Formula 1 historical archive

Alain Prost won the 1988 Australian Grand Prix

Alain Prost won the 1988 Australian Grand Prix for McLaren, ahead of Ayrton Senna and Nelson Piquet at Adelaide Street Circuit.

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

Race recap

Winner
Alain Prost
Team
McLaren
Top listed
Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, and Nelson Piquet
Race date
November 13, 1988
Pole
Ayrton Senna
Fastest lap
Alain Prost
Classified drivers
31
Circuit
Adelaide Street Circuit

The decisive result

Alain Prost finished first for McLaren. Ayrton Senna is listed 2 for McLaren, with Nelson Piquet 3 for Team Lotus.

Grid to finish

Philippe Alliot from P24 to P10 (+14), Stefan Johansson from P22 to P9 (+13), and Pierluigi Martini from P14 to P7 (+7) 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 5 Collision, 4 DNQ, 4 Finished, 3 Engine, and 3 Out of fuel. Alain Prost holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:21.216 on lap 59. 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
1Alain ProstMcLaren1:53:14.6769
2Ayrton SennaMcLaren1:53:51.4636
3Nelson PiquetTeam Lotus1:54:02.2224
4Riccardo PatreseWilliams1:54:34.7643
5Thierry BoutsenBenetton+1 lap2
6Ivan CapelliMarch+1 lap1
7Pierluigi MartiniMinardi+2 laps0
8Andrea de CesarisRialOut of fuel0
9Stefan JohanssonLigierOut of fuel0
10Philippe AlliotLolaOut of fuel0
11Philippe StreiffAGSElectrical0
DNFPiercarlo GhinzaniZakspeedFuel system0
DNFNigel MansellWilliamsSpun off0
DNFAlessandro NanniniBenettonSpun off0
DNFStefano ModenaEuroBrunHalfshaft0
DNFDerek WarwickArrowsEngine0
DNFEddie CheeverArrowsEngine0
DNFMaurício GugelminMarchCollision0
DNFSatoru NakajimaTeam LotusCollision0
DNFLuis Pérez-SalaMinardiEngine0