1987 Austrian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Nelson Piquet leads the Drivers’ Championship by seven points over Senna after his second consecutive win in Hungary, with Mansell and Prost a further eleven points behind Senna.

Previous race

At the Hungaroring, Mansell led from pole until a wheel nut worked loose with six laps remaining, costing him a near-certain win and forcing him to retire. Piquet inherited the lead to win, with Senna second and Prost third. The result was a major blow to Mansell’s championship hopes.

Practice

Stefan Johansson struck a deer with his McLaren during Friday practice at close to 140 mph. The animal was crossing the track to escape the noise of the cars; it was killed instantly, and all four corners of the McLaren as well as the monocoque were destroyed. Johansson escaped with headaches and neck pain and was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Klagenfurt for x-rays. McLaren flew a replacement car overnight from their Woking factory.

Nelson Piquet’s Williams collided with Pascal Fabre’s AGS during practice, leaving Piquet’s car impacting the barrier.