan Satoru Nakajima Lotus-Honda 79 + 1 lap 8  
8 15 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin March-Judd 79 + 1 lap 16  
9 16 Italy Ivan Capelli March-Judd 79 + 1 lap 10  
10 22 Italy Andrea de Cesaris Rial-Ford 78 + 2 laps 12  
11 18 United States Eddie Cheever Arrows-Megatron 78 + 2 laps 13  
12 36 Italy Alex Caffi Dallara-Ford 78 + 2 laps 14  
13 29 France Yannick Dalmas Lola-Ford 78 + 2 laps 19  
14 33 Italy Stefano Modena EuroBrun-Ford 77 + 3 laps 20  
15 23 Italy Pierluigi Martini Minardi-Ford 77 + 3 laps 22  
NC 24 Spain Luis Pérez-Sala Minardi-Ford 70 + 10 laps 25  
Ret 32 Argentina Oscar Larrauri EuroBrun-Ford 64 Clutch 26  
Ret 21 Italy Nicola Larini Osella 56 Halfshaft 24  
Ret 10 West Germany Bernd Schneider Zakspeed 55 Gearbox 21  
Ret 5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell Williams-Judd 48 Suspension 9  
Ret 30 France Philippe Alliot Lola-Ford 46 Electrical 18  
Ret 3 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer Tyrrell-Ford 40 Engine 23  
Ret 6 Italy Riccardo Patrese Williams-Judd 35 Brakes 15  
Ret 20 Belgium Thierry Boutsen Benetton-Ford 28 Engine 5  
Ret 14 France Philippe Streiff AGS-Ford 20 Fuel leak 17  
Ret 17 United Kingdom Derek Warwick Arrows-Megatron 11 Spun off 11  
DNQ 25 France René Arnoux Ligier-Judd    
DNQ 4 United Kingdom Julian Bailey Tyrrell-Ford    
DNQ 26 Sweden Stefan Johansson Ligier-Judd    
DNPQ 31 Italy Gabriele Tarquini Coloni-Ford      
EX 9 Italy Piercarlo Ghinzani Zakspeed   Excluded  
Source:[1]

Championship standings after the race

[edit]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1988 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b "France 1988 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.


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