Last Sunday, Sebastian Vettel was able to bring a 9,696-day streak to an end.
It had been since Sept. 11, 1988 that Ferrari had scored a turbo-charged victory in Formula One in – what had been – a historically significant day for the team, fans, and the sport.
Fifteen out of the 16 Formula One Grand Prix during the 1988 season were won by the McLaren team, with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost behind the wheel of the legendary McLaren MP4/4.
Senna was just two laps away from taking the checkered flag at the 1988 Italian Grand Prix when he made a move on the lapped Williams of Jean-Louis Schlesser.
The two made contact right in front of the Italian fans, who went wild as Ayrton Senna spun out of the race.
The reason the tifosi were so jubilant, was that it was not teammate Alain Prost in second who was ready to take the spoils (Prost had retired with an engine problem earlier in the race) but rather Gerhard Berger in the Ferrari, followed closely by his teammate Michele Alboreto.
The company’s founder, Enzo Ferrari, had passed away less than a month before on Aug. 14. The team’s return to the top step of the podium in front of it’s home fans, was nothing less than a fitting tribute.
(From left) Michele Alboreto (2nd), Gerhard Berger (winner) and Eddie Cheever (3rd) celebrate on the podium after the 1988 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
