A magic weekend at ‘la pista magica'

Almost 35 years have passed since that famous September 11 of 1988 – and Formula 1 is rapidly approaching the Italian Grand Prix in an almost similar situation to back then, with one team well on the way to winning all the races on the calendar.

Back in the day, the dominant McLaren squad stood out thanks to its distinctive Marlboro chevrons – with one of its two drivers, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, destined to become champion. McLaren had won all 11 races up to Monza (also taking pole position apart from on one occasion) and systematically humiliated its opponents. The gaps in qualifying were nearly always a second or more, with the McLaren drivers regularly lapping their opponents during the races. The team led by Ron Dennis came to Monza on 147 points: 18 more than the total from all the other teams combined – just to underline the sort of superiority we are talking about.

A few weeks earlier, some very sad news had arrived from Maranello. Enzo Ferrari - the man who founded the most successful team in racing history in 1929, producing the first car under his own name 18 years later – had died at the age of 90. For the very first time, Ferrari would face the Italian Grand Prix, which was almost its reason for being, without its beloved founder. Although there was little hope of victory, expectations were high among the tifosi at a packed Monza, with fans also perched on trees and on precarious grandstands. Where there is a will in Italy, there is a way.

Apart from that, it seemed to be business as usual on track, with Senna and Prost preparing for another duel.

The only other news – which had gone completely unnoticed – was the Formula 1 debut of a 40-year-old Frenchman, Jean-Louis Schlesser, in place of Nigel Mansell at Williams. Schlesser however would go on to become the star protagonist in one of the biggest upsets in Formula 1 history.

Senna was in pole position for the start, flanked by Prost. Behind them were the two Ferrari drivers, with Gerhard Berger ahead of Michele Alboreto. Prost got off to a better start but Senna managed to fend him off and enter the chicane first: the battle was on. Surprisingly, the Ferraris held on but there was little they could do against the might of McLaren: halfway through the race Senna led Prost by more than four seconds, with a 19-second cushion over Berger, who was in turn followed by Alboreto. On lap 30, Prost's V6 Honda engine began to misbehave: the Frenchman dropped back as Berger closed in, propelled not only by his V12 but also by the enthusiasm of the partisan crowd. On lap 35 Prost was overtaken by Berger and then came into the pits to retire. So the way seemed to be clear for Senna – but then instructions arrived from the McLaren box to slow down in order to manage turbo pressure, in an attempt to avoid the same issue that had befallen Prost. Nonetheless, McLaren had such a performance advantage that there were still just under five seconds separating Senna from Berger with three laps to go. But neither the Brazilian nor McLaren had reckoned with Schlesser. On the penultimate lap, the Frenchman – minding his own business at the back – found the leader of the race right behind him as he tackled the first chicane. The two touched while Senna was lapping Schlesser and the Brazilian ended up in the gravel. The crowd went wild: that accident meant a certain one-two for Ferrari, with Berger and Alboreto going on to stage a formation finish. After the chequered flag there was a track invasion as fans celebrated the sort of emotional success that had not only never been seen before in the history of Ferrari, but also in the whole history of the sport. Many people believed – and still do – that there was a greater power at work that day, to allow Ferrari and all its fans to pay homage in the best possible way the memory of their leader.

There are parallels with the present day. The superiority of the current Red Bull-Verstappen package is technically perhaps not at the level of the 1988 McLaren – and on that occasion, there was also a duel between team mates – but the fact remains that nobody seems capable of stopping the blue and yellow rollercoaster. Christian Horner's team is busy accumulating records, having recently robbed McLaren of its benchmark for consecutive successes from 1988, which came to an end precisely at Monza. Will it be the same story this year? If so, it would be an extraordinary achievement: even more than it would have been back in 1988, because the number of races has increased from 16 to 22 and the opposition is stronger now. If nonetheless Red Bull is defeated at Monza – with Ferrari coming out on top – that might just be enough to convince the most cynical of spiritual sceptics…