1988 F1 Season May 2026

What happened next is the stuff of myth. Senna drove like a man possessed. Lap after lap, he broke the track record. He unlapped himself. He unlapped himself again. By lap 27, he was in second place, directly behind Prost.

The press conference was a tomb. Senna sat with his arms crossed, refusing to wear the winner's wreath. Prost sat beside him, uncomfortable, holding a championship he felt he hadn't truly won. 1988 f1 season

Senna won the race. He punched the air as he crossed the line. He was the world champion. What happened next is the stuff of myth

No one heard him. But everyone felt it: 1988 was over. And the war had only just begun. He unlapped himself

By mid-season, McLaren had won every race. The constructors' title was a foregone conclusion. But between the two drivers, a cold war had turned hot. In private, Ron Dennis, the team principal, tried to play peacemaker. "You are driving for McLaren," he said. "Not against each other." But Senna had stopped sharing setup data. Prost had stopped acknowledging him in the briefings.