Formula 1 historical archive

Ayrton Senna won the 1988 Japanese Grand Prix

Ayrton Senna won the 1988 Japanese Grand Prix for McLaren, ahead of Alain Prost and Thierry Boutsen at Suzuka Circuit.

Browse the full classification, related season, driver, team, circuit, and championship history.

Race recap

Winner
Ayrton Senna
Team
McLaren
Top listed
Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, and Thierry Boutsen
Race date
October 30, 1988
Pole
Ayrton Senna
Fastest lap
Ayrton Senna
Classified drivers
31
Circuit
Suzuka Circuit

The decisive result

Ayrton Senna finished first for McLaren. Alain Prost is listed 2 for McLaren, with Thierry Boutsen 3 for Benetton.

Grid to finish

Julian Bailey from P26 to P14 (+12), Philippe Streiff from P18 to P8 (+10), and Philippe Alliot from P19 to P9 (+10) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Ayrton Senna started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 6 +1 lap, 6 Finished, 4 DNQ, 3 +2 laps, and 2 +3 laps. Ayrton Senna holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:46.326 on lap 33. It records the result without speculating about incidents or strategy.

This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Jul 26, 2026.

Report a correction · Get the iPhone app

Race classification
PosDriverConstructorTime / statusPoints
1Ayrton SennaMcLaren1:33:26.1739
2Alain ProstMcLaren1:33:39.5366
3Thierry BoutsenBenetton1:34:02.2824
4Gerhard BergerFerrari1:34:52.8873
5Alessandro NanniniBenetton1:34:56.7762
6Riccardo PatreseWilliams1:35:03.7881
7Satoru NakajimaTeam Lotus+1 lap0
8Philippe StreiffAGS+1 lap0
9Philippe AlliotLola+1 lap0
10Maurício GugelminMarch+1 lap0
11Michele AlboretoFerrari+1 lap0
12Jonathan PalmerTyrrell+1 lap0
13Pierluigi MartiniMinardi+2 laps0
14Julian BaileyTyrrell+2 laps0
15Luis Pérez-SalaMinardi+2 laps0
16Aguri SuzukiLola+3 laps0
17René ArnouxLigier+3 laps0
DNFAndrea de CesarisRialOverheating0
DNFEddie CheeverArrowsIgnition0
DNFNicola LariniOsellaBrakes0