The 1988 Australian Grand Prix marked the last F1 race with turbo engines until 2014 and set a single-season constructor wins record of 15 for McLaren.
Key Facts
- Race laps
- 82
- Race winner
- Alain Prost (McLaren-Honda)
- Prost wins in 1988 season
- 7
- McLaren constructor wins in 1988
- 15 (season record)
- Championship round
- 16th and final of 1988 season
- Last turbo-eligible race
- Until 2014 Australian Grand Prix
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1988 Formula One season was dominated by McLaren-Honda, with Ayrton Senna already clinching the Drivers' Championship before the final round in Adelaide. The race also represented the final season in which turbocharged engines were permitted under contemporary regulations.
Alain Prost won the 82-lap race at the Adelaide Street Circuit on 13 November 1988, ahead of pole-sitter and newly crowned World Champion Ayrton Senna. Nelson Piquet finished third in a Lotus-Honda, claiming what proved to be the last podium for the original Team Lotus.
Prost's victory gave McLaren a record 15 constructor wins in a single season, a mark that stood until 2014. The race also closed the turbo engine era in Formula One for over two decades, with naturally aspirated engines becoming the sole power unit class from 1989 onward.
Result
at Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide, Australia