British magazine Autosport, one of the most renowned in the world of motor sports, polled its fans to elect the best F1 car in history. The winner was the McLaren MP4/4, the car that won 15 out of 16 races in the 1988 season. The machine, which used a Honda engine, was driven by Ayrton Senna to achieve his first world title, and went down in history as an almost unbeatable car.

The contest started with 32 cars, selected by the magazine’s editors. Then, they were divided in eight groups of four cars each, and only the best in each group advanced to the following stage. Those eight cars would, then, fight for one of the four spots in the final. The McLaren MP4/4 ended up winning with 35% of the vote. The other finalists were the 1992 Williams FW14B, the 1991 Jordan 191 and the 2005 McLaren MP4/20.

A three-time F1 world Champion, Senna won the 1988 title with 8 victories, 13 pole positions and 11 podium-finishes. The Brazilian driver became champion at the Japanese GP, at Suzuka. Ayrton started in the pole position, but was forced to make up for lost time after ending up at the back of the field due to a problem at the start, when his engine flooded at the first straight. After a series of spectacular overtakes, Senna still had to take the lead from Alain Prost, his McLaren teammate and rival in the fight for the title. The Frenchman wrapped up the season just three points behind Senna.