It was the year 1988, when Ayrton Senna had become world champion for the first time and the last year of the turbo-era. The FIA already decided in 1986 to change to naturally aspirated eninges with 3.5 liters displacement two years later and thus put an end to the costly arms race of the turbo chargers. With this there was also the requirement to lower and limit the boost pressure from 4.5 to 2.5 bar, to increase the vehicle weight to 540 kilograms and to reduce the amount of fuel to 150 liters. It was not worthwhile for the Scuderia Ferrari to build a new car for 1988, which is why the Ferrari F1-87/88C was only a further development of the previous year’s vehicle with a flattened engine cover and new wings, which was adapted to the regulations. Gerhard Berger sat in the cockpit of No. 28, Michele Alboreto in No. 27.
However, the Austrian and Italian did not have a good chance of success on the race tracks: Honda had even developed a new engine for this last turbo season and was therefore far superior compared to the other teams. However, they had built naturally aspirated engines with a view to 1989, so that the Scuderia Ferrari with their drive sets were the only ones that could put McLaren and the MP4/4 under pressure even though the engine of the F1-87/88C needed too much gasoline. The modelcars that LookSmart has now introduced for this vehicle replicate Alboreto's racing car from the Italian Grand Prix, in which the Italian achieved second: behind his teammate who won the race. It was the only non-McLaren win this season.
Perfect for Throwback Thursday
Ferrari, however, achieved a whole 65 WC-points with the F1-87/88; the competition from McLaren-HOnda 199. With the help of its two pole positions and four fastest laps, the Scuderia Ferrari secured the vice world championship among the manufacturers. Berger finished third and Alboreto fifth in the drivers' standings. LookSmart has perfectly implemented the lines of the design by Gustav Brunner in the format 1:18. The finish of the surface corresponds to the quality that we know from the Italian label. The modelcars are built from the high-quality polyurethane resin and are delivered under the item number LSF1H09 in a suitable display case. In view of the fact that Formula 1 for the 2021 season is about to change again, a great modelcar!