1987 Brazilian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Alain Prost opened the 1987 F1 World Championship with a beautifully judged victory at Jacarepaguá. Williams had dominated qualifying, but McLaren made its tyres last when it mattered, leaving home favourite Nelson Piquet second and Stefan Johansson third on his debut for the team.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Nigel Mansell	Williams
Pole time	1:26.128
Fastest lap	Nelson Piquet	Williams
Fastest-lap time	1:33.861 on lap 42
First	Alain Prost	McLaren
Second	Nelson Piquet	Williams
Third	Stefan Johansson	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
10 April 1987	Practice 1	Morning; start unconfirmed
10 April 1987	Qualifying 1	Start time unconfirmed
11 April 1987	Practice 2	Morning; start unconfirmed
11 April 1987	Qualifying 2	Start time unconfirmed
12 April 1987	Warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
12 April 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

Turbo engines faced a four-bar boost limit, while 3.5-litre naturally aspirated engines returned with separate Jim Clark and Colin Chapman trophies. Goodyear became the sole tyre supplier and specialist qualifying tyres disappeared. The new restrictions made efficiency and consistency particularly valuable, although Williams remained a formidable prospect with Honda power.

Race entries

Stefan Johansson joined Alain Prost at McLaren, Gerhard Berger moved to Ferrari and Thierry Boutsen joined Benetton. Lotus introduced Satoru Nakajima alongside Ayrton Senna, while March returned with Ivan Capelli. Ligier missed the opener after losing its Alfa Romeo engine supply, and newcomers Adrián Adrian Campos and Pascal Fabre began their Formula 1 careers with Minardi and AGS.

Friday Free Practice

Friday running began after a threatened boycott over increased super-licence fees was averted. The teams also had a new technical problem to understand: the mandatory pop-off valves controlling turbo pressure. Several drivers complained of inconsistent opening pressures, while McLaren operated below the limit. That made clean running and understanding the new cars especially important at the first competitive outing of the season.

Friday Qualifying

Nelson Piquet narrowly beat Nigel Mansell in Friday qualifying, setting 1:27.822. Ayrton Senna was the nearest challenger, but the two Williams drivers were already in a contest of their own at the front.

Friday Qualifying Classification

1987 Brazilian Grand Prix first qualifying session, 10 April 1987

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:27.822	—
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:27.901	—
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:29.002	—
4	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:29.522	—
5	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	1:30.166	—
6	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:30.439	—
7	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:31.218	—
8	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	1:31.343	—
9	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:31.444	—
10	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:32.001	—
11	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	1:32.402	—
12	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	1:32.531	—
13	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	1:33.084	—
14	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:33.980	—
15	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	1:34.445	—
16	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	1:36.178	—
17	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	1:37.235	—
18	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	1:37.488	—
19	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:38.822	—
20	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	1:39.931	—
21	16	Ivan Capelli	March	1:43.580	—
22	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	1:44.126	—

Saturday Free Practice

The new Lotus active suspension was a particular talking point as the weekend developed, keeping the car’s ride height controlled over the bumps. McLaren concentrated on making its new chassis work over a race distance, while Philippe Streiff struggled with a persistent misfire in his Tyrrell. Williams had spectacular speed, but the heat and abrasive conditions meant outright pace alone would not settle Sunday’s contest.

Saturday Qualifying

Nigel Mansell responded emphatically on Saturday with 1:26.128 to claim pole. Nelson Piquet joined him on the front row, ahead of Ayrton Senna and Teo Fabi. Alain Prost would start fifth, with McLaren hoping its attention to tyre life would pay off over the full distance.

Saturday Qualifying Classification

1987 Brazilian Grand Prix second qualifying session, 11 April 1987

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:26.128	—
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:26.567	—
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:28.408	—
4	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:28.417	—
5	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:29.175	—
6	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	1:29.450	—
7	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:30.357	—
8	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	1:30.467	—
9	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:30.468	—
10	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	1:30.476	—
11	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:31.179	—
12	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	1:32.276	—
13	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	1:32.769	—
14	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:33.729	—
15	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	1:33.825	—
16	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	1:34.115	—
17	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	1:35.212	—
18	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	1:36.091	—
19	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	1:36.160	—
20	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:36.274	—
21	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	1:38.770	—
22	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	1:39.816	—
23	16	Ivan Capelli	March	2:02.966	—

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	1:27.901	1:26.128	1:26.128	—
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:27.822	1:26.567	1:26.567	—
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:29.002	1:28.408	1:28.408	—
4	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:30.439	1:28.417	1:28.417	—
5	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:29.522	1:29.175	1:29.175	—
6	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	1:30.166	1:29.450	1:29.450	—
7	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:31.444	1:30.357	1:30.357	—
8	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	1:32.531	1:30.467	1:30.467	—
9	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:31.218	1:30.468	1:30.468	—
10	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	1:31.343	1:30.476	1:30.476	—
11	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:32.001	1:31.179	1:31.179	—
12	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	1:34.445	1:32.276	1:32.276	—
13	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	1:32.402	1:34.115	1:32.402	—
14	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	1:33.084	1:32.769	1:32.769	—
15	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:33.980	1:33.729	1:33.729	—
16	23	Adrián Campos	Minardi	—	1:33.825	1:33.825	—
17	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	1:36.178	1:35.212	1:35.212	—
18	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	1:37.488	1:36.091	1:36.091	—
19	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	1:37.235	1:36.160	1:36.160	—
20	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:38.822	1:36.274	1:36.274	—
21	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	1:39.931	1:38.770	1:38.770	—
22	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	1:44.126	1:39.816	1:39.816	—
23	16	Ivan Capelli	March	1:43.580	2:02.966	1:43.580	—

Sunday warm-up

Alain Prost headed Sunday’s warm-up, confirming that McLaren could be much more competitive in race conditions than its grid position suggested. March had a far worse morning: an engine failure left Ivan Capelli unable to start. With its purpose-built Formula 1 car still to come, the team’s adapted Formula 3000 machine had reached the end of a difficult opening weekend.

Warm-up Classification

1987 Brazilian Grand Prix Warm-up, 12 April 1987

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:33.161	—
2	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	+0.273s	—
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	+0.386s	—
4	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	+0.436s	—
5	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	+0.966s	—
6	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	+1.456s	—
7	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	+1.870s	—
8	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	+2.263s	—
9	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	+2.480s	—
10	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	+2.620s	—
11	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	+2.656s	—
12	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	+3.306s	—
13	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	+4.276s	—
14	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	+5.143s	—
15	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	+6.276s	—
16	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	+6.886s	—
17	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	+7.506s	—
18	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	+7.933s	—
19	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	+8.370s	—
20	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	+10.283s	—
21	16	Ivan Capelli	March	+10.313s	—
22	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	+11.146s	—

What happened in the 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix?

Nelson Piquet led away while Nigel Mansell lost ground at the start, but debris blocking the Williams radiators soon forced both drivers into the pits. Ayrton Senna inherited the lead before his own stop, allowing Alain Prost to move to the front. Adrián Adrian Campos was disqualified after incorrectly retaking his grid position following a delayed departure on the formation lap.

Alain Prost managed his tyres carefully and needed only two stops, keeping the race under control while his rivals made additional visits to the pits. Nigel Mansell suffered a puncture, and Ayrton Senna retired late in the race with engine trouble after running second. The promise of Lotus’s new active suspension would have to wait for another day.

Alain Prost took his 26th Grand Prix victory ahead of Nelson Piquet and Stefan Johansson. Gerhard Berger finished fourth for Ferrari, with Thierry Boutsen fifth and Nigel Mansell salvaging sixth. Satoru Nakajima completed his first Grand Prix in seventh, while Jonathan Palmer led the naturally aspirated runners home for Tyrrell.

After the race, Alain Prost headed the drivers’ standings with 9 points, followed by Nelson Piquet on 6. McLaren – TAG led the constructors’ table on 13, with Williams – Honda on 7.

1987 Brazilian Grand Prix race results

The 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix was held on 12 April 1987.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	61	1:39:45.141	9
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	61	+ 40.547	6
3	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	61	+ 56.758	4
4	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	61	+ 1:39.235	3
5	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	60	+ 1 Lap	2
6	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	60	+ 1 Lap	1
7	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	59	+ 2 Laps	0
8	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	58	Spun Off	0
9	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	58	+ 3 Laps	0
10 (1)	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	58	+ 3 Laps	0
11 (2)	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	57	+ 4 Laps	0
12 (3)	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	55	+ 6 Laps	0
Ret	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	52	Overheating	0
Ret	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	50	Engine	0
Ret	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	48	Electrical	0
Ret	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	21	Differential	0
Ret	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	20	Engine	0
Ret	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	20	Withdrew	0
Ret	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	17	Suspension	0
Ret	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	15	Turbo	0
Ret	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	9	Turbo	0
DSQ	23	Adrián Campos	Minardi	3	Incorrect starting procedure	0
DNS	16	Ivan Capelli	March	0	Non Starter	0

1987 Brazilian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	42	1:33.861
2	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	48	1:33.978
3	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	49	1:34.602
4	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	43	1:35.299
5	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	48	1:35.312
6	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	50	1:35.737
7	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	54	1:35.769
8	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	37	1:35.773
9	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	45	1:35.811
10	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	5	1:36.511
11	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	18	1:36.553
12	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	44	1:36.846
13	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	19	1:38.194
14	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	40	1:38.482
15	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	16	1:39.108
16	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	38	1:40.112
17	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	4	1:40.683
18	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	2	1:40.714
19	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	26	1:41.495
20	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	23	1:43.049
21	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	27	1:43.129
22	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	3	1:44.130

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 Brazilian Grand Prix.

1987 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

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

1987 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	McLaren – TAG	13
2	Williams – Honda	7
3	Ferrari	3
4	Benetton – Ford	2
—	Lotus – Honda	0
—	Zakspeed	0
—	Tyrrell – Ford	0
—	AGS – Ford	0
—	Arrows – Megatron	0
—	Brabham – BMW	0
—	Osella – Alfa Romeo	0
—	Minardi – Motori Moderni	0
—	March – Ford	0

Jim Clark Trophy standings

Pos.	Driver	Points
1	Jonathan Palmer	9
2	Philippe Streiff	6
3	Pascal Fabre	4
4	Ivan Capelli	0

Colin Chapman Trophy standings

Pos.	Team	Points
1	Tyrrell	15
2	AGS	4
3	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