1987 Formula 1 Racing Season
Mansell Closed on Piquet in the F1 World Championship Chase
Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet had been matched for pace throughout the 1987 Formula 1 season, but it was the Brazilian driver who held a considerable lead in the points standings by the time the World Championship reached Jerez. Mansell knew that, to have any chance of taking the title, he needed to start outscoring his team-mate.
Mansell Wins Spanish Grand Prix for Williams
It was a battled between the two Williams drivers for pole position, as it had been so many times during 1987. This time it was Piquet who emerged fastest, with Mansell right behind him.
Piquet led briefly but Mansell quickly found a way past. Piquet encountered further problems during the Grand Prix. A slow pit stop dropped him to fourth, and then a spin left him even further back. By the end of the race he had managed to recover to fourth place.
Lotus driver Ayrton Senna once again tried to go the distance on one set of tyres but the wear rate was high and, after running strongly for much of the race, he finished in fifth. Mansell recorded a much needed victory, with Alain Prost’s McLaren second and the similar car of Stefan Johansson third.
Mansell Closes on Piquet with Mexican Grand Prix Victory
In Mexico City Mansell started from pole, despite a sizeable accident in practice. The bumpy circuit also caught out Senna, who went off in the Lotus. All of Mansell’s good work in qualifying counted for nothing at the start, as he struggled to get the Williams off the line.
At the first corner Piquet and Prost collided, eliminating the latter while the Williams driver managed to continue. At the front Berger led in the Ferrari from Benetton’s Thierry Boutsen. The Belgian driver was forced out of the race with a persistent misfire, while Berger also retired after his engine failed. This left Mansell in the lead from Senna. The race was then stopped following a massive accident which befell Arrows driver Derek Warwick at the track’s fearsome banked Peraltada corner which ended the lap.
In the re-started race Piquet led and crossed the line first, but victory on aggregate went to second placed Mansell. Riccardo Patrese finished third for Arrows, while Senna failed to finish after spinning off.
Mansell’s two victories, in Spain and Mexico, meant that the battle for the Formula 1 World Championship was still very much alive. The next instalment of the fascinating saga would take place at the Suzuka circuit in Japan.
1987 Arrows A10 Formula 1 car
|
Latest Articles