Published evidence
1987 Detroit Grand Prix
A historical profile with source-linked evidence. Further research is in progress.
THE HISTORICAL RECORD
Profile & context
Event date: 21 Jun 1987
- Name
- 1987 Detroit Grand Prix
PROVENANCE
Sources behind this page
F1DB
v2026.17.0 · races/441
Original reference ↗Historical source & scope
F1DB v2026.17.0 · CC BY 4.0. Normalisation, links and calculations by MotorPedia. Original source observations retained.
Source-reported facts are not independent historical confirmation. Missing times and points remain unknown; source-rounded points retain their published precision. Constructor, entrant and team identities are kept distinct.
Recorded qualifying format: TWO_SESSION
Grand Prix context
1987 Detroit Grand Prix · Detroit Street Circuit
Technical formula: Formula 1. World Championship membership is separate from technical regulations.
1987 Formula 1 World Championship · round 5
Race classification
| Position | Driver | Constructor | Recorded details | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayrton Senna | Lotus | 1:50:16.358 · 63 laps · honda | 9 |
| 2 | Nelson Piquet | Williams | 1:50:50.177 · 63 laps · honda | 6 |
| 3 | Alain Prost | McLaren | 1:51:01.685 · 63 laps · tag | 4 |
| 4 | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1:51:18.959 · 63 laps · ferrari | 3 |
| 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams | Time not recorded · 62 laps · honda | 2 |
| 6 | Eddie Cheever | Arrows | Time not recorded · 60 laps · megatron | 1 |
| 7 | Stefan Johansson | McLaren | Time not recorded · 60 laps · tag | Unknown / not applicable |
| 8 | Christian Danner | Zakspeed | Time not recorded · 60 laps · zakspeed | Unknown / not applicable |
| 9 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham | Time not recorded · 60 laps · bmw | Unknown / not applicable |
| 10 | René Arnoux | Ligier | Time not recorded · 60 laps · megatron | Unknown / not applicable |
| 11 | Jonathan Palmer | Tyrrell | Time not recorded · 60 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| 12 | Pascal Fabre | AGS | Time not recorded · 58 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Thierry Boutsen | Benetton | Brakes · Time not recorded · 52 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| NC | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Ligier | Time not recorded · 51 laps · megatron | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Philippe Streiff | Tyrrell | Wheel · Time not recorded · 44 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Philippe Alliot | Lola | Accident · Time not recorded · 38 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | Gearbox · Time not recorded · 25 laps · ferrari | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Alessandro Nannini | Minardi | Gearbox · Time not recorded · 22 laps · motori-moderni | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Martin Brundle | Zakspeed | Turbo · Time not recorded · 16 laps · zakspeed | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Derek Warwick | Arrows | Accident · Time not recorded · 12 laps · megatron | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Ivan Capelli | March | Electrical · Time not recorded · 9 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Teo Fabi | Benetton | Accident · Time not recorded · 6 laps · ford | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Alex Caffi | Osella | Transmission · Time not recorded · 3 laps · alfa-romeo | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Andrea de Cesaris | Brabham | Gearbox · Time not recorded · 2 laps · bmw | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Adrián Campos | Minardi | Accident · Time not recorded · 1 laps · motori-moderni | Unknown / not applicable |
| DNF | Satoru Nakajima | Lotus | Collision · Time not recorded · 0 laps · honda | Unknown / not applicable |
Qualifying
| Position | Driver | Constructor | Recorded details | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigel Mansell | Williams | 1:39.264 · honda | |
| 2 | Ayrton Senna | Lotus | 1:40.607 · honda | |
| 3 | Nelson Piquet | Williams | 1:40.942 · honda | |
| 4 | Thierry Boutsen | Benetton | 1:42.050 · ford | |
| 5 | Alain Prost | McLaren | 1:42.357 · tag | |
| 6 | Eddie Cheever | Arrows | 1:42.361 · megatron | |
| 7 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:42.684 · ferrari | |
| 8 | Teo Fabi | Benetton | 1:42.918 · ford | |
| 9 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham | 1:43.479 · bmw | |
| 10 | Derek Warwick | Arrows | 1:43.541 · megatron | |
| 11 | Stefan Johansson | McLaren | 1:43.797 · tag | |
| 12 | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1:43.816 · ferrari | |
| 13 | Jonathan Palmer | Tyrrell | 1:44.350 · ford | |
| 14 | Philippe Streiff | Tyrrell | 1:45.037 · ford | |
| 15 | Martin Brundle | Zakspeed | 1:45.291 · zakspeed | |
| 16 | Christian Danner | Zakspeed | 1:45.740 · zakspeed | |
| 17 | Andrea de Cesaris | Brabham | 1:46.046 · bmw | |
| 18 | Alessandro Nannini | Minardi | 1:46.083 · motori-moderni | |
| 19 | Alex Caffi | Osella | 1:46.124 · alfa-romeo | |
| 20 | Philippe Alliot | Lola | 1:46.194 · ford | |
| 21 | René Arnoux | Ligier | 1:46.211 · megatron | |
| 22 | Ivan Capelli | March | 1:46.269 · ford | |
| 23 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Ligier | 1:47.471 · megatron | |
| 24 | Satoru Nakajima | Lotus | 1:48.801 · honda | |
| 25 | Adrián Campos | Minardi | 1:50.495 · motori-moderni | |
| 26 | Pascal Fabre | AGS | 1:53.644 · ford |
Starting grid
| Position | Driver | Constructor | Recorded details | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigel Mansell | Williams | 1:39.264 · honda | |
| 2 | Ayrton Senna | Lotus | 1:40.607 · honda | |
| 3 | Nelson Piquet | Williams | 1:40.942 · honda | |
| 4 | Thierry Boutsen | Benetton | 1:42.050 · ford | |
| 5 | Alain Prost | McLaren | 1:42.357 · tag | |
| 6 | Eddie Cheever | Arrows | 1:42.361 · megatron | |
| 7 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:42.684 · ferrari | |
| 8 | Teo Fabi | Benetton | 1:42.918 · ford | |
| 9 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham | 1:43.479 · bmw | |
| 10 | Derek Warwick | Arrows | 1:43.541 · megatron | |
| 11 | Stefan Johansson | McLaren | 1:43.797 · tag | |
| 12 | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1:43.816 · ferrari | |
| 13 | Jonathan Palmer | Tyrrell | 1:44.350 · ford | |
| 14 | Philippe Streiff | Tyrrell | 1:45.037 · ford | |
| 15 | Martin Brundle | Zakspeed | 1:45.291 · zakspeed | |
| 16 | Christian Danner | Zakspeed | 1:45.740 · zakspeed | |
| 17 | Andrea de Cesaris | Brabham | 1:46.046 · bmw | |
| 18 | Alessandro Nannini | Minardi | 1:46.083 · motori-moderni | |
| 19 | Alex Caffi | Osella | 1:46.124 · alfa-romeo | |
| 20 | Philippe Alliot | Lola | 1:46.194 · ford | |
| 21 | René Arnoux | Ligier | 1:46.211 · megatron | |
| 22 | Ivan Capelli | March | 1:46.269 · ford | |
| 23 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Ligier | 1:47.471 · megatron | |
| 24 | Satoru Nakajima | Lotus | 1:48.801 · honda | |
| 25 | Adrián Campos | Minardi | 1:50.495 · motori-moderni | |
| 26 | Pascal Fabre | AGS | 1:53.644 · ford |
Championship progression
| Position | Driver | Constructor | Recorded details | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayrton Senna | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 24 |
| 2 | Alain Prost | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 22 |
| 3 | Nelson Piquet | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 18 |
| 4 | Stefan Johansson | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 13 |
| 5 | Nigel Mansell | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 12 |
| 6 | Gerhard Berger | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 9 |
| 7 | Michele Alboreto | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 8 |
| 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 4 |
| 9 | Eddie Cheever | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 4 |
| 10 | Satoru Nakajima | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 3 |
| 11 | Thierry Boutsen | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 2 |
| 11 | Martin Brundle | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 2 |
| 11 | Jonathan Palmer | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 2 |
| 14 | René Arnoux | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 1 |
| 14 | Ivan Capelli | Not applicable / not recorded | Time not recorded | 1 |
Practice & warm-up observations
Original F1DB session observations; bounded to 120 rows. Missing times remain unknown. Not qualifying or race classifications.
| Session | Driver | Position | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| warmingUpResults | Nigel Mansell | 1 | 2:08.593 |
| warmingUpResults | Derek Warwick | 2 | 2:10.231 |
| warmingUpResults | Nelson Piquet | 3 | 2:10.638 |
| warmingUpResults | Jonathan Palmer | 4 | 2:10.875 |
| warmingUpResults | Alain Prost | 5 | 2:11.004 |
| warmingUpResults | Gerhard Berger | 6 | 2:11.344 |
| warmingUpResults | Alessandro Nannini | 7 | 2:11.514 |
| warmingUpResults | Philippe Alliot | 8 | 2:11.606 |
| warmingUpResults | Satoru Nakajima | 9 | 2:12.402 |
| warmingUpResults | Martin Brundle | 10 | 2:12.441 |
| warmingUpResults | Thierry Boutsen | 11 | 2:12.476 |
| warmingUpResults | Ayrton Senna | 12 | 2:12.754 |
| warmingUpResults | Michele Alboreto | 13 | 2:13.334 |
| warmingUpResults | Eddie Cheever | 14 | 2:13.647 |
| warmingUpResults | Piercarlo Ghinzani | 15 | 2:13.648 |
| warmingUpResults | Ivan Capelli | 16 | 2:13.914 |
| warmingUpResults | Philippe Streiff | 17 | 2:14.048 |
| warmingUpResults | Stefan Johansson | 18 | 2:14.108 |
| warmingUpResults | René Arnoux | 19 | 2:14.375 |
| warmingUpResults | Andrea de Cesaris | 20 | 2:15.931 |
| warmingUpResults | Teo Fabi | 21 | 2:17.446 |
| warmingUpResults | Riccardo Patrese | 22 | 2:17.850 |
| warmingUpResults | Adrián Campos | 23 | 2:19.299 |
| warmingUpResults | Christian Danner | 24 | 2:23.912 |
| warmingUpResults | Pascal Fabre | 25 | 2:26.634 |