1988 German Grand Prix
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Race details | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 16 in the 1988 Formula One season. | ||
 |
||
| Date | July 24, 1988 | |
| Official name | Grosser Preis von Deutschland | |
| Location | Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, West Germany | |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 4.223 mi / 6.797 km |
|
| Distance | 44 laps, 185.832 mi / 299.068 km | |
| Weather | Wet and cool | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver |  Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda |
| Time | 1:44.596 | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver |  Alessandro Nannini |
Benetton-Ford |
| Time | 2:03.032 on lap 40 | |
| Podium | ||
| First | Ayrton Senna |
McLaren-Honda |
| Second |  Alain Prost |
McLaren-Honda |
| Third |  Gerhard Berger |
Ferrari |
The 1988 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 24, 1988 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim. It was the ninth race of the 1988 Formula One season.
[edit] Race summary
The grid was composed again of a front row of two McLarens, then Michele Alboreto on Ferrari, the two Marches and Gerhard Berger's second Ferrari. Qualifying had been severely obstaculated by violent thunderstorms which struck the area throughout the weekend.
The rain continued until Sunday monrning, when it finally stopped, but there was concern on which type of tyre would have been the most suitable for the race; in the end, everyone started on wet tyres, with the exception of Nelson Piquet. Ayrton Senna led off the start line from Berger and Alessandro Nannini. Piquet suffered a first-lap retirement, aquaplaning off the track at the Ostkurve due to his slick tyres. Alain Prost fought back from a bad start where he dropped to 4th to recover to 2nd behind Senna, but failed to catch him: traffic problems and many spins meant the gap increased lap by lap.
On lap 9, Senna forced Philippe Alliot off at the Sudkurve chicane. Alliot had changed to slicks to exploit the developing dry line and would have been in a promising position had the track continued to dry. They maintained the positions until the chequered flag, the sixth 1-2 of the year for McLaren.
Nannini had been in 3rd and then 4th place consistently until he had to pit on lap 38 to repair the broken throttle bracket of his Benetton. He rejoined 4 laps down and despite finishing only 18th, he set the fastest lap of the race.
Ferrari finished in 3rd and 4th place with concerns for fuel consumption, whilst Ivan Capelli, with a broken clutch for 30 laps, took 5th place. Thierry Boutsen gained a point for 6th place, in a car set up for the dry.
Nigel Mansell retired from 7th with a spin after a broken bolt had jammed his gearbox. Bernd Schneider earned his first Grand Prix finish in 12th in his home race.
[edit] Classification
.svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png){kind=small}
[edit] References
- Unless otherwise indicated, all race results are taken from The Official Formula 1 website. Retrieved on 2007-07-12.
| Previous race: 1988 British Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1988 season |
Next race: 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1987 German Grand Prix |
German Grand Prix | Next race: 1989 German Grand Prix |
