1987 Formula One World Championship
Nelson Piquet won the 1987 World Drivers' Championship for Williams with 73 points, 12 ahead of Nigel Mansell (Williams).
Piquet won 3 of the 16 races. Williams won the most races (9 of 16). Five different drivers won a race.
Final standings
| Pos | Driver | Wins | Podiums | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson PiquetWilliams | 3 | 11 | 73 |
| 2 | Nigel MansellWilliams | 6 | 7 | 61 |
| 3 | Ayrton SennaTeam Lotus | 2 | 8 | 57 |
| 4 | Alain ProstMcLaren | 3 | 7 | 46 |
| 5 | Gerhard BergerFerrari | 2 | 3 | 36 |
| 6 | Stefan JohanssonMcLaren | 0 | 5 | 30 |
| 7 | Michele AlboretoFerrari | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| 8 | Thierry BoutsenBenetton | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| 9 | Teo FabiBenetton | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 10 | Eddie CheeverArrows | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 11 | Jonathan PalmerTyrrell | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 12 | Satoru NakajimaTeam Lotus | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 13 | Riccardo PatreseBrabham / Williams | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 14 | Andrea de CesarisBrabham | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 15 | Philippe StreiffTyrrell | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 16 | Derek WarwickArrows | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 | Philippe AlliotLarrousse | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 18 | Martin BrundleZakspeed | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 19 | Ivan CapelliMarch | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | René ArnouxLigier | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 21 | Roberto MorenoAGS | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Only a driver's best results counted towards the title this season, so totals can be lower than the points scored.
Races
| Rd | Grand Prix | Date | Winner | Pole | Fastest lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazilian Grand Prix | 12 Apr 1987 | Alain ProstMcLaren | Nigel Mansell | Nelson Piquet |
| 2 | San Marino Grand Prix | 3 May 1987 | Nigel MansellWilliams | Ayrton Senna | Teo Fabi |
| 3 | Belgian Grand Prix | 17 May 1987 | Alain ProstMcLaren | Nigel Mansell | Alain Prost |
| 4 | Monaco Grand Prix | 31 May 1987 | Ayrton SennaTeam Lotus | Nigel Mansell | Ayrton Senna |
| 5 | Detroit Grand Prix | 21 Jun 1987 | Ayrton SennaTeam Lotus | Nigel Mansell | Ayrton Senna |
| 6 | French Grand Prix | 5 Jul 1987 | Nigel MansellWilliams | Nigel Mansell | Nelson Piquet |
| 7 | British Grand Prix | 12 Jul 1987 | Nigel MansellWilliams | Nelson Piquet | Nigel Mansell |
| 8 | German Grand Prix | 26 Jul 1987 | Nelson PiquetWilliams | Nigel Mansell | Nigel Mansell |
| 9 | Hungarian Grand Prix | 9 Aug 1987 | Nelson PiquetWilliams | Nigel Mansell | Nelson Piquet |
| 10 | Austrian Grand Prix | 16 Aug 1987 | Nigel MansellWilliams | Nelson Piquet | Nigel Mansell |
| 11 | Italian Grand Prix | 6 Sep 1987 | Nelson PiquetWilliams | Nelson Piquet | Ayrton Senna |
| 12 | Portuguese Grand Prix | 20 Sep 1987 | Alain ProstMcLaren | Gerhard Berger | Gerhard Berger |
| 13 | Spanish Grand Prix | 27 Sep 1987 | Nigel MansellWilliams | Nelson Piquet | Gerhard Berger |
| 14 | Mexican Grand Prix | 18 Oct 1987 | Nigel MansellWilliams | Nigel Mansell | Nelson Piquet |
| 15 | Japanese Grand Prix | 1 Nov 1987 | Gerhard BergerFerrari | Gerhard Berger | Alain Prost |
| 16 | Australian Grand Prix | 15 Nov 1987 | Gerhard BergerFerrari | Gerhard Berger | Gerhard Berger |
Race by race
Brazilian Grand Prix
- Alain Prost won for McLaren from P5, 40.547s ahead of Nelson Piquet.
- Alain Prost leads the championship by 3 points from Nelson Piquet with 15 rounds to go.
San Marino Grand Prix
- Nigel Mansell won for Williams from P2, 27.545s ahead of Ayrton Senna.
- Nigel Mansell took the championship lead from Alain Prost.
- Championship leader Alain Prost retired (electrical).
Belgian Grand Prix
- Alain Prost won for McLaren from P6, 24.764s ahead of Stefan Johansson.
- Alain Prost took the championship lead from Nigel Mansell.
- Championship leader Nigel Mansell retired (accident).
- A one-two finish for McLaren.
- Polesitter Nigel Mansell retired (accident).
- Alain Prost's 2nd win of 1987.
Monaco Grand Prix
- Ayrton Senna won for Team Lotus from P2, 33.212s ahead of Nelson Piquet.
- Championship leader Alain Prost retired (engine).
- Polesitter Nigel Mansell retired (turbo).
- Alain Prost leads the championship by 3 points from Ayrton Senna with 12 rounds to go.
Detroit Grand Prix
- Ayrton Senna won for Team Lotus from P2, 33.819s ahead of Nelson Piquet.
- Ayrton Senna took the championship lead from Alain Prost.
- Ayrton Senna's 2nd win of 1987.
French Grand Prix
- Nigel Mansell won for Williams from pole, 7.711s ahead of Nelson Piquet.
- A one-two finish for Williams.
- Nigel Mansell's 2nd win of 1987.
- Ayrton Senna leads the championship by 1 point from Alain Prost with 10 rounds to go.
British Grand Prix
- Nigel Mansell won for Williams from P2, 1.918s ahead of Nelson Piquet.
- Nigel Mansell's 10th career win.
- A home win for Nigel Mansell.
- A one-two finish for Williams.
- Nigel Mansell's 3rd win of 1987.
- Ayrton Senna leads the championship by 1 point from Nigel Mansell with 9 rounds to go.
German Grand Prix
- Nelson Piquet won for Williams from P4, 1:39.591 ahead of Stefan Johansson.
- Nelson Piquet took the championship lead from Ayrton Senna.
- Attrition: only 7 of 26 starters were classified.
- Polesitter Nigel Mansell retired (engine).
Hungarian Grand Prix
- Nelson Piquet won for Williams from P3, 37.727s ahead of Ayrton Senna.
- Polesitter Nigel Mansell retired (wheel).
- Nelson Piquet's 2nd win of 1987.
- Nelson Piquet leads the championship by 7 points from Ayrton Senna with 7 rounds to go.
Austrian Grand Prix
- Nigel Mansell won for Williams from P2, 55.704s ahead of Nelson Piquet.
- A one-two finish for Williams.
- Nigel Mansell's 4th win of 1987.
- Nelson Piquet leads the championship by 11 points from Ayrton Senna with 6 rounds to go.
Italian Grand Prix
- Nelson Piquet won for Williams from pole, 1.806s ahead of Ayrton Senna.
- Nelson Piquet's 3rd win of 1987.
- Nelson Piquet leads the championship by 14 points from Ayrton Senna with 5 rounds to go.
Portuguese Grand Prix
- Alain Prost won for McLaren from P3, 20.493s ahead of Gerhard Berger.
- Alain Prost's 3rd win of 1987.
- Nelson Piquet leads the championship by 18 points from Ayrton Senna with 4 rounds to go.
Spanish Grand Prix
- Nigel Mansell won for Williams from P2, 22.225s ahead of Alain Prost.
- Nigel Mansell's 5th win of 1987.
- Nelson Piquet leads the championship by 18 points from Nigel Mansell with 3 rounds to go.
Mexican Grand Prix
- Nigel Mansell won for Williams from pole, 26.176s ahead of Nelson Piquet.
- A one-two finish for Williams.
- Nigel Mansell's 6th win of 1987.
- Nelson Piquet leads the championship by 12 points from Nigel Mansell with 2 rounds to go.
Japanese Grand Prix
- Gerhard Berger won for Ferrari from pole, 17.384s ahead of Ayrton Senna.
- Championship leader Nelson Piquet retired (engine).
- Nelson Piquet leads the championship by 12 points from Nigel Mansell with 1 round to go.
Australian Grand Prix
- Gerhard Berger won for Ferrari from pole, 1:07.884 ahead of Michele Alboreto.
- Nelson Piquet finished as champion, 12 points ahead of Nigel Mansell.
- Championship leader Nelson Piquet retired (brakes).
- A hat-trick for Gerhard Berger: pole, victory and fastest lap.
- A one-two finish for Ferrari.
- Gerhard Berger's 2nd win of 1987.