The 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship began on 12 April and concluded on 15 November, over 16 race weekends.
Season
The World Drivers’ Championship was won by Nelson Piquet, who secured the third and final title of his Formula One career driving for Williams-Honda. Interestingly, Piquet achieved the championship despite winning only three races during the season, significantly fewer than his teammate and main rival Nigel Mansell, who recorded six victories. Mansell’s strong performances kept the title battle extremely close for much of the year, but his challenge came to an abrupt end when he crashed heavily during practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, suffering a back injury that forced him to withdraw from the race and effectively ended his championship hopes.
In the Constructors’ Championship, Williams dominated the field and secured the title for the second consecutive season, confirming the team’s position as the leading force in Formula One during this period.
The 1987 season also featured two additional competitions that reflected the transitional engine regulations of the era: the Jim Clark Trophy and the Colin Chapman Trophy. These titles were awarded respectively to the highest-placed driver and constructor using naturally aspirated engines, which competed alongside the more powerful turbocharged cars that still dominated the championship at the time.
Another notable development in 1987 was the absence of Renault as an engine supplier, marking the first time since 1976 that the French manufacturer had not participated in the sport in that capacity. Renault withdrew due to ongoing corporate restructuring, temporarily ending a period in which the company had played a major role in advancing turbocharged engine technology in Formula One.
The season also brought a significant change to tyre supply. With Pirelli withdrawing from Formula One at the end of the 1986 season, Goodyear became the sole tyre supplier for the entire grid. As a result, 1987 was the first season since 1963 in which Formula One operated with a single tyre manufacturer, ending years of competition between tyre suppliers and creating a more standardised tyre environment for the teams.
1987 F1 Entries Drivers and Teams
| Entrant | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | No | Driver | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlboro McLaren TAG Turbo | McLaren-TAG | MP4/3 | TAG/Porsche TTE PO1 1.5 V6 t | 1 | Alain Prost | All |
| 2 | Stefan Johansson | All | ||||
| Data General Team Tyrrell | Tyrrell-Ford | DG016 | Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 | 3 | Jonathan Palmer | All |
| 4 | Philippe Streiff | All | ||||
| Canon Williams Honda Team | Williams-Honda | FW11B | Honda RA167E 1.5 V6 t | 5 | Nigel Mansell | 1–15 |
| 5 | Riccardo Patrese | 16 | ||||
| 6 | Nelson Piquet | All | ||||
| Brabham | Brabham-BMW | BT56 | BMW M12/13 1.5 L4 t | 7 | Riccardo Patrese | 1–15 |
| 7 | Stefano Modena | 16 | ||||
| 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | All | ||||
| West Zakspeed Racing | Zakspeed | 861 871 | Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4 t | 9 | Martin Brundle | All |
| 10 | Christian Danner | All | ||||
| Camel Team Lotus Honda | Lotus-Honda | 99T | Honda RA166E 1.5 V6 t | 11 | Satoru Nakajima | All |
| 12 | Ayrton Senna | All | ||||
| El Charro | AGS-Ford | JH22 | Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 | 14 | Pascal Fabre | 1–14 |
| 14 | Roberto Moreno | 15–16 | ||||
| Leyton House March Racing Team | March-Ford | 87P 871 | Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 | 16 | Ivan Capelli | All |
| USF&G Arrows Megatron | Arrows-Megatron | A10 | Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4 t | 17 | Derek Warwick | All |
| 18 | Eddie Cheever | All | ||||
| Benetton Formula | Benetton-Ford | B187 | Ford TEC 1.5 V6 t | 19 | Teo Fabi | All |
| 20 | Thierry Boutsen | All | ||||
| Landis & Gyr Osella | Osella-Alfa Romeo | FA1I FA1G | Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 V8 t | 21 | Alex Caffi | All |
| 22 | Gabriele Tarquini | 2 | ||||
| 22 | Franco Forini | 11–13 | ||||
| Minardi Team | Minardi-Motori Moderni | M187 | Motori Moderni Tipo 615-90 1.5 V6 t | 23 | Adrián Campos | All |
| 24 | Alessandro Nannini | All | ||||
| Ligier Loto | Ligier-Megatron | JS29B JS29C | Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4 t | 25 | René Arnoux | 2–16 |
| 26 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | 2–16 | ||||
| Ferrari | Ferrari | F1/87 | Ferrari Tipo 033D 1.5 V6 t | 27 | Michele Alboreto | All |
| 28 | Gerhard Berger | All | ||||
| Larrousse & Calmels | Lola-Ford | LC87 | Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 | 29 | Yannick Dalmas | 14–16 |
| 30 | Philippe Alliot | 2–16 | ||||
| Enzo Coloni Racing Car System | Coloni-Ford | FC187 | Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 | 32 | Nicola Larini | 11, 13 |
1987 Formula 1 Race Calendar
1987 Formula 1 Race Results
Grands Prix
1987 Formula 1 Standings
Driver standings
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson Piquet | BRA | Williams Honda | 73 |
| 2 | Nigel Mansell | GBR | Williams Honda | 61 |
| 3 | Ayrton Senna | BRA | Lotus Honda | 57 |
| 4 | Alain Prost | FRA | McLaren TAG | 46 |
| 5 | Gerhard Berger | AUT | Ferrari | 36 |
| 6 | Stefan Johansson | SWE | McLaren TAG | 30 |
| 7 | Michele Alboreto | ITA | Ferrari | 17 |
| 8 | Thierry Boutsen | BEL | Benetton Ford | 16 |
| 9 | Teo Fabi | ITA | Benetton Ford | 12 |
| 10 | Eddie Cheever | USA | Arrows Megatron | 8 |
| 11 | Jonathan Palmer | GBR | Tyrrell Ford | 7 |
| 12 | Satoru Nakajima | JPN | Lotus Honda | 7 |
| 13 | Riccardo Patrese | ITA | Williams Honda | 6 |
| 14 | Andrea de Cesaris | ITA | Brabham BMW | 4 |
| 15 | Philippe Streiff | FRA | Tyrrell Ford | 4 |
| 16 | Derek Warwick | GBR | Arrows Megatron | 3 |
| 17 | Philippe Alliot | FRA | Lola Ford | 3 |
| 18 | Martin Brundle | GBR | Zakspeed | 2 |
| 19 | Rene Arnoux | FRA | Ligier Megatron | 1 |
| 20 | Ivan Capelli | ITA | March Ford | 1 |
| 21 | Roberto Moreno | BRA | AGS Ford | 1 |
Team standings
| Pos | Team | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams Honda | 137 |
| 2 | McLaren TAG | 76 |
| 3 | Lotus Honda | 64 |
| 4 | Ferrari | 53 |
| 5 | Benetton Ford | 28 |
| 6 | Tyrrell Ford | 11 |
| 7 | Arrows Megatron | 11 |
| 8 | Brabham BMW | 10 |
| 9 | Lola Ford | 3 |
| 10 | Zakspeed | 2 |
| 11 | March Ford | 1 |
| 12 | Ligier Megatron | 1 |
| 13 | AGS Ford | 1 |
