1987 Formula One season

Nelson Piquet won his third world title, driving for Williams.

Piquet's team mate, Nigel Mansell was second, twelve points behind.

Ayrton Senna in the Lotus finished the season ranked third.

The 1987 Formula One season was the 38th season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship for Drivers and Constructors which commenced on 12 April 1987 and ended on 15 November after sixteen races. This championship also encompassed the Jim Clark Trophy and the Colin Chapman Trophy which were contested respectively by drivers and constructors of Formula One cars powered by naturally aspirated engines.

The 1987 World Championship featured a season long duel between the two Williams drivers: Brazilian two-time champion Nelson Piquet and British driver Nigel Mansell. The pair won nine of the season's sixteen races in their Williams FW11Bs, although they had only one win from the first five races. Their mid-season dominance eliminated all competition however. Mansell took six wins compared to the more consistent Piquet with three. The increasingly antagonistic duel came to a premature end at the Japanese Grand Prix when Mansell crashed heavily in practice incurring a back injury that put him out for the two races left in the season.

The battle for third in the championship was also resolved late in the season, with Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna driving a Lotus 99T finished nine points clear of outgoing world champion Frenchman Alain Prost (McLaren MP4/3).

Williams-Honda dominated the Constructors' Championship, claiming 137 points compared to McLaren-TAG on 76 points. Lotus-Honda claimed third in the points resisting a late season charge from Ferrari led by Austrian driver Gerhard Berger who won the final two races of the year in Japan and Australia.

Two new sub-championships were created for the 1987 season. The Jim Clark Trophy for drivers of cars powered by naturally aspirated engines and its parallel championship for constructors, the Colin Chapman Trophy, helped encourage the teams who did not have access to turbocharged engines, while at the same time acknowledging the forthcoming ban on turbos for the 1989 Formula One season. British driver Jonathan Palmer (Tyrrell DG016) won the championship, wrapping it up early in Japan and finishing 21 points ahead of his French teammate Philippe Streiff. As Tyrrell was the only two-car team in the Colin Chapman trophy, they dominated. Philippe Alliot's results in the Larrousse-entered Lola LC87 were sufficient to earn him third place in the Jim Clark Trophy and Lola second in the Colin Chapman Trophy.

1987 saw new rules introduced in an effort to not only make the returning normally aspirated more competitive, but to reduce costs and also slow the cars down with a resultant increase in safety. As part of a two-year plan to phase turbos out of Formula One, the FIA introduced a mandatory pop-off valve to the turbo powered cars which restricted boost to 4.0 bar, thus limiting engine power (one unnamed team manager was heard to remark at the season opener in Brazil that the pop-off valve was "the only crude piece of engineering on a modern Grand Prix car", while another said that the FIA would not get rid of the valves as it would rob them of getting their stickers on the cars for free). However, advances in engine development, aerodynamics, tyres and suspension meant that, despite the turbo limit, the leading teams such as Williams, McLaren and Ferrari regularly recorded faster times than they had in 1986 when turbo boost was unrestricted. The FIA also banned the super soft (and sticky) qualifying tyres in 1987, which eliminated the unpopular practice of having to find a clear lap on tyres which were good for two flying laps at best.

Drivers and constructors

The following drivers and constructors competed in the 1987 season.

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	No	Driver	Rounds
Marlboro McLaren International	McLaren-TAG	MP4/3	TAG/Porsche TTE PO1 1.5 V6t	G	1	Alain Prost	All
					2	Stefan Johansson	All
Data General Team Tyrrell	Tyrrell-Ford	DG016	Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8	G	3	Jonathan Palmer	All
					4	Philippe Streiff	All
Canon Williams Honda Team	Williams-Honda	FW11B	Honda RA167E 1.5 V6t	G	5	Nigel Mansell	1–15
						Riccardo Patrese	16
					6	Nelson Piquet	All
Motor Racing Developments	Brabham-BMW	BT56	BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t	G	7	Riccardo Patrese	1–15
						Stefano Modena	16
					8	Andrea de Cesaris	All
West Zakspeed Racing	Zakspeed	861 871	Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4t	G	9	Martin Brundle	All
					10	Christian Danner	All
Camel Team Lotus Honda	Lotus-Honda	99T	Honda RA166E 1.5 V6t	G	11	Satoru Nakajima	All
					12	Ayrton Senna	All
Team El Charro AGS	AGS-Ford	JH22	Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8	G	14	Pascal Fabre	1–14
						Roberto Moreno	15–16
Leyton House March Racing Team	March-Ford	87P 871	Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8	G	16	Ivan Capelli	All
USF&G Arrows Megatron	Arrows-Megatron	A10	Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4t	G	17	Derek Warwick	All
					18	Eddie Cheever	All
Benetton Formula Ltd	Benetton-Ford	B187	Ford Cosworth GBA 1.5 V6t	G	19	Teo Fabi	All
					20	Thierry Boutsen	All
Osella Squadra Corse	Osella-Alfa Romeo	FA1I	Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8t	G	21	Alex Caffi	All
					22	Gabriele Tarquini	2
						Franco Forini	11–13
Minardi Team SpA	Minardi-Motori Moderni	M187	Motori Moderni Tipo 615-90 1.5 V6t	G	23	Adrián Campos	All
					24	Alessandro Nannini	All
Ligier Loto	Ligier-Megatron	JS29 JS29B JS29C	Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4t	G	25	René Arnoux	2–16
					26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	2–16
Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari	F1/87	Ferrari 033D 1.5 V6t	G	27	Michele Alboreto	All
					28	Gerhard Berger	All
Larrousse Calmels	Lola-Ford	LC87	Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8	G	29	Yannick Dalmas	14–16
					30	Philippe Alliot	2–16
Enzo Coloni Racing Car System	Coloni-Ford	FC187	Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8	G	32	Nicola Larini	11, 13

Results and standings

Grands Prix

Rd.	Grand Prix	Date	Location	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Constructor	Report
1	Brazilian Grand Prix	12 April	Jacarepaguá	Nigel Mansell	Nelson Piquet	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
2	San Marino Grand Prix	3 May	Imola	Ayrton Senna	Teo Fabi	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	Report
3	Belgian Grand Prix	17 May	Spa-Francorchamps	Nigel Mansell	Alain Prost	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
4	Monaco Grand Prix	31 May	Monaco	Nigel Mansell	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	Lotus-Honda	Report
5	Detroit Grand Prix	21 June	Detroit	Nigel Mansell	Ayrton Senna	Ayrton Senna	Lotus-Honda	Report
6	French Grand Prix	5 July	Paul Ricard	Nigel Mansell	Nelson Piquet	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	Report
7	British Grand Prix	12 July	Silverstone	Nelson Piquet	Nigel Mansell	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	Report
8	German Grand Prix	26 July	Hockenheimring	Nigel Mansell	Nigel Mansell	Nelson Piquet	Williams-Honda	Report
9	Hungarian Grand Prix	9 August	Hungaroring	Nigel Mansell	Nelson Piquet	Nelson Piquet	Williams-Honda	Report
10	Austrian Grand Prix	16 August	Österreichring	Nelson Piquet	Nigel Mansell	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	Report
11	Italian Grand Prix	6 September	Monza	Nelson Piquet	Ayrton Senna	Nelson Piquet	Williams-Honda	Report
12	Portuguese Grand Prix	20 September	Estoril	Gerhard Berger	Gerhard Berger	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Report
13	Spanish Grand Prix	27 September	Jerez	Nelson Piquet	Gerhard Berger	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	Report
14	Mexican Grand Prix	18 October	Hermanos Rodríguez	Nigel Mansell	Nelson Piquet	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	Report
15	Japanese Grand Prix	1 November	Suzuka	Gerhard Berger	Alain Prost	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	Report
16	Australian Grand Prix	15 November	Adelaide	Gerhard Berger	Gerhard Berger	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	Report

World Drivers' Championship final standings

Points towards the 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship for Drivers were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top six placed drivers at each round. However, only the best eleven round results were counted towards each driver's championship total.

Pos Driver BRA SMR BEL MON DET FRA GBR GER HUN AUT ITA POR ESP MEX JPN AUS Points[1] 1 Nelson Piquet 2 DNS Ret 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 3 (4) 2 15† Ret 73 (76) 2 Nigel Mansell 6 1 Ret Ret 5 1 1 Ret 14† 1 3 Ret 1 1 DNS 61 3 Ayrton Senna Ret 2 Ret 1 1 4 3 3 2 5 2 7 5 Ret 2 DSQ 57 4 Alain Prost 1 Ret 1 9† 3 3 Ret 7† 3 6 15 1 2 Ret 7 Ret 46 5 Gerhard Berger 4 Ret Ret 4 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 4 2 Ret Ret 1 1 36 6 Stefan Johansson 3 4 2 Ret 7 8 Ret 2 Ret 7 6 5 3 Ret 3 Ret 30 7 Michele Alboreto 8† 3 Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 15† Ret 4 2 17 8 Thierry Boutsen 5 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 Ret 4 4 5 14 16† Ret 5 3 16 9 Teo Fabi Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 5 6 Ret Ret 3 7 4† Ret 5 Ret Ret 12 10 Eddie Cheever Ret Ret 4 Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret Ret 6 8† 4 9† Ret 8 11 Jonathan Palmer 10 Ret Ret 5 11 7 8 5 7 14 14 10 Ret 7 8 4 7 12 Satoru Nakajima 7 6† 5 10 Ret NC 4 Ret Ret 13 11 8 9 Ret 6 Ret 7 13 Riccardo Patrese Ret 9 Ret Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret Ret 13 3 11 9† 6 14 Andrea de Cesaris Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 8† 4 15 Philippe Streiff 11 8 9 Ret Ret 6 Ret 4 9 Ret 12 12 7 8 12 Ret 4 16 Derek Warwick Ret 11† Ret Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret 6 Ret Ret 13 10 Ret 10 Ret 3 17 Philippe Alliot 10 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 12 Ret Ret 6 6 Ret Ret 3 18 Martin Brundle Ret 5 Ret 7 Ret Ret NC NC Ret DSQ Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret Ret 2 19 Ivan Capelli DNS Ret Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 11 13 9 12 Ret Ret Ret 1 20 René Arnoux DNS 6 11 10 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 10 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 1 21 Roberto Moreno Ret 6 1 — Yannick Dalmas 9 14 5 0* — Christian Danner 9 7 Ret EX 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 0 — Piercarlo Ghinzani Ret 7 12 Ret Ret EX Ret 12 8 8 Ret Ret Ret 13 Ret 0 — Pascal Fabre 12 13 10 13 12 9 9 Ret 13 NC DNQ DNQ Ret DNQ 0 — Alessandro Nannini Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret 16 11† Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 — Alex Caffi Ret 12† Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret DNQ Ret Ret DNQ 0 — Adrián Campos DSQ Ret Ret DNS Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 14 Ret Ret Ret 0 — Franco Forini Ret Ret DNQ 0 — Stefano Modena Ret 0 — Gabriele Tarquini Ret 0 — Nicola Larini DNQ Ret 0 Pos Driver BRA SMR BEL MON DET FRA GBR GER HUN AUT ITA POR ESP MEX JPN AUS Points

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD)

^† Drivers did not finish the Grand Prix, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Jim Clark Trophy

Awarded to drivers of cars equipped with naturally aspirated engines

Pos	Driver	BRA	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA	POR	ESP	MEX	JPN	AUS	Points
1	Jonathan Palmer	1	Ret	Ret	1	1	2	1	2	1	3	3	2	Ret	2	1	1	95
2	Philippe Streiff	2	1	2	Ret	Ret	1	Ret	1	2	Ret	1	3	2	3	2	Ret	74
3	Philippe Alliot		2	1	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	3	Ret	2	Ret	Ret	1	1	Ret	Ret	43
4	Ivan Capelli	DNS	Ret	Ret	2	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	3	1	2	1	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	38
5	Pascal Fabre	3	3	3	3	2	3	2	Ret	4	NC	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	DNQ			35
6	Roberto Moreno															Ret	3	4
—	Yannick Dalmas														4	3	2	0*
—	Nicola Larini											DNQ		Ret				0
Pos	Driver	BRA	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA	POR	ESP	MEX	JPN	AUS	Points

* Ineligible for points.

Constructors' Championship final standings

Points towards the 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship for Constructors were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis for the top six placed cars at each round. All results were counted (not just best eleven rounds).

Pos Constructor Car no. BRA SMR BEL MON DET FRA GBR GER HUN AUT ITA POR ESP MEX JPN AUS Pts 1 Williams-Honda 5 6 1 Ret Ret 5 1 1 Ret 14 1 3 Ret 1 1 DNS 9 137 6 2 DNS Ret 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 3 4 2 15 Ret 2 McLaren-TAG 1 1 Ret 1 9 3 3 Ret 7 3 6 14 1 2 Ret 7 Ret 76 2 3 4 2 Ret 7 8 Ret 2 Ret 7 6 5 3 Ret 3 Ret 3 Lotus-Honda 11 7 6 5 10 Ret NC 4 Ret Ret 13 11 8 9 Ret 6 Ret 64 12 Ret 2 Ret 1 1 4 3 3 2 5 2 7 5 Ret 2 DSQ 4 Ferrari 27 8 3 Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 15 Ret 4 2 53 28 4 Ret Ret 4 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 4 2 Ret Ret 1 1 5 Benetton-Ford 19 Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 5 6 Ret Ret 3 7 4 Ret 5 Ret Ret 28 20 5 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 Ret 4 4 5 14 16 Ret 5 3 6 Tyrrell-Ford 3 10 Ret Ret 5 11 7 8 5 7 14 14 10 Ret 7 8 4 11 4 11 8 9 Ret Ret 6 Ret 4 9 Ret 12 12 7 8 12 Ret 7 Arrows-Megatron 17 Ret 11 Ret Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret 6 Ret Ret 13 10 Ret 10 Ret 11 18 Ret Ret 4 Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret Ret 6 8 4 9 Ret 8 Brabham-BMW 7 Ret 9 Ret Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret Ret Ret 13 3 11 Ret 10 8 Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 9 Lola-Ford 29 9 14 5† 3 30 10 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 12 Ret Ret 6 6 Ret Ret 10 Zakspeed 9 Ret 5 Ret 7 Ret Ret NC NC Ret DSQ Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret Ret 2 10 9 7 Ret EX 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 9 DNS Ret Ret Ret 7 11 Ligier-Megatron 25 DNS 6 11 10 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 10 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 1 26 Ret 7 12 Ret Ret EX Ret 12 8 8 Ret Ret Ret 13 Ret 12 AGS-Ford 14 12 13 10 13 12 9 9 Ret 13 NC DNQ DNQ Ret DNQ Ret 6 1 13 March-Ford 16 DNS Ret Ret 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 11 13 9 12 Ret Ret Ret 1 — Minardi-Motori Moderni 23 DSQ Ret Ret DNS Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 14 Ret Ret Ret 0 24 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret 16 11 Ret Ret Ret Ret — Osella-Alfa Romeo 21 Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret DNQ Ret Ret DNQ 0 22 Ret Ret Ret DNQ — Coloni-Ford 32 DNQ Ret 0 Pos Constructor Car no. BRA SMR BEL MON DET FRA GBR GER HUN AUT ITA POR ESP MEX JPN AUS Pts

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD)

^† Dalmas's Lola was ineligible for Constructors' Championship points, as the team had entered only one car for the championship.

Colin Chapman Trophy

Awarded to constructors of cars equipped with naturally aspirated engines

Pos	Constructor	Car no.	BRA	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA	POR	ESP	MEX	JPN	AUS	Pts
1	Tyrrell-Ford	3	1	Ret	Ret	1	1	2	1	2	1	3	3	2	Ret	2	1	1	169
		4	2	1	2	Ret	Ret	1	Ret	1	2	Ret	1	3	2	3	2	Ret
2	Lola-Ford	29†														4	3	2	43
		30		2	1	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	3	Ret	2	Ret	Ret	1	1	Ret	Ret
3	AGS-Ford	14	3	3	3	3	2	3	2	Ret	4	NC	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	DNQ	Ret	3	41
4	March-Ford	16	DNS	Ret	Ret	2	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	3	1	2	1	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	38
—	Coloni-Ford	32											DNQ		Ret				0
Pos	Constructor	Car no.	BRA	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA	POR	ESP	MEX	JPN	AUS	Pts

Notes

External links

• Results and images from the 1987 Formula One World Championship at f1-facts.com