Ayrton Senna won the 1988 British Grand Prix, the only race that season where McLaren-Honda failed to claim pole position.
Key Facts
- Race laps
- 65
- Winner
- Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Honda)
- Starting position of winner
- 3rd
- Season race number
- 8th of 1988 championship
- Circuit anniversary commemorated
- 40th anniversary of Silverstone opening
- McLaren pole streak
- Only 1988 race McLaren did not take pole
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 1988 Formula One season was dominated by McLaren-Honda, with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost competing fiercely for the Drivers' Championship. Heading into the British Grand Prix, Prost held a narrow points lead over Senna, setting the stage for a critical mid-season confrontation at Silverstone.
On 10 July 1988, Senna started from third on the grid and won the 65-lap race at Silverstone. Prost retired before half distance with handling problems, handing Senna an uncontested McLaren victory. Nigel Mansell finished second for Williams-Judd and Alessandro Nannini third for Benetton-Ford, in a race notable as the only 1988 round where McLaren did not secure pole position.
Senna's victory, his fourth of the season, closed the gap to Prost in the Drivers' Championship to just six points, shifting momentum in the title battle. The weekend was also marked by the death of RAC Chief Executive Peter Hammond in a road accident en route to the circuit, casting a shadow over the event's celebrations of Silverstone's 40th anniversary.