1987 FIA Formula One World Championship Season Review

Overview

The season was basically between two drivers and a team- Mansell, Piquet and Williams Honda. Nelson Piquet won the championship through canny decisions, inheriting wins and profiting from Mansell's huge crash at Suzuka which secured the title for him. In truth Mansell should've won the championship but fell foul of ridicolous errors and bad luck. The season was the end of an era in some ways: Lotus's last grand prix win, Honda's last season at Williams and Porsche pulling out of the sport, the penultimate season of turbo engines which had alrady been reduced in power and the last race at the fantastic Osterreichring. Many circuits in the 21st century are uninspiring with long straights and slow corners. In 1987 they had Spa, Suzuka, Paul Ricard, Silverstone and Osterreichring. They also had excellent street circuits such as Monaco and Adelaide, challenging circuits like Estoril and Rio. Funny how lots of these are not in use any more in F1.