McLaren-Honda dominated the 1988 F1 season to a historic degree, winning 15 of 16 races with Senna claiming the Drivers' Championship.
Key Facts
- Races in season
- 16
- McLaren-Honda wins
- 15 of 16 races
- Constructors' Championship points
- 199 points
- Season span
- 3 April – 13 November 1988
- Drivers' Champion
- Ayrton Senna
- Only non-McLaren winner
- Gerhard Berger, Italian Grand Prix
By the Numbers
Cause → Event → Consequence
McLaren entered 1988 with a dominant combination: the turbocharged Honda V6 engine paired with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Defending champions Williams, stripped of their Honda supply, were forced to use underpowered naturally aspirated Judd V8 engines, leaving them uncompetitive and unable to challenge for the title.
The 1988 FIA Formula One World Championship ran over sixteen races from April to November. Senna and Prost shared fifteen victories between them, with the sole exception being the Italian Grand Prix won by Ferrari's Gerhard Berger. Senna secured the Drivers' Championship while McLaren claimed the Constructors' title with 199 points.
McLaren's 199 Constructors' Championship points stood as a record until 2002, and their 15-win haul from 16 races has never been surpassed in a season of that length. The season established Senna as a top-tier world champion and cemented the McLaren-Honda partnership as one of the most dominant combinations in Formula One history.