1987 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Nigel Mansell produced one of his most celebrated drives to win the 1987 British Grand Prix. A late charge on fresh tyres erased Nelson Piquet’s advantage at Silverstone Circuit before a decisive pass brought the home crowd to its feet.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Nelson Piquet	Williams
Pole time	1:07.110
Fastest lap	Nigel Mansell	Williams
Fastest-lap time	1:09.832 on lap 58
First	Nigel Mansell	Williams
Second	Nelson Piquet	Williams
Third	Ayrton Senna	Lotus

Weekend Schedule

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

Ayrton Senna arrived at round 7 leading the 1987 F1 World Championship on 27 points, with Alain Prost on 26. Williams – Honda headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 45 points.

Race entries

The regular field arrived at a revised Silverstone, where a tighter chicane had changed the approach to Woodcote. Piercarlo Ghinzani was subsequently excluded for receiving assistance and fuel on the circuit during qualifying, leaving René Rene Arnoux as Ligier’s sole starter.

Friday Free Practice

The revised Woodcote complex gave the drivers a fresh braking challenge without removing Silverstone’s extraordinary speed. Williams was evaluating adjustable dampers and different chassis configurations, while Benetton brought a slim rear wing for the fast layout. A tyre problem sent Nigel Mansell off during Friday running, a reminder that the home favourite’s weekend would demand more than simply matching Nelson Piquet’s pace.

Friday Qualifying

Nelson Piquet headed Friday qualifying from Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost. Piercarlo Ghinzani’s Ligier ran out of fuel on the circuit; mechanics assisted and refuelled him there, breaching the regulations and ending his participation in the meeting.

Friday Qualifying Classification

1987 British Grand Prix first qualifying session, 10 July 1987

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:07.596	—
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:07.725	—
3	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:08.577	—
4	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:09.255	—
5	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	1:09.724	—
6	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:10.012	—
7	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	1:10.242	—
8	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:10.264	—
9	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:10.328	—
10	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:10.441	—
11	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	1:10.619	—
12	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	1:10.654	—
13	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	1:10.787	—
14	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	1:11.053	—
15	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	1:12.503	—
16	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	1:12.852	—
17	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	1:13.381	—
18	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:13.737	—
19	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	1:15.719	—
20	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	1:15.833	—
21	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	1:16.644	—
22	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	1:16.770	—
23	16	Ivan Capelli	March	1:17.122	—
24	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:17.208	—
25	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	1:18.495	—
26	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	1:19.163	—

Saturday Free Practice

Nelson Piquet continued comparing the Williams configurations over the weekend before settling on the longer-wheelbase car. Ferrari had strengthened its rear suspension and introduced changes intended to reduce drag, but mechanical problems still interrupted its progress. At McLaren, Alain Prost’s preparations were repeatedly affected by reliability trouble as the teams approached the final contest for pole.

Saturday Qualifying

Nelson Piquet retained pole on Saturday by just 0.070 seconds over Nigel Mansell. Ayrton Senna qualified third but was more than a second away from the Williams pair. Alain Prost took fourth ahead of both Benettons, with the Ferraris on the fourth row.

Saturday Qualifying Classification

1987 British Grand Prix second qualifying session, 11 July 1987

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:07.110	—
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:07.180	—
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:08.181	—
4	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	1:08.972	—
5	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:09.246	—
6	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:09.274	—
7	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:09.408	—
8	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	1:09.475	—
9	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:09.492	—
10	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	1:09.541	—
11	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:10.020	—
12	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	1:10.781	—
13	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	1:10.998	—
14	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	1:11.310	—
15	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:12.293	—
16	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	1:12.402	—
17	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	1:12.632	—
18	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	1:13.337	—
19	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	1:13.793	—
20	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	1:15.558	—
21	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	1:15.868	—
22	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:16.524	—
23	16	Ivan Capelli	March	1:16.692	—
24	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	1:17.105	—
25	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	1:18.237	—

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	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:07.596	1:07.110	1:07.110	—
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:07.725	1:07.180	1:07.180	—
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:09.255	1:08.181	1:08.181	—
4	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:08.577	1:09.492	1:08.577	—
5	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	1:09.724	1:08.972	1:08.972	—
6	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:10.264	1:09.246	1:09.246	—
7	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:10.441	1:09.274	1:09.274	—
8	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:10.328	1:09.408	1:09.408	—
9	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	1:10.787	1:09.475	1:09.475	—
10	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	1:10.242	1:09.541	1:09.541	—
11	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:10.012	1:10.020	1:10.012	—
12	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	1:10.619	1:10.998	1:10.619	—
13	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	1:10.654	1:10.781	1:10.654	—
14	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	1:11.053	1:11.310	1:11.053	—
15	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:13.737	1:12.293	1:12.293	—
16	25	René Arnoux	Ligier	1:12.503	1:12.402	1:12.402	—
17	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	1:12.852	1:12.632	1:12.632	—
18	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	1:15.833	1:13.337	1:13.337	—
19	23	Adrián Campos	Minardi	1:15.719	1:13.793	1:13.793	—
20	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	1:18.495	1:15.558	1:15.558	—
21	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	1:16.770	1:15.868	1:15.868	—
22	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:17.208	1:16.524	1:16.524	—
23	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	1:16.644	1:17.105	1:16.644	—
24	16	Ivan Capelli	March	1:17.122	1:16.692	1:16.692	—
25	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	1:19.163	1:18.237	1:18.237	—
EX	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	1:13.381	no time	1:13.381	—

Sunday warm-up

Nelson Piquet was fastest in the warm-up, with Alain Prost second and Nigel Mansell third. The race-day question was whether to run through without a tyre stop or sacrifice track position for fresh rubber. That choice would become decisive, with Williams clearly quick enough to make the race an internal contest if both cars held together.

Warm-up Classification

1987 British Grand Prix Warm-up, 12 July 1987

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:12.190	—
2	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	+0.406s	—
3	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	+0.700s	—
4	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	+0.873s	—
5	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	+1.023s	—
6	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	+1.256s	—
7	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	+1.260s	—
8	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	+1.663s	—
9	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	+1.906s	—
10	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	+1.926s	—
11	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	+2.223s	—
12	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	+2.310s	—
13	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	+2.483s	—
14	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	+2.563s	—
15	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	+3.590s	—
16	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	+3.936s	—
17	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	+4.196s	—
18	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	+4.470s	—
19	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	+4.813s	—
20	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	+5.826s	—
21	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	+5.980s	—
22	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	+6.326s	—
23	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	+6.766s	—
24	16	Ivan Capelli	March	+7.293s	—
25	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	+8.043s	—

What happened in the 1987 British Grand Prix?

Alain Prost briefly led at the start, but Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell soon passed him and established Williams control. Nelson Piquet held the advantage as the two pulled away, and the race initially appeared likely to be decided without either making a tyre stop.

Nigel Mansell came in for fresh tyres on lap 35 and rejoined almost half a minute behind. He then unleashed a sustained charge, repeatedly lowering the lap record as the gap disappeared. With only a handful of laps left, he reached Nelson Piquet and sold him a dummy before passing at Stowe.

Nigel Mansell won to an enormous reception, with Nelson Piquet second and Ayrton Senna a lap down in third. Satoru Nakajima finished fourth, Derek Warwick fifth and Teo Fabi sixth. The winning Williams stopped on its slowing-down lap, but the victory was already secure and the crowd swarmed around its driver.

After the race, Ayrton Senna headed the drivers’ standings with 31 points, followed by Nigel Mansell on 30. Williams – Honda led the constructors’ table on 60, with McLaren – TAG on 39.

1987 British Grand Prix race results

The 1987 British Grand Prix was held on 12 July 1987.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	65	1:19:11.780	9
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	65	+ 1.918	6
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	64	+ 1 lap	4
4	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	63	+ 2 laps	3
5	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	63	+ 2 laps	2
6	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	63	+ 2 laps	1
7	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	62	+ 3 laps	0
8 (1)	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	60	+ 5 laps	0
9 (2)	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	59	+ 6 laps	0
Ret	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	57	Engine	0
NC	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	54	+ 11 laps	0
Ret	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	53	Engine	0
Ret	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	52	Suspension	0
Ret	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	45	Engine	0
Ret	23	Adrián Campos	Minardi	34	Fuel system	0
Ret	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	32	Engine	0
Ret	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	32	Gearbox	0
Ret	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	28	Turbo	0
Ret	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	18	Engine	0
Ret	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	10	Engine	0
Ret	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	8	Turbo	0
Ret	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	7	Accident	0
Ret	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	7	Gearbox	0
Ret	25	René Arnoux	Ligier	3	Electrical	0
Ret	16	Ivan Capelli	March	3	Accident	0
EX	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	0	Excluded	0

* Piercarlo Ghinzani was excluded from the race due to refuelling his car on the track during qualifying.

1987 British Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	58	1:09.832
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	62	1:10.632
3	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	60	1:11.605
4	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	49	1:12.846
5	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	47	1:13.346
6	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	61	1:13.780
7	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	51	1:13.885
8	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	43	1:14.102
9	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	54	1:14.162
10	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	53	1:14.210
11	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	42	1:14.346
12	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	14	1:14.380
13	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	17	1:14.814
14	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	7	1:14.879
15	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	7	1:15.401
16	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	28	1:17.347
17	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	8	1:17.383
18	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	3	1:17.552
19	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	33	1:18.543
20	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	38	1:18.745
21	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	32	1:18.859
22	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	7	1:18.924
23	16	Ivan Capelli	March	3	1:18.999
24	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	55	1:19.784
25	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	28	1:19.848

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 British Grand Prix.

1987 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Ayrton Senna	Brazilian	Lotus	31
2	Nigel Mansell	British	Williams	30
3	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Williams	30
4	Alain Prost	French	McLaren	26
5	Stefan Johansson	Swedish	McLaren	13
6	Gerhard Berger	Austrian	Ferrari	9
7	Michele Alboreto	Italian	Ferrari	8
8	Satoru Nakajima	Japanese	Lotus	6
9	Andrea de Cesaris	Italian	Brabham	4
10	Eddie Cheever	American	Arrows	4
11	Teo Fabi	Italian	Benetton	3
12	Jonathan Palmer	British	Tyrrell	2
13	Martin Brundle	British	Zakspeed	2
14	Thierry Boutsen	Belgian	Benetton	2
15	Derek Warwick	British	Arrows	2
16	Philippe Streiff	French	Tyrrell	1
17	René Arnoux	French	Ligier	1
18	Ivan Capelli	Italian	March	1
–	Christian Danner	German	Zakspeed	0
–	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Italian	Ligier	0
–	Philippe Alliot	French	Lola	0
–	Pascal Fabre	French	AGS	0
–	Riccardo Patrese	Italian	Brabham	0
–	Alex Caffi	Italian	Osella	0
–	Adrián Campos	Spanish	Minardi	0
–	Alessandro Nannini	Italian	Minardi	0
–	Gabriele Tarquini	Italian	Osella	0

1987 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Williams – Honda	60
2	McLaren – TAG	39
3	Lotus – Honda	37
4	Ferrari	17
5	Arrows – Megatron	6
6	Benetton – Ford	5
7	Brabham – BMW	4
8	Tyrrell – Ford	3
9	Zakspeed	2
10	Ligier – Megatron	1
11	March – Ford	1
—	Osella – Alfa Romeo	0
—	AGS – Ford	0
—	Minardi – Motori Moderni	0
—	Lola – Ford	0

Jim Clark Trophy standings

Pos.	Driver	Points
1	Jonathan Palmer	42
2	Pascal Fabre	32
3	Philippe Streiff	30
4	Philippe Alliot	15
5	Ivan Capelli	6

Colin Chapman Trophy standings

Pos.	Team	Points
1	Tyrrell	72
2	AGS	32
3	Lola	15
4	March	6

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