San Marino Grand Prix 1988 - Race Schedule and Countdown

Ayrton Senna delivered his first victory for McLaren-Honda at Imola's San Marino Grand Prix, marking the beginning of what would become Formula 1's greatest individual season. The Brazilian controlled the race from pole position, leading teammate Alain Prost home for McLaren's first one-two finish of 1988. Nelson Piquet completed the podium for Lotus, but the race belonged entirely to McLaren as they demonstrated the MP4/4's overwhelming superiority on the flowing Italian circuit.

The San Marino Grand Prix was significant as it began the Imola agreement controversy between Senna and Prost. Before the race, the teammates allegedly agreed not to challenge each other into the first corner to avoid incidents. However, after a restart following Gerhard Berger's massive crash at Tamburello, the dynamics changed and tensions began to simmer. Senna's victory showed he could match Prost for race-winning pace, establishing that McLaren's internal battle would be the season's defining narrative. The MP4/4's dominance was absolute, lapping the entire field except the top three finishers.