1987 F1 World Championship Season
| Season: | 38th World Championship season |
|---|---|
| Drivers’ Champion: |  Nelson Piquet (3rd and last title) |
| Constructors’ Champion: |  Williams-Honda (4th title for Williams) |
| Reigning drivers’ champion: |  Alain Prost |
| Reigning constructors’ champion: | Williams |
| Races: | 16 |
| Winning drivers: | Nigel Mansell (6) Nelson Piquet (3) Alain Prost (3) Ayrton Senna (2)  Gerhard Berger (2) |
| Winning constructors: | Williams (9) McLaren (3) Lotus (2)  Ferrari (2) |
| First-time winners (driver): | none |
| First-time winners (constructor): | none |
| Other seasons: |
Jump to: Calendar | Driver & constructor entries | Race winners | Pole positions | Fastest laps | Qualifying results | Driver standings | Constructor standings | Statistics
Calendar
- DT: Drivers’ title decider
- CT: Constructors’ title decider
| No. | Grand Prix | Circuit | Date | Race Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | Jacarepagua | 12 April | 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| 2 |  San Marino | Imola | 03 May | 1987 San Marino Grand Prix |
| 3 |  Belgium | Spa-Francorchamps | 17 May | 1987 Belgian Grand Prix |
| 4 |  Monaco | Monte Carlo | 31 May | 1987 Monaco Grand Prix |
| 5 |  Detroit | Detroit | 21 June | 1987 Detroit Grand Prix |
| 6 | France | Le Castellet | 05 July | 1987 French Grand Prix |
| 7 | Britain | Silverstone | 12 July | 1987 British Grand Prix |
| 8 |  Germany | Hockenheim | 26 July | 1987 German Grand Prix |
| 9 |  Hungary | Hungaroring | 09 August | 1987 Hungarian Grand Prix |
| 10 | Austria | Osterreichring | 16 August | 1987 Austrian Grand Prix |
| 11 | Italy | Monza | 06 September | 1987 Italian Grand Prix |
| 12 |  Portugal | Estoril | 20 September | 1987 Portuguese Grand Prix |
| 13 |  Spain CT | Jerez | 27 September | 1987 Spanish Grand Prix |
| 14 |  Mexico | Mexico City | 18 October | 1987 Mexican Grand Prix |
| 15 |  Japan DT | Suzuka | 01 November | 1987 Japanese Grand Prix |
| 16 |  Australia | Adelaide | 15 November | 1987 Australian Grand Prix |
Driver and constructor entries
| Constructor | Driver | Round(s) entered |
|---|---|---|
| AGS | Pascal Fabre | 1-14 |
| Roberto Moreno | 15-16 | |
| Arrows | Eddie Cheever | All |
| Derek Warwick | All | |
| Benetton | Thierry Boutsen | All |
| Teo Fabi | All | |
| Brabham | Andrea de Cesaris | All |
| Stefano Modena | 16 | |
| Riccardo Patrese | 1-15 | |
| Coloni | Nicola Larini | 11, 13 |
| Ferrari | Michele Alboreto | All |
| Gerhard Berger | All | |
| Ligier | Rene Arnoux | 2-16 |
| Piercarlo Ghinzani | 2-16 | |
| Lola | Philippe Alliot | 2-16 |
| Yannick Dalmas | 14-16 | |
| Lotus | Satoru Nakajima | All |
| Ayrton Senna | All | |
| March | Ivan Capelli | All |
| McLaren |  Stefan Johansson | All |
| Alain Prost | All | |
| Minardi | Adrian Campos | All |
| Alessandro Nannini | All | |
| Osella | Alex Caffi | All |
 Franco Forini | 11-13 | |
| Gabriele Tarquini | 2 | |
| Tyrrell | Jonathan Palmer | All |
| Philippe Streiff | All | |
| Williams | Nigel Mansell | 1-15 |
| Riccardo Patrese | 16 | |
| Nelson Piquet | All | |
| Zakspeed | Martin Brundle | All |
| Christian Danner | 1-3, 5-16 |
Race winners
- Highlight: Home driver/constructor
| No. | Grand Prix | Circuit | Driver | Constructor | Start | Win Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | Jacarepagua | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | 5 | 40.547s |
| 2 | San Marino | Imola | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 2 | 27.545s |
| 3 | Belgium | Spa-Francorchamps | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | 6 | 24.764s |
| 4 | Monaco | Monte Carlo | Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Honda | 2 | 33.212s |
| 5 | Detroit | Detroit | Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Honda | 2 | 33.819s |
| 6 | France | Le Castellet | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 1 | 7.711s |
| 7 | Britain | Silverstone | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 2 | 1.918s |
| 8 | Germany | Hockenheim | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda | 4 | 1m 39.591s |
| 9 | Hungary | Hungaroring | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda | 3 | 37.727s |
| 10 | Austria | Osterreichring | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 2 | 55.704s |
| 11 | Italy | Monza | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda | 1 | 1.806s |
| 12 | Portugal | Estoril | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG | 3 | 20.493s |
| 13 | Spain | Jerez | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 2 | 22.225s |
| 14 | Mexico | Mexico City | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 1 | 26.176s |
| 15 | Japan | Suzuka | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1 | 17.384s |
| 16 | Australia | Adelaide | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1 | 1m 07.884s |
Polesitters
- Highlight: Home driver/constructor
| No. | Grand Prix | Circuit | Driver | Constructor | Race | Pole Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | Jacarepagua | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 6 | 0.439s |
| 2 | San Marino | Imola | Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Honda | 2 | 0.120s |
| 3 | Belgium | Spa-Francorchamps | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | DNF | 1.390s |
| 4 | Monaco | Monte Carlo | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | DNF | 0.672s |
| 5 | Detroit | Detroit | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 5 | 1.343s |
| 6 | France | Le Castellet | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 1 | 0.423s |
| 7 | Britain | Silverstone | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda | 2 | 0.070s |
| 8 | Germany | Hockenheim | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | DNF | 0.257s |
| 9 | Hungary | Hungaroring | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 14R | 0.502s |
| 10 | Austria | Osterreichring | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda | 2 | 0.102s |
| 11 | Italy | Monza | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda | 1 | 0.099s |
| 12 | Portugal | Estoril | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 2 | 0.331s |
| 13 | Spain | Jerez | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda | 4 | 0.620s |
| 14 | Mexico | Mexico City | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda | 1 | 0.043s |
| 15 | Japan | Suzuka | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1 | 0.610s |
| 16 | Australia | Adelaide | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1 | 0.700s |
Fastest laps
- Highlight: Home driver/constructor
| No. | Grand Prix | Circuit | Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | Jacarepagua | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda |
| 2 | San Marino | Imola | Teo Fabi | Benetton-Ford Cosworth |
| 3 | Belgium | Spa-Francorchamps | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG |
| 4 | Monaco | Monte Carlo | Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Honda |
| 5 | Detroit | Detroit | Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Honda |
| 6 | France | Le Castellet | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda |
| 7 | Britain | Silverstone | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda |
| 8 | Germany | Hockenheim | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda |
| 9 | Hungary | Hungaroring | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda |
| 10 | Austria | Osterreichring | Nigel Mansell | Williams-Honda |
| 11 | Italy | Monza | Ayrton Senna | Lotus-Honda |
| 12 | Portugal | Estoril | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari |
| 13 | Spain | Jerez | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari |
| 14 | Mexico | Mexico City | Nelson Piquet | Williams-Honda |
| 15 | Japan | Suzuka | Alain Prost | McLaren-TAG |
| 16 | Australia | Adelaide | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari |
Qualifying results
World Drivers’ Championship standings
The top six classified finishers of each race were awarded points on the following basis: 1st (9), 2nd (6), 3rd (4), 4th (3), 5th (2), 6th (1)
Only the best 11 results counted towards the championship. Numbers shown without parentheses are the points scored that counted towards the championship; numbers in parentheses are the total number of points scored.
- Highlight: Rookie
- Bold: pole position
- Underline: fastest lap
- Bold & underline: pole & fastest lap
| Pos | Driver | BRA | SMR | BEL | MCO | DET | FRA | GBR | DEU | HUN | AUT | ITA | PRT | ESP | MEX | JPN | AUS | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson Piquet | 2 | DNS | R | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 15R | R | 73 (76) |
| 2 | Nigel Mansell | 6 | 1 | R | R | 5 | 1 | 1 | R | 14R | 1 | 3 | R | 1 | 1 | DNS | 61 | |
| 3 | Ayrton Senna | R | 2 | R | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 5 | R | 2 | DSQ | 57 |
| 4 | Alain Prost | 1 | R | 1 | 9R | 3 | 3 | R | 7R | 3 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 2 | R | 7 | R | 46 |
| 5 | Gerhard Berger | 4 | R | R | 4 | 4 | R | R | R | R | R | 4 | 2 | R | R | 1 | 1 | 36 |
| 6 | Stefan Johansson | 3 | 4 | 2 | R | 7 | 8R | R | 2 | R | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | R | 3 | R | 30 |
| 7 | Michele Alboreto | 8R | 3 | R | 3 | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | 15R | R | 4 | 2 | 17 |
| 8 | Thierry Boutsen | 5 | R | R | R | R | R | 7 | R | 4 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 16R | R | 5 | 3 | 16 |
| 9 | Teo Fabi | R | R | R | 8 | R | 5 | 6 | R | R | 3 | 7 | 4R | R | 5 | R | R | 12 |
| 10 | Eddie Cheever | NC | R | 4 | R | 6R | R | R | R | 8 | R | R | 6 | 8R | 4 | 9 | R | 8 |
| 11 | Jonathan Palmer | 10 | R | R | 5 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 10 | R | 7 | 8 | 4 | 7 |
| = | Satoru Nakajima | 7 | 6 | 5 | 10 | R | NC | 4 | R | R | 13 | 11 | 8 | 9 | R | 6 | R | 7 |
| 13 | Riccardo Patrese | R | 9 | R | R | 9 | R | R | R | 5 | R | R | R | 13 | 3 | 11R | 9R | 6 |
| 14 | Andrea de Cesaris | R | R | 3R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | 8R | 4 |
| = | Philippe Streiff | 11 | 8 | 9 | R | R | 6 | R | 4 | 9 | R | 12 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 12 | R | 4 |
| 16 | Derek Warwick | R | 11R | R | R | R | R | 5 | R | 6 | R | R | 13 | 10 | R | 10 | R | 3 |
| = | Philippe Alliot | 10 | 8 | R | R | R | R | 6 | R | 12 | R | R | 6 | 6 | R | R | 3 | |
| 18 | Martin Brundle | R | 5 | R | 7 | R | R | NC | NC | R | DSQ | R | R | 11 | R | R | R | 2 |
| 19 | Rene Arnoux | DNS | 6 | 11 | 10 | R | R | R | R | 10 | 10 | R | R | R | R | R | 1 | |
| = | Ivan Capelli | DNS | R | R | 6 | R | R | R | R | 10 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 12 | R | R | R | 1 |
| = | Roberto Moreno | R | 6 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Yannick Dalmas | 9 | 14R | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| Christian Danner | 9 | 7 | R | 8 | R | R | R | R | 9 | 9 | R | R | R | R | 7 | |||
| Piercarlo Ghinzani | R | 7R | 12 | NC | R | R | 12 | 8 | 8 | R | R | R | 13R | R | ||||
| Pascal Fabre | 12 | 13 | 10R | 13 | 12 | 9 | 9 | R | 13 | NC | DNQ | DNQ | R | DNQ | ||||
| Alessandro Nannini | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | 11 | R | 16R | 11R | R | R | R | R | ||
| Alex Caffi | R | 12R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | DNQ | R | R | DNQ | ||
| Adrian Campos | DSQ | R | R | DNS | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | 14 | R | R | R | ||
| Franco Forini | R | R | DNQ | |||||||||||||||
| Nicola Larini | DNQ | R | ||||||||||||||||
| Gabriele Tarquini | R | |||||||||||||||||
| Stefano Modena | R | |||||||||||||||||
| No. | Driver | BRA | SMR | BEL | MCO | DET | FRA | GBR | DEU | HUN | AUT | ITA | PRT | ESP | MEX | JPN | AUS | Points |
Notes
- Yannick Dalmas was ineligible to score championship points since he was driving the second car for Lola who had only officially entered one car for the season. This meant Dalmas’ fifth place finish at the Australian Grand Prix resulted in no points for driver or constructor.
Race to the title
The Race to the title graph shows how the title race played out over the course of the season between the top five drivers of 1987.
World Constructors’ Championship standings
The top six classified finishers of each race were awarded points on the following basis: 1st (9), 2nd (6), 3rd (4), 4th (3), 5th (2), 6th (1)
Every race counted towards the championship.
- Bold: pole position
- Underline: fastest lap
- Bold & underline: pole & fastest lap
| Pos | Constructor | BRA | SMR | BEL | MCO | DET | FRA | GBR | DEU | HUN | AUT | ITA | PRT | ESP | MEX | JPN | AUS | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams-Honda | 2 | 1 | R | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 15R | 9R | 137 |
| 6 | DNS | R | R | 5 | 2 | 2 | R | 14R | 2 | 3 | R | 4 | 2 | DNS | R | |||
| 2 | McLaren-TAG | 1 | 4 | 1 | 9R | 3 | 3 | R | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | R | 3 | R | 76 |
| 3 | R | 2 | R | 7 | 8R | R | 7R | R | 7 | 15 | 5 | 3 | R | 7 | R | |||
| 3 | Lotus-Honda | 7 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 5 | R | 2 | R | 64 |
| R | 6 | R | 10 | R | NC | 4 | R | R | 13 | 11 | 8 | 9 | R | 6 | DSQ | |||
| 4 | Ferrari | 4 | 3 | R | 3 | 4 | R | R | R | R | R | 4 | 2 | 15R | R | 1 | 1 | 53 |
| 8R | R | R | 4 | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | 4 | 2 | |||
| 5 | Benetton-Ford Cosworth | 5 | R | R | 8 | R | 5 | 6 | R | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4R | 16R | 5 | 5 | 3 | 28 |
| R | R | R | R | R | R | 7 | R | R | 4 | 7 | 14 | R | R | R | R | |||
| 6 | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 10 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 11 |
| 11 | R | R | R | R | 7 | R | 5 | 9 | R | 14 | 12 | R | 8 | 12 | R | |||
| 7 | Arrows-Megatron | NC | 11R | 4 | R | 6R | R | 5 | R | 6 | R | R | 6 | 8R | 4 | 9 | R | 11 |
| R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | 8 | R | R | 13 | 10 | R | 10 | R | |||
| 8 | Brabham-BMW | R | 9 | 3R | R | 9 | R | R | R | 5 | R | R | R | 13 | 3 | 11R | 8R | 10 |
| R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | |||
| 9 | Lola-Ford Cosworth | 10 | 8 | R | R | R | R | 6 | R | 12 | R | R | 6 | 6 | 14R | 5 | 3 | |
| 9 | R | R | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Zakspeed | 9 | 5 | R | 7 | 8 | R | NC | NC | R | 9 | 9 | R | 11 | R | R | 7 | 2 |
| R | 7 | R | R | R | R | R | R | DSQ | R | R | R | R | R | R | ||||
| 11 | Ligier-Megatron | R | 6 | 11 | 10 | R | R | R | 12 | 8 | 8 | R | R | R | 13R | R | 1 | |
| DNS | 7R | 12 | NC | R | EX | R | R | 10 | 10 | R | R | R | R | R | ||||
| 12 | AGS-Ford Cosworth | 12 | 13 | 10R | 13 | 12 | 9 | 9 | R | 13 | NC | DNQ | DNQ | R | DNQ | R | 6 | 1 |
| 13 | March-Ford Cosworth | DNS | R | R | 6 | R | R | R | R | 10 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 12 | R | R | R | 1 |
| 14 | Minardi-Motori Moderni | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | 11 | R | 16R | 11R | 14 | R | R | R | |
| DSQ | R | R | DNS | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | |||
| 15 | Osella-Alfa Romeo | R | 12R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | DNQ | R | R | DNQ | |
| R | R | R | DNQ | |||||||||||||||
| 16 | Coloni-Ford Cosworth | DNQ | R | |||||||||||||||
| No. | Constructor | BRA | SMR | BEL | MCO | DET | FRA | GBR | DEU | HUN | AUT | ITA | PRT | ESP | MEX | JPN | AUS | Points |
Notes
- Lola was not awarded points for their fifth place finishe at the Australian Grand Prix due to their second car finishing in that position. Lola had only officially entered one car for the season therefore the second car was ineligible to score points.
Race to the title
The Race to the title graph shows how the title race played out over the course of the season between the top five constructors of 1987.