1988 Japanese Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 15 of 16 in the 1988 Formula One season | |||
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| Date | 30 October 1988 | ||
| Official name | XIV Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.859 km (3.641 mi) | ||
| Distance | 51 laps, 298.829 km (185.670 mi) | ||
| Weather | Cool and mainly dry, some rain toward the end | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Time | 1:41.853 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Ayrton Senna
|
McLaren-Honda | |
| Time | 1:46.326 on lap 33 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Second | McLaren-Honda | ||
| Third | Benetton-Ford | ||
The 1988 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Suzuka Circuit, Japan on 30 October 1988. It was the fifteenth and penultimate race of the 1988 season.
As expected at the Japanese track where engine power can make up for a lot, it was no surprise to see the McLarens of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost on the front row on this, Honda's home track (the company in fact owns the Suzuka Circuit and McLaren's test driver Emanuele Pirro was based there almost full-time). At times in 1988 the turbos had been qualifying (and often racing) faster than they had in previous seasons despite the restricted 2.5 bar of turbo boost available. At Suzuka the situation was reversed, Senna's pole time was 1.8 seconds slower than Gerhard Berger's 1987 time. Berger himself could only manage 3rd on the grid with a time that was 3.3 seconds slower than his 1987 time in an updated version of his Ferrari, though with about 300 bhp (224 kW; 304 PS) less.
Berger was joined on the 2nd row by the sensational Ivan Capelli in the naturally aspirated March-Judd. The March team's late season showing made their sponsor (Japanese real estate company Leyton House) very happy. Capelli qualified in front of the two Lotus-Hondas of outgoing World Champion Nelson Piquet who was suffering from a virus, and home town favourite Satoru Nakajima.
Nakajima, not normally the best of qualifiers or racers despite having had equipment superior to most, including the all-powerful Honda V6 turbo engine since his debut in 1987, could have easily been excused for performing poorly this meeting and indeed from actually taking part at all. Only 30 minutes before the start of Friday morning's practice session he was informed that his mother had died that morning. In the circumstances his effort in Saturday qualifying to equal his more illustrious team mate's time right down to the thousandth of a second was exceptional. Piquet and Nakajima qualified 5th and 6th respectively, Piquet in front only for having set his time earlier in the last qualifying session. Nakajima had actually been faster than the triple World Champion on Friday, an effort that won the much-maligned Japanese driver new fans and much praise in the F1 paddock considering his personal circumstances.
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