1987 Australian Grand Prix
Going Into This Race
Pre-Race Report
Previous race
At Suzuka, Ferrari ended a 38-race winless run — their first victory since the 1985 German Grand Prix. Mansell was absent after his qualifying crash; Piquet was crowned World Champion before the race started. Senna took second on the final lap.
Between-race developments
Nigel Mansell is still recovering from his qualifying accident in Japan and will miss the race. Riccardo Patrese — who has already signed for Williams to partner Mansell in 1988 — has been given permission by Brabham owner Bernie Ecclestone to stand in for Mansell. Patrese’s place at Brabham is taken by Stefano Modena, the 1987 Formula 3000 champion, making his Formula One debut.
Entrants
This is Ayrton Senna’s final race with Team Lotus, ending a two-year partnership. It is also Nelson Piquet’s last race with Williams, as he moves to Lotus-Honda for 1988. Riccardo Patrese drives his final race for Brabham before joining Williams.
Practice
Despite being ill during qualifying, Gerhard Berger took pole position by 0.7 seconds.
Adapted by AI summarisation from “1987 Australian Grand Prix” on Wikipedia . This adapted text is licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0 . Modifications: summarised and spoiler-trimmed.
Last 5 Races
Full season →| # | Date | Grand Prix | Pole | P1 | P2 | P3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 6 Sept | 🇮🇹 Italian Grand Prix | Piquet | Piquet | Senna | Mansell |
| 12 | 20 Sept | 🇵🇹 Portuguese Grand Prix | Berger | Prost | Berger | Piquet |
| 13 | 27 Sept | 🇪🇸 Spanish Grand Prix | Piquet | Mansell | Prost | Johansson |
| 14 | 18 Oct | 🇲🇽 Mexican Grand Prix | Mansell | Mansell | Piquet | Patrese |
| 15 | 1 Nov | 🇯🇵 Japanese Grand Prix | Berger | Berger | Senna | Johansson |
Drivers' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Driver | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson Piquet | Williams | 73 | 3 |
| 2 | Nigel Mansell | Williams | 61 | 6 |
| 3 | Ayrton Senna | Team Lotus | 57 | 2 |
| 4 | Alain Prost | McLaren | 46 | 3 |
| 5 | Stefan Johansson | McLaren | 30 | 0 |
| 6 | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 27 | 1 |
| 7 | Teo Fabi | Benetton | 12 | 0 |
| 8 | Thierry Boutsen | Benetton | 12 | 0 |
| 9 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 11 | 0 |
| 10 | Eddie Cheever | Arrows | 8 | 0 |
Constructors' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams | 137 | 9 |
| 2 | McLaren | 76 | 3 |
| 3 | Team Lotus | 64 | 2 |
| 4 | Ferrari | 38 | 1 |
| 5 | Benetton | 24 | 0 |