7/28/2019 This week in 1988: Ayrton Senna wins British Grand Prix

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7/28/2019 This week in 1988: Ayrton Senna wins British Grand Prix

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, - - -- -~ k w msecond and '25th.mprctlwly,onVI. grid,mnMlkd 17thndlm thrn lapabehind 5 . n ~nnee; Albomto ran

M ach lime he came out of the spin weather. You've still got a horsepower bat- chopped over to claim the line, and GcrhardW i g he p rope r way , and with the engine tle. haven't you? And so long as you've got -fuel worries or no-was clearly deter-alive. "No mystery," he said. "% car that, you've got a fuel problem. I don't see mined to stay put, at least fora while.wasn't handling that well, and I was push- the rainmaking any difference at all." The two of them left the rest behind.ing too hard." So to the start. Alboreto gM the power After only five laps there were 16 wconds"Here," Prost concluded. "we just down slightly better than Berger, and between Senna and third man Alboreto.haven't got it right. But even so. I think it loaked like snatching the lead into the fusl who was followed by a very confiden t Gu-will be a McLaren win again." comer. but Gethard held his line and his gelmin, Alessandro Nannini, a chargingSuch optimism as there was came from place, and within half a mile Michele had Mansell and an oversteering Capelli. Thenspeculation about fuel. If the qualifying beto passed by Senna, learly net of a mood we had Derek Wanvick and t h e L o w s ,days were largely dry, they were also mol. to hang around today. Satoru Nakajima keeping embarrassinglyCool weather means better horsepower, and Prost, on the other hand, had got away close to Nelson Piquet.bettu homepower means worse fuel con- hesitantly, and in the quick spray was For some time then was relative stale-sumption. On the question of fuel, Honda swamped on all sides during that f i t lap. mate but, as the rain ceascd and a dry linewas concerned , bu t F e e was downright He completed it in l lt h place, an d the of sorts began to emerge, new strengths andresigne d. "If we try a nd run w ith th e Honda V6 sounded not quite clean. During weaknesses came to light. Piquet, for exam-Mc Laren s," Al bor eto sa id , " we'll be the morning session it had cut momentarily, ple, gained in confidence, passed War-watching the last five laps from the pits." then again in the fdwarm-up laps. But wick's Armws and put space b e e n him-Senna and Rost were lhus not too con- later host said he had simply "bogged self and his No. 2. Gugelmin, Nannini andcerned a h emri. More of a worry were down" at th e start. let the revs drop. Mansell closed into a battling trio. And atsome of the normally aspirated cars, which Every succeeding lap seemed to drop the the front, quite divorced from the rest,an not restricted on fuel. At this, the fastest World Championship leader furlher down Berger and Senna were suddenly muchtrack in Formula One use, y w might have the order, so that he was passed in lime by closer.expe cted the turbos to be on a separate such as Modena and Cafti! After 24 laps he After his aggressive opening laps, whyplane, but not so : Si lvers to~bwithhe ex- came in, climbed out, explained with re- had Aynon allowed the Ferrari to go clearceptio n of the chica ne at Woodcote-is markable candor his retirement. for a while? "At the speed he was run-shaighU and fast c o r m s a l l the way. You It was reminiscent of Niki Lauda's cele- ning," the Brazilian expla ined, "I knewget up to speed. and stay there . 11 is vital to bmml withdrawal at Fuji in 1976; then, as that if I kept with him, I couldn't make hehave a well-balanced car, and the best of now, the World Ch am piw hip was at stake. fi is h on fuel. I was preny sure he coulda'tthese were undoubtedly the March-ludds of "The bandling of my car was terrible from either, but I thought I'd sit back for a bit. IMauricio Gugelmin and Ivan C apelli, which the start," Alain said. "Understeer here, couldn't see much when the rain was resllyqualified fiW and sixth, and rather shook oversteer there ... 1 was getting into huge bad, and 1 was getling water behind mythe Estnblishmnt. Add to that a"d'lides, taking huge risks, to run 15th. Why visor, which made it mist up."Williams (without reactive suspension) for risk a big accident, maybe break a leg or As conditions began slightly to dry,Mansell, and you had the makings of a race. something, and put myself out for th e rest of though. Senna was swiftly filling krger'sThere were the Benetlons, too. the year-so I can maybe be 12th or some- mirrors again. On lap 15, as they prepadMansell was hoping for rain. he said, and thing? Everyone does what he wants with to lap host-to lap Prost!--on the runSun day morning will have pleased him: his own car and his own life. I know maybe down to the Woodcote chicane, AynonGray and forbidding. the wet was clearly in 1 lost the championship today, but I decided went by th e F e d . It was chancy . as hisfor the day. Frank Williams, however, said to stop." moves sometimes are, for it also meanthe doubted it would be to the atmospherics' So now the scene was set for Aytton to ducking by hi teammate into the chicane.advantage: "As soon as you have rain, the make major inroads into Rost's points lead In the spray, Pmst hadn't seen him andturbo guys* fuel w orries disappear. Thcy over h k I 5 going into this race. And bmed in on his normal line. Fomnately.have a considerable power advantage. so during the first laps he truly hounded Alain flicked his wheel right, gave histhey just crank on more wing than we can- Berger, sitting right on the F e d n what teammate mom. The two McLarens mightand that helps them lhmugh the c o r m s . I amounted to dead reckoning. If you were otherwise have been out on the spot.don't lhink the rain will help us at all." behindsomone, youcouldn't see a n m g . At all events, Senna was through andGahard Berger d idn't a m : "Fuel con- On the f i t lap Senna nied lo put a move gone. the result of the British Orand Rixsumption is a problem, whatever the on Berger into Stowe, but the Ferrari now a foregone conclusion. % last wet

56 AUTOWEEK JULY 18. 1988

7/28/2019 This week in 1988: Ayrton Senna wins British Grand Prix

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