1987 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Alain Prost matched Jackie Stewart’s record of 27 Grand Prix victories with a commanding win at the 1987 Belgian Grand Prix. Stefan Johansson completed a McLaren one-two at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps after a race disrupted by a major first-start accident and a clash between Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Nigel Mansell	Williams
Pole time	1:52.026
Fastest lap	Alain Prost	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:57.153 on lap 26
First	Alain Prost	McLaren
Second	Stefan Johansson	McLaren
Third	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
15 May 1987	Practice 1	Morning; start unconfirmed
15 May 1987	Qualifying 1	Start time unconfirmed
16 May 1987	Practice 2	Morning; start unconfirmed
16 May 1987	Qualifying 2	Start time unconfirmed
17 May 1987	Warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
17 May 1987	Race	Start time unconfirmed

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Nigel Mansell arrived at round 3 leading the 1987 F1 World Championship on 10 points, with Alain Prost on 9. Williams – Honda headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 16 points.

Race entries

Nelson Piquet returned after missing Imola, restoring Williams to full strength. Gabriele Tarquini’s one-off Osella appearance did not continue, leaving Alex Caffi in the team’s sole entry. The field numbered 26 cars, including the new Larrousse Lola and the returning Ligier pairing.

Friday Free Practice

Cold rain made Friday’s free practice a poor opportunity to prepare for a dry race. Temperatures remained low and grip changed as showers passed through. Drivers in the slower cars could make an impression in these conditions, with Alessandro Nannini and Ivan Capelli showing well during the wet running, while the teams had little chance to establish dependable race settings.

Friday Qualifying

Gerhard Berger headed Friday qualifying in the wet, ahead of Nigel Mansell and Michele Alboreto. The changing conditions made the order unusually fluid and left the grid far from settled.

Friday Qualifying Classification

1987 Belgian Grand Prix first qualifying session, 15 May 1987

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	2:06.216	—
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	2:06.965	—
3	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	2:07.459	—
4	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	2:08.143	—
5	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	2:08.450	—
6	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	2:08.752	—
7	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	2:09.650	—
8	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	2:10.946	—
9	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	2:11.203	—
10	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	2:11.441	—
11	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	2:12.063	—
12	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	2:12.358	—
13	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	2:12.914	—
14	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	2:13.082	—
15	16	Ivan Capelli	March	2:13.355	—
16	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	2:13.871	—
17	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	2:14.432	—
18	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	2:14.931	—
19	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	2:14.945	—
20	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	2:15.012	—
21	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	2:15.321	—
22	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	2:15.339	—
23	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	2:16.268	—
24	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	2:18.900	—
25	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	2:20.610	—
26	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	2:26.498	—

Saturday Free Practice

The unsettled weather continued on Saturday, with sunshine interrupted by further showers. Finding a useful dry window mattered more than building a routine programme, and the lack of consistent conditions left fuel consumption and tyre wear difficult to judge. The teams still had to be ready for a much faster qualifying session if the circuit dried.

Saturday Qualifying

A largely dry opening to Saturday’s session transformed the times. Nigel Mansell took pole with 1:52.026, comfortably ahead of Nelson Piquet, with Ayrton Senna third. Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto followed, while Alain Prost qualified sixth and would need the race to come his way.

Saturday Qualifying Classification

1987 Belgian Grand Prix second qualifying session, 16 May 1987

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:52.026	—
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:53.416	—
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:53.426	—
4	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:53.451	—
5	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:53.511	—
6	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:54.186	—
7	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	1:54.300	—
8	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:55.064	—
9	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:55.339	—
10	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	1:55.781	—
11	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	1:55.899	—
12	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	1:56.359	—
13	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	1:57.101	—
14	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:58.132	—
15	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	1:58.649	—
16	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	1:59.117	—
17	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	1:59.291	—
18	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	2:00.433	—
19	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	2:00.763	—
20	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	2:01.072	—
21	16	Ivan Capelli	March	2:02.036	—
22	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	2:02.347	—
23	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	2:03.098	—
24	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	2:04.677	—
25	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	2:07.361	—
26	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	2:12.086	—

Combined Qualifying Classification

Each driver’s faster time from the two qualifying sessions determined the overall order.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Friday Time	Saturday Time	Best Time	Laps
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	2:06.965	1:52.026	1:52.026	—
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	2:08.143	1:53.416	1:53.416	—
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	2:08.450	1:53.426	1:53.426	—
4	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	2:06.216	1:53.451	1:53.451	—
5	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	2:07.459	1:53.511	1:53.511	—
6	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	2:11.203	1:54.186	1:54.186	—
7	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	2:08.752	1:54.300	1:54.300	—
8	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	2:12.914	1:55.064	1:55.064	—
9	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	2:12.358	1:55.339	1:55.339	—
10	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	2:12.063	1:55.781	1:55.781	—
11	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	2:15.321	1:55.899	1:55.899	—
12	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	2:10.946	1:56.359	1:56.359	—
13	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	2:13.871	1:57.101	1:57.101	—
14	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	2:09.650	1:58.132	1:58.132	—
15	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	2:11.441	1:58.649	1:58.649	—
16	25	René Arnoux	Ligier	2:15.012	1:59.117	1:59.117	—
17	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	2:15.339	1:59.291	1:59.291	—
18	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	2:14.432	2:00.433	2:00.433	—
19	23	Adrián Campos	Minardi	2:14.945	2:00.763	2:00.763	—
20	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	2:20.610	2:01.072	2:01.072	—
21	16	Ivan Capelli	March	2:13.355	2:02.036	2:02.036	—
22	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	2:13.082	2:02.347	2:02.347	—
23	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	2:18.900	2:03.098	2:03.098	—
24	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	2:14.931	2:04.677	2:04.677	—
25	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	2:26.498	2:07.361	2:07.361	—
26	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	2:16.268	2:12.086	2:12.086	—

Sunday warm-up

Sunday’s dry warm-up was a valuable final chance to prepare for conditions unlike much of the previous two days. Alain Prost was fastest and Stefan Johansson second, giving McLaren encouragement after Williams had locked out the front row. There was still uncertainty over race-distance consumption and tyre life after the disrupted practice programme.

Warm-up Classification

1987 Belgian Grand Prix Warm-up, 17 May 1987

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:58.278	—
2	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	+1.430s	—
3	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	+1.583s	—
4	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	+1.633s	—
5	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	+2.076s	—
6	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	+2.186s	—
7	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	+2.416s	—
8	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	+2.890s	—
9	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	+3.190s	—
10	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	+3.336s	—
11	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	+3.486s	—
12	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	+3.723s	—
13	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	+4.226s	—
14	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	+4.240s	—
15	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	+4.593s	—
16	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	+6.800s	—
17	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	+7.020s	—
18	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	+7.023s	—
19	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	+7.093s	—
20	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	+7.503s	—
21	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	+8.073s	—
22	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	+8.283s	—
23	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	+9.043s	—
24	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	+9.516s	—
25	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	+13.380s	—
26	16	Ivan Capelli	March	+17.070s	—

What happened in the 1987 Belgian Grand Prix?

The first start was stopped after Philippe Streiff crashed at Eau Rouge and Jonathan Palmer struck his team-mate’s wrecked Tyrrell. Both drivers escaped injury, but only Philippe Streiff could take the spare for the restart. At the second start Ayrton Senna led, only for Nigel Mansell’s attempt to pass him at the Fagnes chicane to end in contact.

Ayrton Senna retired immediately and Nigel Mansell continued before the damage ended his afternoon. Nelson Piquet, Michele Alboreto and Gerhard Berger also dropped out, leaving Alain Prost in control. The McLaren driver managed uncertain fuel readings and brought the car home clear of Stefan Johansson, while failures continued to thin the field.

Andrea de Cesaris took third for Brabham despite running out of fuel at the finish. Eddie Cheever, Satoru Nakajima and Rene Arnoux completed the points, while Philippe Alliot led the naturally aspirated finishers. Alain Prost’s second victory of the season put him back at the head of the championship.

After the race, Alain Prost headed the drivers’ standings with 18 points, followed by Stefan Johansson on 13. McLaren – TAG led the constructors’ table on 31, with Williams – Honda on 16.

1987 Belgian Grand Prix race results

The 1987 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 17 May 1987.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	43	1:27:03.217	9
2	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	43	+24.764	6
3	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	42	Out of fuel	4
4	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	42	+1 lap	3
5	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	42	+1 lap	2
6	25	René Arnoux	Ligier	41	+2 laps	1
7	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	40	Out of fuel	0
8 (1)	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	40	+3 laps	0
9 (2)	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	39	+4 laps	0
10 (3)	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	38	Ignition	0
Ret	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	34	Engine	0
Ret	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	19	Overheating	0
Ret	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	18	Wheel bearing	0
Ret	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	17	Accident	0
Ret	16	Ivan Capelli	March	14	Engine	0
Ret	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	11	Exhaust	0
Ret	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	11	Fuel leak	0
Ret	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	9	Transmission	0
Ret	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	9	Brakes	0
Ret	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	8	Radiator	0
Ret	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	5	Clutch	0
Ret	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	2	Engine	0
Ret	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1	Turbo	0
Ret	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus		Collision	0
Ret	23	Adrián Campos	Minardi		Gearbox	0
Ret	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell		Collision	0

1987 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	26	1:57.153
2	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	33	1:59.015
3	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	8	1:59.572
4	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	12	1:59.651
5	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	8	1:59.927
6	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	7	2:00.017
7	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	33	2:00.154
8	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	4	2:01.020
9	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	34	2:02.706
10	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	29	2:03.091
11	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	6	2:03.843
12	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	16	2:04.227
13	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	15	2:04.471
14	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	13	2:04.691
15	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	2	2:05.206
16	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	8	2:05.247
17	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	16	2:05.456
18	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	6	2:05.825
19	16	Ivan Capelli	March	13	2:06.011
20	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	2	2:09.474
21	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	19	2:09.872
22	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	15	2:09.977
23	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1	2:17.571

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1987 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1987 Belgian Grand Prix.

1987 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Alain Prost	French	McLaren	18
2	Stefan Johansson	Swedish	McLaren	13
3	Nigel Mansell	British	Williams	10
4	Ayrton Senna	Brazilian	Lotus	6
5	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Williams	6
6	Michele Alboreto	Italian	Ferrari	4
7	Andrea de Cesaris	Italian	Brabham	4
8	Eddie Cheever	American	Arrows	3
9	Gerhard Berger	Austrian	Ferrari	3
10	Satoru Nakajima	Japanese	Lotus	3
11	Martin Brundle	British	Zakspeed	2
12	Thierry Boutsen	Belgian	Benetton	2
13	René Arnoux	French	Ligier	1
–	Christian Danner	German	Zakspeed	0
–	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Italian	Ligier	0
–	Philippe Streiff	French	Tyrrell	0
–	Philippe Alliot	French	Lola	0
–	Riccardo Patrese	Italian	Brabham	0
–	Pascal Fabre	French	AGS	0
–	Jonathan Palmer	British	Tyrrell	0
–	Derek Warwick	British	Arrows	0
–	Alex Caffi	Italian	Osella	0
–	Teo Fabi	Italian	Benetton	0
–	Ivan Capelli	Italian	March	0
–	Alessandro Nannini	Italian	Minardi	0
–	Adrián Campos	Spanish	Minardi	0
–	Gabriele Tarquini	Italian	Osella	0

1987 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	McLaren – TAG	31
2	Williams – Honda	16
3	Lotus – Honda	9
4	Ferrari	7
5	Brabham – BMW	4
6	Arrows – Megatron	3
7	Zakspeed	2
8	Benetton – Ford	2
9	Ligier – Megatron	1
—	Osella – Alfa Romeo	0
—	Tyrrell – Ford	0
—	AGS – Ford	0
—	Minardi – Motori Moderni	0
—	March – Ford	0
—	Lola – Ford	0

Jim Clark Trophy standings

Pos.	Driver	Points
1	Philippe Streiff	21
2	Philippe Alliot	15
3	Pascal Fabre	12
4	Jonathan Palmer	9
5	Ivan Capelli	0

Colin Chapman Trophy standings

Pos.	Team	Points
1	Tyrrell	30
2	Lola	15
3	AGS	12
4	March	0

The naturally aspirated cars also competed for the Jim Clark and Colin Chapman trophies. These separate totals count every round; bracketed positions in the race results show the naturally aspirated finishing order.

Drivers counted their best eleven results; constructors counted every round. The standings here show the position after this race.

1987 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1987 Brazilian Grand Prix	Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro	12 April
2	1987 San Marino Grand Prix	Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola	3 May
3	1987 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	17 May
4	1987 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	31 May
5	1987 Detroit Grand Prix	Detroit Street Circuit, Detroit, Michigan	21 June
6	1987 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	5 July
7	1987 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	12 July
8	1987 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	26 July
9	1987 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	9 August
10	1987 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	16 August
11	1987 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	6 September
12	1987 Portuguese Grand Prix	Autódromo do Estoril, Estoril	20 September
13	1987 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito de Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera	27 September
14	1987 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	18 October
15	1987 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	1 November
16	1987 Australian Grand Prix	Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide	15 November