The March 871 was a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including ...

1987 Formula One season The 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 41st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1987 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1987 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were conteste ...

. The car was powered by a

Cosworth DFZ The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had f ...

V8 engine, and was driven by the 1986 International Formula 3000 champion, Italian

Ivan Capelli Ivan Franco Capelli (born 24 May 1963) is an Italian sports broadcasting, broadcaster and former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Milan, Capelli began competitive kart racing aged 15. He was widely succe ...

Background and competitive history

The team was sponsored by Japanese real estate company

Leyton House Leyton House Racing was a Formula One constructor that raced in the 1990 and 1991 seasons. It was, in essence, a rebranding of the March team which had returned to F1 in . Leyton House, a Japanese real estate company, had been the team's marq ...

. The 871 chassis was not ready for the first race in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, so the team used an F3000/F1 hybrid called the March 87P. The 871 was ready for the second race in

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

. The best result and the only points were achieved with a 6th place at the

1987 Monaco Grand Prix The 1987 Monaco Grand Prix (formally the 45e Grand Prix de Monaco) was a Formula One motor race held on 31 May 1987 at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo. It was the fourth race of the 1987 Formula One World Championship. The 78-lap race was wo ...

. However Capelli and the March 871 did finish 4th in the Colin Chapman Trophy for constructors of cars equipped with naturally aspirated engines.

Complete Formula One results

( key)

Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman founded Lotus in 1952 and initia ...
Trophy (for constructors of cars equipped with
naturally aspirated engine A naturally aspirated engine, also known as a normally aspirated engine, and abbreviated to N/A or NA, is an internal combustion engine in which air intake depends solely on atmospheric pressure and does not have forced induction through a turboc ...
s)

( key)

References

1987 Formula One season cars March Formula One cars {{F1-stub