The 1987 Formula 1 season was the 38th running of the FIA Formula One World Championship. It featured 16 races and was contested between April and November 1987. Nelson Piquet (Williams-Honda) won his third and final World Drivers' Championship, while his teammate Nigel Mansell finished second. The season was notable for the fierce intra-team rivalry at Williams, Ayrton Senna's continued rise at Lotus-Honda, and the beginning of the phase-out of turbocharged engines as normally aspirated cars were reintroduced.
The 1987 season began at the Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio de Janeiro. Alain Prost (McLaren-TAG) won the race, with Nelson Piquet (Williams-Honda) finishing second and Stefan Johansson (McLaren) third. Nigel Mansell retired with a turbo failure.
Nigel Mansell won the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, leading a Williams 1-2 with teammate Nelson Piquet finishing second. Ayrton Senna (Lotus-Honda) took third. The result signaled Williams-Honda's superiority for the season.
Ayrton Senna claimed his first Monaco Grand Prix victory, a race he would go on to win a record six times. Senna led home a Lotus 1-2 with teammate Satoru Nakajima, though Nakajima was several laps behind. Mansell and Piquet both retired.
Nigel Mansell won his home Grand Prix at Silverstone after a dramatic comeback. Starting from 5th on the grid, he charged through the field, passed teammate Piquet for the lead, and won by nearly 20 seconds. The victory cemented Mansell as a fan favorite and title contender.
Nelson Piquet won the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring, with Nigel Mansell finishing second in another Williams 1-2. Ayrton Senna took third for Lotus. The result extended Williams-Honda's dominance in the constructors' championship.
Ayrton Senna won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, capitalizing on Williams' misfortune as both Piquet and Mansell retired. Nelson Piquet's engine failure and Mansell's crash meant Senna closed the gap in the championship fight. Alain Prost finished second.
At the Japanese Grand Prix, Nigel Mansell's championship hopes ended when he crashed his Williams during practice, sustaining a back injury that ruled him out of the final two races. This effectively handed the title to teammate Nelson Piquet. Gerhard Berger (Ferrari) won the race, with Piquet securing the championship.
Gerhard Berger won the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, his second consecutive victory for Ferrari. The race was the final round of the 1987 season. Nelson Piquet had already clinched his third World Championship title at the previous round in Japan. The season marked the final year of unrestricted turbocharged engines in Formula 1.
