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The 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the XVI Grande Prêmio do Brasil, was the opening round of the 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Jacarepaguá Circuit on the 12 April 1987.[1] The race would see Alain Prost open his title defence with victory for McLaren-TAG Porsche, amid controversy both off and on the circuit.[1]

Indeed, the opening round of the 1987 campaign had been severely threatened by a boycott by drivers, all due to the costs of renewing their Super Licenses.[1] Elsewhere, FISA implemented a release valve for the turbo charged cars, which was meant to open if the boost pressure exceeded 4.0 Bar, although several drivers reported that it was kicking it a far lower pressure.[1]

Yet, it would still be a turbocharged car that kicked off the season on pole position, with Nigel Mansell beating Williams-Honda teammate Nelson Piquet in a straight fight.[1] Ayrton Senna was next in the Honda engined Lotus, while Teo Fabi put his Benetton-Ford Cosworth into fourth ahead of Prost.[1]

The field would be reduced to just 22 starters on race morning, for an engine failure for the returning March team during the warm-up left them without an engine.[1] Fortunately the start itself would be conducted without issue, with Piquet sprinting ahead of Senna off the line, while Mansell dropped to third ahead of Prost.[1]

Piquet would dominate the opening stages of the race, only to have to stop to have paper cleared from his radiators, dumping him back to eleventh.[1] Mansell, meanwhile, would harass Senna for the lead, only to be brought into the pits himself after a sudden spike in engine temperatures.[1]

Piquet and Mansell spent the rest of the afternoon running nose-to-tail, picking their way through the field as Senna led Prost.[1] However, when Senna pitted with a handling issue (and later retired with an engine failure), Prost would be left with an unassailable lead, which he would only lose during his stop for fresh tyres.[1]

Indeed, Prost would go on to claim a comfortable victory ahead of Piquet, with the Brazilian overcoming Prost's teammate Stefan Johansson in the closing stages.[1] New Ferrari racer Gerhard Berger ended the day in fourth ahead of Thierry Boutsen, while Mansell ended the afternoon in sixth after a puncture cost him more time.[1]

The race was also the debut for the new Jim Clark and Colin Chapman Trophies, intended to reward drivers and teams running with under-powered, naturally aspirated, cars.[1] The winner of the "class" would be Jonathan Palmer in the Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth ahead of teammate Philippe Streiff, although they were only tenth and eleventh overall.[1]

Background[]

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 France Alain Prost United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/3 TAG Porsche TTE PO1 1.5 V6t G
2 Sweden Stefan Johansson United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/3 TAG Porsche TTE PO1 1.5 V6t G
3 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer United Kingdom Data General Team Tyrrell Tyrrell DG016 Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 G
4 France Philippe Streiff United Kingdom Data General Team Tyrrell Tyrrell DG016 Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 G
5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Canon Williams Honda Team Williams FW11B Honda RA167E 1.5 V6t G
6 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Canon Williams Honda Team Williams FW11B Honda RA167E 1.5 V6t G
7 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT56 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t G
8* Italy Andrea de Cesaris
Italy Mauro Baldi
United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Ltd. Brabham BT56 BMW M12/13 1.5 L4t G
9 United Kingdom Martin Brundle West Germany West Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed 861 Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4t G
10 West Germany Christian Danner West Germany West Zakspeed Racing Zakspeed 861 Zakspeed 1500/4 1.5 L4t G
11 Japan Satoru Nakajima United Kingdom Camel Team Lotus Honda Lotus 99T Honda RA166E 1.5 V6t G
12 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom Camel Team Lotus Honda Lotus 99T Honda RA166E 1.5 V6t G
14 France Pascal Fabre France Team El Charro AGS AGS JH22 Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 G
16 Italy Ivan Capelli United Kingdom Leyton House March Racing Team March 87P Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 G
17 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom USF&G Arrows Megatron Arrows A10 Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4t G
18 United States Eddie Cheever United Kingdom USF&G Arrows Megatron Arrows A10 Megatron M12/13 1.5 L4t G
19 Italy Teo Fabi United Kingdom Benetton Formula Ltd. Benetton B187 Ford Cosworth GBA 1.5 V6t G
20 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Benetton Formula Ltd. Benetton B187 Ford Cosworth GBA 1.5 V6t G
21 Italy Alex Caffi Italy Osella Squadra Corse Osella FA1F Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 L4t G
23 Spain Adrián Campos Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi M187 Motori Moderni 615-90 1.5 V6t G
24 Italy Alessandro Nannini Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi M187 Motori Moderni 615-90 1.5 V6t G
25 France René Arnoux France Equipe Ligier Ligier JS27 Alfa Romeo 890T 1.5 L4t G
27 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari F186 Ferrari 033D 1.5 V6t G
28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari F187 Ferrari 033D 1.5 V6t G
30 France Philippe Alliot France Larrousse & Camels F1 Lola LC87 Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8 G
Source:[2]
  • Entries with a white background denote eligibility for the Jim Clark Trophy and Colin Chapman Trophy.
  • * Baldi's entry was withdrawn after he was fired by Brabham.[3] de Cesaris was hence entered in his place.[3]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Friday Qualifying[]

Saturday Qualifying[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
Q1 Q2
1 5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Williams-Honda 1:27.901 1:26.128
2 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Williams-Honda 1:27.822 1:26.567 +0.439s
3 12 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom Lotus-Honda 1:29.002 1:28.408 +2.280s
4 19 Italy Teo Fabi United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 1:30.439 1:28.417 +2.289s
5 1 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 1:29.522 1:29.175 +3.047s
6 20 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 1:30.166 1:29.450 +3.322s
7 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Ferrari 1:31.444 1:30.357 +4.229s
8 17 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Arrows-Megatron 1:32.531 1:30.467 +4.339s
9 27 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Ferrari 1:31.218 1:30.468 +4.340s
10 2 Sweden Stefan Johansson United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 1:31.343 1:30.476 +4.348s
11 7 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 1:32.001 1:31.179 +5.051s
12 11 Japan Satoru Nakajima United Kingdom Lotus-Honda 1:34.445 1:32.276 +6.148s
13 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 1:32.402 1:34.115 +6.274s
14 18 United States Eddie Cheever United Kingdom Arrows-Megatron 1:33.084 1:32.769 +6.641s
15 24 Italy Alessandro Nannini Italy Minardi-Motori Moderni 1:33.980 1:33.729 +7.601s
16 23 Spain Adrián Campos Italy Minardi-Motori Moderni 1:33.825 +7.697s
17 10 West Germany Christian Danner West Germany Zakspeed 1:36.178 1:35.212 +9.084s
18 3 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:37.488 1:36.091 +9.963s
19 9 United Kingdom Martin Brundle West Germany Zakspeed 1:37.488 1:36.091 +9.963s
20 4 France Philippe Streiff United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:38.822 1:36.274 +10.146s
21 21 Italy Alex Caffi Italy Osella-Alfa Romeo 1:39.931 1:38.770 +12.642s
22 14 France Pascal Fabre France AGS-Ford Cosworth 1:44.126 1:39.816 +13.688s
23 16 Italy Ivan Capelli United Kingdom March-Ford Cosworth 1:43.580 2:02.966 +17.452s
WD* 8 Italy Mauro Baldi United Kingdom Brabham-BMW Withdrawn
WD 25 France René Arnoux France Ligier-Alfa Romeo Withdrawn
WD 30 France Philippe Alliot France Lola-Ford Cosworth Withdrawn
Source:[4][5][6]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
  • A white background indicates an entrant in the Jim Clark Trophy.
  • * Baldi's entry was withdrawn after the Italian was fired by Brabham.[3]
  • Arnoux's entry was withdrawn as Ligier had no engines available.[3]
  • Alliot's entry was withdrawn as Lola failed to arrive.[3]

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Nigel Mansell
Nelson Piquet ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Ayrton Senna
Teo Fabi ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Alain Prost
Thierry Boutsen ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Gerhard Berger
Derek Warwick ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Michele Alboreto
Stefan Johansson ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Riccardo Patrese
Satoru Nakajima ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Andrea de Cesaris
Eddie Cheever ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Alessandro Nannini
Adrián Campos ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Christian Danner
Jonathan Palmer ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Martin Brundle
Philippe Streiff ______________
Row 11 ______________ 21
22 Alex Caffi
Pascal Fabre ______________
Row 12 ______________ 23
24 Ivan Capelli*
______________
  • * Capelli was unable to start after an engine failure during morning warm-up.[3]

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 61 1:39:45.141 5 9
2 6 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Williams-Honda 61 +40.547s 2 6
3 2 Sweden Stefan Johansson United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 61 +56.758s 10 4
4 28 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Ferrari 61 +1:39.235 7 3
5 20 Belgium Thierry Boutsen United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 60 +1 Lap 6 2
6 5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Williams-Honda 60 +1 Lap 1 1
7 11 Japan Satoru Nakajima United Kingdom Lotus-Honda 59 +2 Laps 12
8* 27 Italy Michele Alboreto Italy Ferrari 58 Spin 9
9 10 West Germany Christian Danner West Germany Zakspeed 58 +3 Laps 17
10 (1) 3 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 58 +3 Laps 18
11 (2) 4 France Philippe Streiff United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 57 +4 Laps 20
12 (3) 14 France Pascal Fabre France AGS-Ford Cosworth 55 +6 Laps 22
Ret 18 United States Eddie Cheever United Kingdom Arrows-Megatron 52 Overheating 14
Ret 12 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom Lotus-Honda 50 Engine 3
Ret 7 Italy Riccardo Patrese United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 48 Battery 11
Ret 8 Italy Andrea de Cesaris United Kingdom Brabham-BMW 21 Differential 13
Ret 17 United Kingdom Derek Warwick United Kingdom Arrows-Megatron 20 Engine 8
Ret 21 Italy Alex Caffi Italy Osella-Alfa Romeo 20 Exhaustion 21
Ret 24 Italy Alessandro Nannini Italy Minardi-Motori Moderni 17 Suspension 15
Ret 9 United Kingdom Martin Brundle West Germany Zakspeed 15 Turbo 19
Ret 19 Italy Teo Fabi United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 9 Turbo 4
DSQ 23 Spain Adrián Campos Italy Minardi-Motori Moderni 3 Disqualified 16
DNS 16 Italy Ivan Capelli United Kingdom March-Ford Cosworth
WD 8 Italy Mauro Baldi United Kingdom Brabham-BMW
WD 25 France René Arnoux France Ligier-Alfa Romeo
WD 30 France Philippe Alliot France Lola-Ford Cosworth
Source:[3]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • A white background indicates an entrant in the Jim Clark Trophy with numbers in brackets indicating their finishing position in that class.
  • * Alboreto was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[3]
  • Campos was disqualified for an illegal start procedure.[3]
  • Capelli was unable to start after an engine failure during morning warm-up.[3]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Victory at the opening round ensured that Alain Prost opened his title defence in perfect fashion, ending the weekend with nine points to his name. Nelson Piquet was next ahead of Stefan Johansson, while Gerhard Berger, Thierry Boutsen and Nigel Mansell had also registered points at the opening round.

McLaren-TAG Porsche had early command of the Constructors' Championship, with Prost and Johansson scoring a combined total of thirteen points. Williams-Honda were next, having secured seven points, while Ferrari and Benetton-Ford Cosworth were the only other scorers.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 France Alain Prost 9
2 Brazil Nelson Piquet 6
3 Sweden Stefan Johansson 4
4 Austria Gerhard Berger 3
5 Belgium Thierry Boutsen 2
6 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell 1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom McLaren-TAG Porsche 9
2 United Kingdom Williams-Honda 7
3 Italy Ferrari 3
4 United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth 2

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

Jim Clark/Colin Chapman Trophy[]

Jonathan Palmer was the inaugural winner in the Jim Clark Trophy, earning him nine points and the lead in the cup. His Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth teammate Philippe Streiff was next, meaning their team led the Colin Chapman Trophy, while Pascal Fabre and AGS-Ford Cosworth were the only other scorers.

Jim Clark Trophy
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Jonathan Palmer 9
2 France Philippe Streiff 6
3 France Pascal Fabre 4
Colin Chapman Trophy
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 15
2 France AGS-Ford Cosworth 4

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 'Brazilian GP, 1987', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr437.html, (Accessed 01/04/2019)
  2. 'Brazil 1987: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1987/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 01/04/2019)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 'Brazil 1987: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1987/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 30/01/2019)
  4. '1987 Brazilian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1987/races/5/brazil/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 01/04/2019)
  5. '1987 Brazilian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1987/races/5/brazil/qualifying-2.html, (Accessed 01/04/2019)
  6. 'Brazil 1987: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1987/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 01/04/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 '1987 Brazilian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1987&gp=Brazilian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 01/04/2019)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 '1. Brazil 1987', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), http://www.statsf1.com/en/1987/bresil.aspx, (Accessed 01/04/2019)
V T E 1987 Formula One Season
Teams McLaren • Tyrrell • Williams • Brabham • Zakspeed • Lotus • AGS • March • Arrows • Benetton • Osella • Minardi • Ligier • Ferrari • Lola • Coloni
Engines Alfa Romeo • BMW • Ferrari • Ford • Honda • Megatron • Motori Moderni • TAG • Zakspeed
Drivers Prost • 2 Johansson • 3 Palmer • 4 Streiff • 5 Mansell • 5 Patrese • 6 Piquet • 7 Patrese • 7 Modena • 8 De Cesaris • 9 Brundle • 10 Danner • 11 Nakajima • 12 Senna • 14 Fabre • 14 Moreno • 16 Capelli • 17 Warwick • 18 Cheever • 19 Fabi • 20 Boutsen • 21 Caffi • 22 Tarquini • 22 Forini • 23 Campos • 24 Nannini • 25 Arnoux • 26 Ghinzani • 27 Alboreto • 28 Berger • 29 Dalmas • 30 Alliot • 32 Larini
Other Drivers Dumfries • Hoshino • Schlesser
Cars Williams FW11B • McLaren MP4/3 • Lotus 99T • Ferrari F1/87 • Benetton B187 • Tyrrell DG016 • Arrows A10 • Brabham BT56 • Lola LC87 • Zakspeed 861 • Zakspeed 871 • Ligier JS29 • AGS JH22 • March 87P • March 871 • Minardi M187 • Osella FA1I • Coloni FC187
Tyres Goodyear
Races Brazil • San Marino • Belgium • Monaco • Detroit • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Austria • Italy • Portugal • Spain • Mexico • Japan • Australia
See also 1986 Formula One Season • 1988 Formula One Season • Category
V T E Brazil Brazilian Grand Prix
Circuits Interlagos (1972–1977, 1979–1980, 1990–2019), Jacarepaguá (1978, 1981–1989)
Interlagos1990
Races (Brazilian GP) 197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020
Non-Championship Race 1972
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