1988 French Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 16 in the 1988 Formula One season | |||
 |
|||
| Date | 3 July 1988 | ||
| Official name | Rhône-Poulenc Grand Prix de France | ||
| Location | Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 3.813 km (2.369 mi) | ||
| Distance | 80 laps, 305.040 km (189.543 mi) | ||
| Weather | Sunny and hot | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Time | 1:07.589 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Alain Prost
|
McLaren-Honda | |
| Time | 1:11.737 on lap 45 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Second | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Third | Ferrari | ||
The 1988 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 July 1988 at the Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet. The race, contested over 80 laps, was the seventh race of the 1988 Formula One season and was won by Alain Prost, driving a McLaren-Honda, with team-mate Ayrton Senna second and Michele Alboreto third in a Ferrari.
The two McLarens lined up in their usual front row places, but, for the first time this season, Alain Prost was ahead of Ayrton Senna, the Frenchman beating the Brazilian by almost half a second to take his first pole since the 1986 Monaco Grand Prix and in doing so stopping his team mate from a record breaking 7th pole in succession. The two Ferraris filled the second row, Gerhard Berger beating Michele Alboreto by over 1.1 seconds, though neither driver believed they could race with the McLarens simply because of fuel consumption. On the third row were the two normally-aspirated Benettons of Thierry Boutsen and Alessandro Nannini, while the Lotuses of Nelson Piquet and Satoru Nakajima filled the fourth row, Piquet being the last driver to qualify under 1:10. The top ten was completed by the Williams of Nigel Mansell (over 2.7 seconds slower than Prost and almost 4 seconds slower than his 1987 pole time) and the March of Ivan Capelli, who had recovered after fracturing his left foot in a crash during practice in Detroit two weeks before.
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