Formula 1 historical archive

Gerhard Berger won the 1987 Japanese Grand Prix

Gerhard Berger won the 1987 Japanese Grand Prix for Ferrari, ahead of Ayrton Senna and Stefan Johansson at Suzuka Circuit.

Browse the full classification, related season, driver, team, circuit, and championship history.

Race recap

Winner
Gerhard Berger
Team
Ferrari
Top listed
Gerhard Berger, Ayrton Senna, and Stefan Johansson
Race date
November 1, 1987
Pole
Gerhard Berger
Fastest lap
Alain Prost
Classified drivers
27
Circuit
Suzuka Circuit

The decisive result

Gerhard Berger finished first for Ferrari. Ayrton Senna is listed 2 for Team Lotus, with Stefan Johansson 3 for McLaren.

Grid to finish

Philippe Streiff from P25 to P12 (+13), Jonathan Palmer from P19 to P8 (+11), and Piercarlo Ghinzani from P24 to P13 (+11) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Gerhard Berger started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 7 Engine, 6 Finished, 4 +1 lap, 2 +2 laps, and 2 Accident. Alain Prost holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:43.844 on lap 35. It records the result without speculating about incidents or strategy.

This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Jul 26, 2026.

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Race classification
PosDriverConstructorTime / statusPoints
1Gerhard BergerFerrari1:32:58.0729
2Ayrton SennaTeam Lotus1:33:15.4566
3Stefan JohanssonMcLaren1:33:15.7664
4Michele AlboretoFerrari1:34:18.5133
5Thierry BoutsenBenetton1:34:23.6482
6Satoru NakajimaTeam Lotus1:34:34.5511
7Alain ProstMcLaren+1 lap0
8Jonathan PalmerTyrrell+1 lap0
9Eddie CheeverArrows+1 lap0
10Derek WarwickArrows+1 lap0
11Riccardo PatreseBrabham+2 laps0
12Philippe StreiffTyrrell+2 laps0
13Piercarlo GhinzaniLigier+3 laps0
14Yannick DalmasLola+4 laps0
15Nelson PiquetWilliamsEngine0
DNFRené ArnouxLigierOut of fuel0
DNFAlex CaffiOsellaOut of fuel0
DNFRoberto MorenoAGSElectrical0
DNFAlessandro NanniniMinardiEngine0
DNFMartin BrundleZakspeedEngine0