5 Unforgettable moments of Ayrton Senna's F1 career

2: First Title in 1988

Senna driving for McLaren

After three years with Lotus, Senna joined McLaren for the 1988 season, the season in which the British team produced arguably the best car in the history of the sport, the MP4/4.

Senna and Prost won 15 of the 16 races that season, a percentage that has never been bettered before or since, not even by Ferrari in the 2000's, nor the revived Mercedes team in the hybrid era.

This was the beginning of the pair's great rivalry, the most infamous in Formula 1. There were flashpoints throughout the season, such as at San Marino, but it wouldn't fully boil over until 1989. Nevertheless, '88's deciding race was an incredible spectacle. Prost had kept himself within a shout of the title that year, thanks to his win in Spain, but still had to win in Japan to take the battle to the final round in Australia.

Senna qualified on pole but was heavily hampered by a stalling at the start which saw him drop down to fourteenth by the first corner. The Brazilian wasted no time in recovering, though, ascending to eighth by the end of the first tour. Prost was struggling with an intermittent gearbox issue and was even passed for the lead by Ivan Capelli, albeit temporarily.

Senna was climbing the order, and by Lap 27 of 53, he dived down the inside of his teammate to take the lead. From there, Ayrton stretched his legs and pulled out a gap that would extend out to over 13 seconds by the finish.

Senna became the third Brazilian world champion, after Emerson Fittipaldi and Nelson Piquet, something he had been tipped forever since that famous Grand Prix in Monaco four years later.