Grand Prix Insider

Prost experiencing tunnel vision For the third race of the season it was obvious that McLaren were onto something good - both in the car and in the partnership of Prost and Senna.

The entire front row was red and white for the second race in a row and both drivers made excellent starts - the Brazilian marginally quicker.

The race quickly became one of those processional affairs for which Monaco is becoming increasingly famous and it looked as if Senna had it in the back. Then, on lap 67, he had what a number of journalists called ‘brain-fade’. He simply lost concentration and slammed into the Armco just before the tunnel.

In the pits the McLaren team was unaware that anything had happened - Ayrton had not let them know over the radio. He merely turned around and walked home, some two hundred meters away. The climate in the McLaren pits was tense. Ron Dennis was anxious, not knowing what to say to the sponsors. In fact, two hours passed before someone was able to speak to the driver on the telephone, despite repeated attempts by Dennis.

Prost was quite happy with the result and went on to win - his second victory of the season. Berger and Alboreto filled the podium for Ferrari while Derek Warwick completed a great run in the Arrows to finish fourth.

XLVI Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco - 1988 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix, Monaco.

Pole Position: Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP 4/4-Honda, 1m 23.998s, 142.632 km/h (88.646 mph) average.

Race Result: Winner – Alain Prost, McLaren MP 4/4-Honda, 78 laps x 3.328 km (2.068 miles) = 259.584 km (161.333 miles) total race distance in 1h 57m 17.077s, 132.797 km/h (82.534 mph) average.

2) Gerhard Berger, Ferrari F1-87/88C +20.453s
3) Michele Alboreto, Ferrari F1-87/88C +41.229s
4) Derek Warwick, Arrows A10B-Ford + 1 Lap
5) Jonathan Palmer, Tyrrell 017-Ford + 1 Lap
6) Riccardo Patrese, Williams FW12-Judd + 1 Lap

Fastest Lap: Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP 4/4-Honda, 1m 28.3s on lap 59 = 138.794 km/h (86.261 mph) average.

Milestones among drivers:

- Alain Prost’s 58th podium finish (new record).