F-1 went back to turbocharged engines in 2014, resulting in one of the more anticipated seasons ever. Did you know that Ayrton Senna was the last driver to win a title with that type of engine?
It was in 1988, his first year as a McLaren driver. Honda’s turbo engines helped the British team achieve something special in terms of performance, winning 15 of 16 races that year.
Even as a rookie at the team led by Ron Dennis, and with a much more experienced driver as a teammate (Alain Prost, already a two-time world champion), Senna found a way to stand out for his speed and extreme determination.
That way, he scored nothing less than eight wins and 13 pole-positions in 1988’s season, conquering the title one race before the season’s end, in Japan, after a historic race.
Next year, FIA (the International Automobile Federation) opted to ban turbocharged engines, and all cars would race with naturally aspirated ones, ending an era that started in 1977, when team Renault debuted the new system at the British Grand Prix.
