At the end of the 1980s, the Formula 1 world was preparing for a new era. The rabid turbo engines that defined the decade were to be banned from the 1989 season, which meant that 1988 was more of a transition year for many teams.
That wasn’t an option for McLaren, who was determined to take home the driver and constructor titles after missing both in 1987. To get back to the top, the British made two changes that should prove extremely important. First they managed to convince engine maker Honda to abandon their partnership with Williams to get the best powerplants in the competition, and then they signed Lotus’s talented Ayrton Senna for a three-year deal.
Although some teams decided to switch to naturally aspirated engines to take advantage of the rule changes that favored them, McLaren and Honda chose to stick with the tried and tested 1.5-liter turbocharged V6.
They had the right talent and the best engine, so the only thing missing was a suitable chassis. The head of the team, Ron Dennis, together with the new technical director Gordon Murray, commissioned the American engineer Steve Nichols to develop one.
With the car from 1987 as a component and in use around the clock, a comprehensively redesigned car was created. Unlike today’s racing cars, the MP4 / 4 didn’t have any revolutionary features in terms of aerodynamics, but Nichols’ improvements dramatically improved its efficiency over the older MP4 / 3.
Meanwhile, Honda engineers were working on the new RA168-E motor, which needed to be more powerful yet use less fuel than previous iterations as the 1988 rules called for a 23% reduction in fuel tank size. They delivered masterfully and created a 700 horsepower piece of engineering that became known as the finest F1 engine of its era.
It came with a small diameter clutch known for its superior heat dissipation and ability to withstand high-end torque, but McLaren needed a compatible gearbox.
With the help of Gordon Murray, they secured the services of Pete Weismann, the man behind some of the most innovative transmissions in motorsport history and one of Murray’s former colleagues in Brabham.
The final design would prove to be as powerful and reliable as the Honda engines and help McLaren dominate the competition.
The team only had four months to design, develop and build the cars, which would be almost impossible even with today’s technologies. Despite all the adversities, they completed six units with three different aerodynamic configurations in time for the season opener on the Jacarepaguá racetrack in Brazil.
Ayrton Senna was the fastest in qualifying in his home country and secured pole position. For the legendary driver, however, the race got off to a bad start as the car’s gear selector broke. After switching to the replacement car after the warm-up lap, he was finally disqualified, but his team-mate Alain Prost won the race.
In the next ten races, the McLaren MP4 / 4 became unbeatable, with Senna taking seven wins and Prost another three. At this point, a fierce rivalry was brewing between the two drivers as Prost became increasingly jealous of Senna’s success.
At the twelfth round of the season in Monza, the Frenchman had some engine problems, but defended second place and did his best to catch up with the leading Senna. This epic battle lasted 35 rounds until Prost’s engine gave up.
To keep the lead, the ambitious Brazilian drove like there was no tomorrow. Towards the end of the race he throttled in order to save fuel, so that the two following Ferraris of Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto were able to close the gap. With only two laps left, Senna collided with a slower car and had to retire, giving Ferrari a 1-2 victory on their home turf.
That was the first and only time McLaren failed to win in the 1988 season. Prost won three of the remaining four races, while Senna crossed the finish line first in Japan, claiming his first title after another epic battle with his bitter teammate. You can relive those great moments in the video below posted on YouTube by The Fastlane.
In the final constructors’ championship, the British team took the lead and scored a whopping 199 points, 136 more than the runner-up Ferrari.
To this day, the MP4 / 4 is the most dominant car in Formula 1 history and, for many experts, the best racing machine ever built. Ferrari’s F2002 and 2016 Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid would follow in his footsteps in terms of supremacy in a single season, but none of them managed to replicate the iconic McLaren’s 93.8 percent win rate.
