1988 - F1 Season Extra Quality

The race was chaos. Senna led from the start, but his engine began misfiring on lap 35. Prost closed in. Lap 42, the Lesmo corners: Prost pulled alongside. For two corners, they ran side-by-side, wheels almost touching, carbon fiber whispering against carbon fiber. Then Prost backed off. Not because he was afraid. Because he had done the math. If they crashed, he would lose the title, too. Senna held on to win with a dying engine, coasting over the line as smoke poured from the rear.

The entire season came down to this. Prost led the championship by 15 points. But with double points for the final race (a bizarre rule that year), Senna could still take the title if he won and Prost finished third or lower. The Japanese circuit was a ribbon of asphalt through forested hills. It had rained for three days straight. 1988 f1 season

"Rules are rules," Prost said to the cameras. The race was chaos

"I mean survival," Prost said. "We are in the same car. If we take each other out, the title goes to…" he gestured vaguely, "…Gerhard Berger. Or God forbid, a Williams." Lap 42, the Lesmo corners: Prost pulled alongside