Editing Alain Prost (section)

====1988====
[[File:Alain Prost 1988 Canada.jpg|thumb|right|Prost driving for McLaren at the [[1988 Canadian Grand Prix]]]]{{main|Prost–Senna rivalry}}
The [[1988 Formula One World Championship|1988 season]] proved to be a watershed moment for Formula One, as [[Honda in Formula One|Honda]] ended its relationship with defending champion Williams and brought their [[Honda RA16 engine|all-conquering RA16 engines]] to Prost's McLaren.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web|last=Hamilton|first=Maurice|date=1 September 2017|title=30 years later: Honda's awkward Italian Grand Prix|url=https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/20530902/30-years-later-honda-awkward-italian-grand-prix|access-date=10 February 2021|website=ESPN.com|language=en|archive-date=19 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819103023/https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/20530902/30-years-later-honda-awkward-italian-grand-prix|url-status=live}}</ref> Going into 1988, it was understood that any team that wanted Honda engines would have to sign one of the two Brazilian drivers favored by Honda (which coveted the South American car market<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |date=2014-07-07 |title=Honda and Formula One |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/october-1987/13/honda-and-formula-one/ |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=Motor Sport Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref>): three-time world champion [[Nelson Piquet]], or rising star [[Ayrton Senna]].<ref name=":202">{{Cite news |last=Spurgeon |first=Brad |date=2015-09-18 |title=A Driver's Greatness, in the Words of Others |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/19/sports/autoracing/a-drivers-greatness-in-the-words-of-others-alain-prost-singapore-grand-prix-formula-one.html |access-date=2024-09-30 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> When McLaren asked Prost for his opinion, Prost suggested Senna, citing his youth and talent. It was a decision he would come to regret.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Roebuck |first=Nigel |date=October 1998 |title=Ayrton Senna by Alain Prost |url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/october-1998/28/ayrton-senna-alain-prost |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112012555/https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/october-1998/28/ayrton-senna-alain-prost |archive-date=12 November 2020 |access-date=10 February 2021 |website=Motor Sport Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Upon signing Senna, McLaren announced that Prost and Senna would compete on equal terms.<ref name=":14" /> According to Dennis, "Alain was fine with the competition, but deeply suspicious."<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |title=Ron Dennis on Senna - Part one: the early years |url=https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/features/2014/4/Ron-Dennis-on-Senna---Part-one-the-early-years.html |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website |language=en}}</ref>

The McLaren-Honda partnership delivered Prost a legendarily fast car and two golden opportunities for a third Drivers' Championship, but it also kicked off one of Formula One's [[Prost–Senna rivalry|most famous rivalries]]. McLaren-Honda dominated the season, winning 15 out of 16 races – a record that stood until the 2023 season, when [[Red Bull Racing|Red Bull]]-Honda won 21 out of 22 races. McLaren scored three times as many points as second-placed Ferrari. Reflecting the dominance of Honda power, Williams finished a distant seventh in the Constructors' Championship just one year after winning the title by 61 points.

Prost finished first or second in every race other than his two retirements at [[1988 British Grand Prix|Silverstone]] and [[1988 Italian Grand Prix|Monza]]. He won seven races and outscored his new teammate Senna by 11 points, despite Senna winning one more race than him. Although Prost would have been champion under the 1991 scoring system,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.racefans.net/2009/12/22/think-the-new-f1-points-system-is-weird-weve-seen-much-stranger-than-that/ |title=From 8 points for a win to 25: Every F1 scoring system |last=Collantine |first=Keith |date=22 December 2009 |website=RaceFans |access-date=22 June 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622070750/https://www.racefans.net/2009/12/22/think-the-new-f1-points-system-is-weird-weve-seen-much-stranger-than-that/ |archive-date=22 June 2021}}</ref> Senna took the title by three points under the rules of the day – only the 11 best results from the season counted toward a driver's championship total, a rule that in practice valued Senna's wins over Prost's consistent podiums.<ref name=":3" /> Senna nearly shunted an overtaking Prost into the pit wall at [[1988 Portuguese Grand Prix|Estoril]], but other than that, the two competitors generally raced cleanly on track that year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alain Prost on Senna {{!}} Ayrton Senna da Silva - Legacy Matters |url=https://www.ayrton-senna-dasilva.com/alain-on-senna/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=www.ayrton-senna-dasilva.com}}</ref>

Over the course of the 1988 season, Prost began to suspect that Honda was trying to make Senna McLaren's number one driver, in violation of McLaren's promise to treat the two drivers equally. He met with Honda F1 boss [[Nobuhiko Kawamoto]] at the end of the season to express these concerns. Kawamoto acknowledged that Honda's engineers were probably more excited to work with Senna than Prost, but said that he intended to deliver Prost equal machinery on race day.<ref name=":5" /> However, following the 1988 season, Kawamoto was promoted to a position at Honda headquarters.