1987 Detroit Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Ayrton Senna made it two street-circuit victories in succession at the 1987 Detroit Grand Prix. Lotus’s active suspension helped him look after his tyres through the full distance, while Nigel Mansell’s challenge faded with cramp and Nelson Piquet recovered to finish second.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Nigel Mansell	Williams
Pole time	1:39.264
Fastest lap	Ayrton Senna	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	1:40.464 on lap 39
First	Ayrton Senna	Lotus
Second	Nelson Piquet	Williams
Third	Alain Prost	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
19 June 1987	Practice 1	Morning; start unconfirmed
19 June 1987	Qualifying 1	Start time unconfirmed
20 June 1987	Practice 2	Morning; start unconfirmed
20 June 1987	Qualifying 2	Start time unconfirmed
21 June 1987	Warm-up	Morning; start unconfirmed
21 June 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

Alain Prost arrived at round 5 leading the 1987 F1 World Championship on 18 points, with Ayrton Senna on 15. McLaren – TAG headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 31 points.

Race entries

The regular line-ups continued in Detroit, with Eddie Cheever carrying home hopes for Arrows. The cancellation of the Canadian Grand Prix left this as a standalone North American visit rather than the usual pairing with Montreal.

Friday Free Practice

Detroit’s bumps and confined corners gave Lotus another chance to exploit the active suspension that had worked so well at Monaco. Ferrari was experimenting with differentials and lighter carbon-fibre clutches, while the naturally aspirated Tyrrells could make better use of their handling here than on the faster circuits. The opening running was about finding confidence close to the walls as much as outright power.

Friday Qualifying

Nigel Mansell was fastest on Friday despite a spin, heading Ayrton Senna and Nelson Piquet. Martin Brundle had a much more difficult session when a fuel leak caused a brief fire in his Zakspeed, while Derek Warwick put the Arrows sixth provisionally.

Friday Qualifying Classification

1987 Detroit Grand Prix first qualifying session, 19 June 1987

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:42.223	—
2	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:42.985	—
3	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:43.152	—
4	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	1:44.686	—
5	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:45.054	—
6	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	1:45.234	—
7	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	1:45.296	—
8	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:45.437	—
9	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:46.042	—
10	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:46.449	—
11	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	1:46.623	—
12	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:46.932	—
13	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	1:47.010	—
14	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:47.064	—
15	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	1:47.470	—
16	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	1:47.670	—
17	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:47.963	—
18	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	1:48.338	—
19	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	1:48.661	—
20	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	1:48.867	—
21	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	1:48.932	—
22	16	Ivan Capelli	March	1:49.969	—
23	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	1:50.495	—
24	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	1:51.355	—
25	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	1:55.787	—
26	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	1:57.475	—

Saturday Free Practice

Rain overnight complicated the preparations for Saturday, although the circuit dried for qualifying. Michele Alboreto tried the spare Ferrari in the morning and preferred it, an important decision before the final session. Reliability and accident damage kept several garages busy, with the uneven surface placing a premium on a car that the driver could trust.

Saturday Qualifying

Ayrton Senna briefly challenged on Saturday, but Nigel Mansell reclaimed the advantage and took pole by more than a second. Nelson Piquet remained third despite gear-selection trouble and a spin. Thierry Boutsen qualified fourth, Alain Prost fifth and Eddie Cheever sixth; Martin Brundle’s further accident left him needing the older spare Zakspeed for the race.

Saturday Qualifying Classification

1987 Detroit Grand Prix second qualifying session, 20 June 1987

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	1:39.264	—
2	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:40.607	—
3	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:40.942	—
4	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	1:42.050	—
5	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:42.357	—
6	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	1:42.361	—
7	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:42.684	—
8	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:42.918	—
9	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:43.479	—
10	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	1:43.541	—
11	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	1:43.797	—
12	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:43.816	—
13	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	1:44.350	—
14	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:45.037	—
15	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	1:45.291	—
16	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	1:45.740	—
17	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	1:46.046	—
18	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:46.083	—
19	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	1:46.124	—
20	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	1:46.194	—
21	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	1:46.211	—
22	16	Ivan Capelli	March	1:46.269	—
23	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	1:47.471	—
24	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	1:48.801	—
25	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	1:53.644	—
26	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	3:26.319	—

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	1:42.223	1:39.264	1:39.264	—
2	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	1:42.985	1:40.607	1:40.607	—
3	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	1:43.152	1:40.942	1:40.942	—
4	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	1:44.686	1:42.050	1:42.050	—
5	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	1:46.042	1:42.357	1:42.357	—
6	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	1:45.296	1:42.361	1:42.361	—
7	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	1:45.437	1:42.684	1:42.684	—
8	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	1:47.064	1:42.918	1:42.918	—
9	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	1:46.932	1:43.479	1:43.479	—
10	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	1:45.234	1:43.541	1:43.541	—
11	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	1:46.623	1:43.797	1:43.797	—
12	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	1:45.054	1:43.816	1:43.816	—
13	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	1:47.010	1:44.350	1:44.350	—
14	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	1:47.963	1:45.037	1:45.037	—
15	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	1:48.932	1:45.291	1:45.291	—
16	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	1:48.867	1:45.740	1:45.740	—
17	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	1:47.670	1:46.046	1:46.046	—
18	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	1:46.449	1:46.083	1:46.083	—
19	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	1:55.787	1:46.124	1:46.124	—
20	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	1:47.470	1:46.194	1:46.194	—
21	25	René Arnoux	Ligier	1:48.338	1:46.211	1:46.211	—
22	16	Ivan Capelli	March	1:49.969	1:46.269	1:46.269	—
23	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	1:48.661	1:47.471	1:47.471	—
24	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	1:51.355	1:48.801	1:48.801	—
25	23	Adrián Campos	Minardi	1:50.495	3:26.319	1:50.495	—
26	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	1:57.475	1:53.644	1:53.644	—

Sunday warm-up

A wet warm-up gave Nigel Mansell the fastest time ahead of Derek Warwick and Nelson Piquet. It was a very different test from the dry conditions expected at the start, leaving the teams to judge how quickly the surface would recover. After two demanding practice days, Sunday promised another long contest with the weather still unsettled.

Warm-up Classification

1987 Detroit Grand Prix Warm-up, 21 June 1987

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	2:08.593	—
2	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	+1.636s	—
3	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	+2.043s	—
4	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	+2.283s	—
5	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	+2.410s	—
6	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	+2.750s	—
7	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	+2.920s	—
8	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	+3.013s	—
9	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	+3.810s	—
10	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	+3.846s	—
11	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	+3.883s	—
12	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	+4.160s	—
13	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	+4.740s	—
14	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	+5.053s	—
15	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	+5.053s	—
16	16	Ivan Capelli	March	+5.320s	—
17	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	+5.453s	—
18	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	+5.513s	—
19	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	+5.783s	—
20	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	+7.336s	—
21	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	+8.853s	—
22	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	+9.256s	—
23	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	+10.706s	—
24	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	+15.320s	—
25	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	+18.040s	—

What happened in the 1987 Detroit Grand Prix?

Nigel Mansell led Ayrton Senna from the start, while Nelson Piquet picked up a puncture after running wide. Eddie Cheever’s strong early run was damaged when Teo Fabi hit his rear tyre, forcing the Arrows into the pits. Ayrton Senna then eased off to protect his brakes, allowing Nigel Mansell’s lead to grow.

Nigel Mansell developed severe cramp and lost more time during a difficult tyre stop. Ayrton Senna discovered that his original tyres were still working well and committed to completing the race without changing them. The combination of his earlier restraint and the Lotus’s active suspension paid off as the opposition struggled.

Ayrton Senna won by over half a minute from Nelson Piquet, with Alain Prost third and Gerhard Berger fourth. Nigel Mansell persevered to fifth despite his exhaustion, while Eddie Cheever recovered to sixth. It would prove to be the original Lotus team’s final Grand Prix victory.

After the race, Ayrton Senna headed the drivers’ standings with 24 points, followed by Alain Prost on 22. McLaren – TAG led the constructors’ table on 35, with Williams – Honda on 30.

1987 Detroit Grand Prix race results

The 1987 Detroit Grand Prix was held on 21 June 1987.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	63	1:50:16.358	9
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	63	+ 33.819	6
3	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	63	+ 45.327	4
4	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	63	+ 1:02.601	3
5	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	62	+ 1 Lap	2
6	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	60	+ 3 Laps	1
7	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	60	+ 3 Laps	0
8	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	60	+ 3 Laps	0
9	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	60	+ 3 Laps	0
10	25	René Arnoux	Ligier	60	+ 3 Laps	0
11 (1)	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	60	+ 3 Laps	0
12 (2)	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	58	+ 5 Laps	0
Ret	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	52	Brakes	0
Ret	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	51	Clutch	0
Ret	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	44	Wheel	0
Ret	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	38	Accident	0
Ret	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	25	Gearbox	0
Ret	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	22	Gearbox	0
Ret	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	16	Turbo	0
Ret	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	12	Accident	0
Ret	16	Ivan Capelli	March	9	Electrical	0
Ret	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	6	Accident	0
Ret	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	3	Transmission	0
Ret	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	2	Gearbox	0
Ret	23	Adrián Campos	Minardi	1	Accident	0
Ret	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus	0	Collision	0

1987 Detroit Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus	39	1:40.464
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams	36	1:40.535
3	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams	57	1:41.196
4	1	Alain Prost	McLaren	56	1:41.340
5	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	46	1:42.238
6	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton	41	1:42.252
7	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren	53	1:42.332
8	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows	35	1:43.951
9	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell	41	1:44.048
10	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham	46	1:44.255
11	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	19	1:45.016
12	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola	33	1:45.869
13	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell	35	1:46.048
14	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier	38	1:46.937
15	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi	13	1:47.069
16	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows	11	1:47.260
17	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier	21	1:47.477
18	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	38	1:47.532
19	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton	4	1:48.325
20	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	14	1:48.744
21	16	Ivan Capelli	March	5	1:49.341
22	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS	32	1:50.309
23	21	Alex Caffi	Osella	2	1:53.496
24	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham	2	1:53.860
25	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi	1	2:16.237

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 Detroit Grand Prix.

1987 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Ayrton Senna	Brazilian	Lotus	24
2	Alain Prost	French	McLaren	22
3	Nelson Piquet	Brazilian	Williams	18
4	Stefan Johansson	Swedish	McLaren	13
5	Nigel Mansell	British	Williams	12
6	Gerhard Berger	Austrian	Ferrari	9
7	Michele Alboreto	Italian	Ferrari	8
8	Andrea de Cesaris	Italian	Brabham	4
9	Eddie Cheever	American	Arrows	4
10	Satoru Nakajima	Japanese	Lotus	3
11	Martin Brundle	British	Zakspeed	2
12	Jonathan Palmer	British	Tyrrell	2
13	Thierry Boutsen	Belgian	Benetton	2
14	René Arnoux	French	Ligier	1
15	Ivan Capelli	Italian	March	1
–	Christian Danner	German	Zakspeed	0
–	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Italian	Ligier	0
–	Philippe Streiff	French	Tyrrell	0
–	Philippe Alliot	French	Lola	0
–	Teo Fabi	Italian	Benetton	0
–	Riccardo Patrese	Italian	Brabham	0
–	Pascal Fabre	French	AGS	0
–	Derek Warwick	British	Arrows	0
–	Alex Caffi	Italian	Osella	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	35
2	Williams – Honda	30
3	Lotus – Honda	27
4	Ferrari	17
5	Brabham – BMW	4
6	Arrows – Megatron	4
7	Zakspeed	2
8	Benetton – Ford	2
9	Tyrrell – Ford	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	27
2	Pascal Fabre	22
3	Philippe Streiff	21
4	Philippe Alliot	15
5	Ivan Capelli	6

Colin Chapman Trophy standings

Pos.	Team	Points
1	Tyrrell	48
2	AGS	22
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