1988 Italian Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 12 of 16 in the 1988 Formula One season | |||
 |
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| Date | 11 September 1988 | ||
| Official name | LIX Coca-Cola Gran Premio d'Italia | ||
| Location | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.80 km (3.603 mi) | ||
| Distance | 51 laps, 295.800 km (183.801 mi) | ||
| Weather | Sunny and hot | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Time | 1:25.974 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Michele Alboreto
|
Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:29.070 on lap 44 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ferrari | ||
| Second | Ferrari | ||
| Third | Arrows-Megatron | ||
The 1988 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 11 September 1988 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza. It was the twelfth race of the 1988 season. It is often remembered for the 1–2 finish for the Ferrari team, and as the only race of the 1988 season that McLaren-Honda failed to win.
Qualifying at Monza went as expected with the McLarens of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost heading the field, Senna the only driver to lap the 5.80 km (3.603 mi) under 1:26. In the first Italian Grand Prix since the death of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari; his beloved scarlet cars were 3rd and 4th on the grid, Gerhard Berger in front of Michele Alboreto. Berger and Alboreto also had cause for optimism before the race as changes to the V6 turbo had seen improved fuel consumption. As a mark of respect for the Ferrari founder, Alboreto and Berger were allowed to be the first cars to take to the track for Friday morning's first practice session.
Showing the difference in horsepower between 1987 and 1988, Senna's pole time of 1:25.974 was 2.514 seconds slower than Nelson Piquet's 1987 time of 1:23.460 set in a Williams-Honda. For the most part, qualifying times in 1988 had either matched or actually beaten the times from the previous year showing advances in engine response, aerodynamics, tyres and suspension. But on a power circuit such as Monza with its long straights, the loss of some 300 bhp (224 kW; 304 PS) was very noticeable.
The third row of the grid was a surprise, even at this power circuit. Ever since the item was made compulsory for turbo powered cars at the start of the 1987 season, the Arrows team had been experiencing problems with the FIA pop-off valve on their Megatron turbo engines, the problem being that the valve was cutting in too early and the drivers weren't able to exploit the full available power. In 1987 this meant that drivers Derek Warwick and Eddie Cheever struggled to keep up with their turbocharged rivals. In 1988 it meant they were often only as fast as the leading atmos, and often they were in fact slower, even on noted power circuits such as Silverstone and Hockenheim which should have suited their turbo power. The team's engine guru Heini Mader had finally solved the pop-off valve problem (which turned out to be the pop-off valve being located too high above the engine, a problem Honda and Ferrari had long since solved), and suddenly with an extra 30-50 bhp at their disposal the Arrows A10B's were actually 5 km/h (3 mph) faster than the Honda-powered McLarens across the start line and by the time the reached the speed trap before the Rettifilo, Cheever was reported to be the only car to hit 200 mph (322 km/h) while the McLarens and Ferraris were timed at around 192 mph (309 km/h). This new found power allowed Cheever and Warwick to line up 5th and 6th respectively, one place in front of World Champion Nelson Piquet in his Lotus Honda. This also meant that turbos filled the first seven places on the grid. Piquet's Lotus team mate Satoru Nakajima qualified 10th, with the Lotuses split by the fastest non-turbos, the Benetton-Fords of Thierry Boutsen and Alessandro Nannini in 8th and 9th places on the grid. Due in no small part to their sudden improvement in speed, Arrows were suddenly being seen as a dark horse for the race should McLaren and Ferrari run into problems.
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