Race Summary
Nigel Mansell made a good start and almost took the lead but Senna held onto his position, and thanks to the superior power of his Honda engine he pulled away slightly down the main straight to head the field into turn 1, vital at this track where passing is almost as hard as it is at Monaco. Patrese also made an excellent start climbing from 6th to 3rd while Prost was slow away and was only 9th at the end of the first lap. Capelli made a great start and in fact almost overtook Mansell into the first turn before his engine suddenly went sour and he was in after just 2 laps to have a serious misfire investigated. He was sent back out but one of the favorites for the race was out after just 5 laps. On lap 12, Mansell lost downforce and spun down to 4th place, leaving Senna to fend off the attacks of the other Williams, that of Patrese. The Italian later dropped back with engine problems, while similar problems were afflicting Alessandro Nannini's Benetton.
On lap 32, Prost had climbed to 3rd place behind Senna and Thierry Boutsen. On lap 37, Mansell pitted to replace tyres, which were ragged and causing vibrations to the car. Prost passed Boutsen on lap 47 and set out chasing down Senna. Two laps later, while Senna prepared to lap Yannick Dalmas' Lola and Gabriele Tarquini's Coloni, Prost passed all three of them in a breathtaking manoeuver. However he ran wide, and Senna was able to retain the lead. Prost set the fastest lap of the race but was forced to drop back with vibrations caused by a loose wheel bearing. On lap 58 Mansell retired with similar problems. Boutsen closed on Prost, but the Frenchman pressed on and pushed Senna. Just half a second covered the two McLarens as they passed the line. Boutsen the third spot on the podium, unable to challenge further due to a broken exhaust which hindered him. Gerhard Berger, Maurício Gugelmin and Riccardo Patrese completed the points scorers.
This was the final Hungarian Grand Prix to have the chicane installed at turn three. Prior to the 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix, a piece of track to bypass the chicane was installed in a bid to improve passing chances on the track. It worked almost immediately and was the scene of Nigel Mansell's race-winning pass on Ayrton Senna after the Brazilian had been slowed by the lapped Onyx of Stefan Johansson.
Read more about this topic: 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix
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