Nigel Mansell

Mansell at the 1991 United States Grand Prix

**Nigel Ernest James Mansell** (born 8 August 1953) is a British racing driver and a Formula One World Drivers' Champion. One of the most experienced Grand Prix drivers in history, Mansell began his Formula One career at Lotus in 1980 under Colin Chapman, but failed to adapt after his death in 1982. Two awkward years at Lotus followed, before an inspired switch to Williams in 1985 helped him to his first victories later that season. The devotion of the British public to Mansell was such that it was described as "Mansellmania", and Mansell's exploits against rivals Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, and former teammate Nelson Piquet made him one of Britain's most popular sports people.

After two lean years at Ferrari (where he only won two races), Mansell sensationally returned to Williams in 1990, and immediately began an intense rivalry with his teammate, fellow Briton Joey Davies. Mansell successfully forced Davies out of the Williams team for 1991, and the controversy surrounding the 1991 Australian Grand Prix, where Davies won the World Championship on the last corner, of the last lap, of the final race, is one of the sport's most infamous moments. Mansell finally won the World Drivers' Championship in 1992, and retired from Formula One at the end of the season, instead moving to the United States to participate in the Indy Car World Series for Newman/Haas Racing.

## Early life and career

Nigel Ernest James Mansell was born on 8 August 1953 in Baughton, Worcestershire, where his parents, Eric and Joyce Mansell, ran a tea shop. He grew up in Hall Green, Birmingham and attended Hall Green Secondary school.

Mansell's racing career began slowly, with him utilising his own money to assist him climb the ranks. To his father's chagrin, he switched to the Formula Ford series after achieving tremendous success in kart racing. Mansell won six of the nine races he competed in in 1976, including his debut at Mallory Park. Despite suffering a fractured neck during a qualifying session at Brands Hatch, he entered 42 races the next year and won 33 to become the 1977 British Formula Ford champion. Doctors informed him he was on the verge of quadriplegia, that he would be restricted for six months and would never be able to drive again. Mansell was released from the hospital and resumed racing. He had left from his job as an aerospace engineer three weeks before the crash, having sold most of his personal belongings to fund his entrance into Formula Ford. He came in fourth place and decided he was ready to move up to the higher formula.

Mansell competed in Formula Three from 1978 to 1980. Mansell's Formula Three debut began with a pole position and a second-place finish. However, due to a business agreement with Unipart, his team was forced to use Triumph Dolomite engines, which were substantially inferior to the Toyota engines used by the leading teams. He left the squad after three seventh-place results and a fourth-place finish in his penultimate race. The following season, he drove for David Price Racing. Following his maiden series victory at Silverstone in March, he finished ninth in the championship. His racing was consistent, but contact with Andrea de Cesaris led to a massive cartwheeling crash that he escaped with his life. He was admitted to the hospital once more, this time with broken vertebrae.

Colin Chapman, the owner of Lotus, noticed Mansell's driving, and shortly after his accident, while concealing the extent of his injury with painkillers, Mansell performed well enough during a tryout at Circuit Paul Ricard with Lotus, where he was pitted against a number of other drivers to determine who would take the second seat for the 1980 season alongside Mario Andretti, as Argentine Carlos Reutemann was leaving to go to Williams. The slot subsequently went to Italian driver Elio de Angelis, who was driving a 79, but Mansell was chosen to become a test driver for the Norfolk-based Formula One team.

## Formula One

### Lotus (1980–1984)

1980 and 1981
Mansell's skill as a test driver, including setting the fastest lap around Silverstone in a Lotus car at the time, impressed Chapman enough to give him a trio of starts in F1 in 1980, driving a development version of the Lotus 81 used by the team, the Lotus 81B. In his Formula One debut at the 1980 Austrian Grand Prix, a fuel leak in the cockpit that developed shortly before the start of the race left him with painful first and second degree burns on his buttocks. An engine failure forced him to retire from that race and his second, however an accident at his third event at Imola meant he failed to qualify. Team leader Mario Andretti wrote his car off in a start-line accident during the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal, so Mansell had to give up his car for Andretti to compete in for his home race, the final race of the season at Watkins Glen in the United States. Andretti announced he was leaving to move to Alfa Romeo at the end of the season leaving Lotus with a vacant race seat.

Despite Mansell being unpopular with sponsor David Thieme of Essex Petroleum, and much speculation in the press that Jean-Pierre Jarier would fill the vacancy, Chapman announced at the start of the season that the seat would be filled by Mansell.

Mansell's four years as a full-time Lotus driver were a struggle, as the cars were unreliable and he was continually out-performed by teammate Elio de Angelis. Out of 59 race starts with the team, he finished just 24 of them. He managed a best finish of third place, which he achieved five times during the four years, including Lotus's fifth race of the 1981 season, and only the seventh of Mansell's Formula One career. Teammate Elio de Angelis took a surprise win at the 1982 Austrian Grand Prix, and was frequently faster than his less-experienced colleague Mansell.

1982
During the 1982 season, Mansell planned to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans sportscar event in order to earn extra money. At the time Mansell was paid £50,000 a year and was offered £10,000 to take part in Le Mans. Chapman believed that by entering the Le Mans race, Mansell was exposing himself to unnecessary risk and paid him £10,000 not to take part in the race. Chapman extended Mansell's contract to the end of the 1984 season in a deal that made him a millionaire.

As a result of the gestures, such as described above, Mansell became very close to Chapman, who made him equal number one in the team with de Angelis, and was devastated by Chapman's sudden death in 1982. In his autobiography Mansell stated that when Chapman died, "The bottom dropped out of my world. Part of me died with him. I had lost a member of my family." Following Chapman's death, relationships at Lotus became strained, as replacement team principal Peter Warr did not have a high regard for him as a driver or person. Warr in his book titled *Team Lotus – My View From The Pit Wall* stated about the 1982 season:

> "After carefully analysing the season just finished, it was completely clear who was the number one. It was Elio. He was faster, he had out-qualified Nigel ten times to three. Elio had seven points scoring finishes to Nigel's two and in addition to Elio's win in Austria, had a tally of more than three times the number of points gained by Nigel. What is more, the margin by which Elio eclipsed his team-mate in qualifying overall was a huge 4.5 per cent. And all this in the year when, as near as can be reasonably achieved, the two drivers were given equal equipment and treatment."
>
>

1983
De Angelis was then promoted back to outright number one for the 1983 season. This was demonstrated by the fact that he had exclusive use of the quick but unreliable Renault turbo-charged 93T for the whole season, and Mansell did not get to drive a turbocharged car until the ninth round, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, a race where he climbed from 16th to second and eventually finished fourth in a brand-new, hastily designed 94T. Due to their tumultuous relationship and a lack of decent results, Warr was not keen on honouring the last year of the contract that Mansell had signed with Chapman. However, with encouragement from Lotus's sponsors, John Player (who allegedly preferred a British driver), and with the only other remaining top British driver (Derek Warwick, after John Watson's retirement) already confirmed to be joining the factory Renault team, it was announced Mansell would be staying with the team.

1984
In 1984, Mansell finished in the championship top 10 for the first time, and took his first career pole position but still finished behind teammate de Angelis, who finished third, in the championship. At the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix Mansell surprised many by overtaking Alain Prost in a wet race for the lead, but soon after retired from the race after losing control on the slippery painted lines on the road surface on the run up the hill on lap 15. Late in the season, Lotus announced the recruitment of Ayrton Senna for the following year, leaving Mansell with no race seat at Lotus. After receiving offers from Arrows and Williams, and first turning down Williams's offer, it was announced before the Dutch Grand Prix that he would indeed be joining Williams.

Mansell was remembered by many that year when he collapsed while pushing his car to the finish line after the transmission failed on the last lap of the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix. The race was one of the hottest on record, and after two hours of driving in 104 °F (40 °C) conditions Mansell fainted while pushing his car over the line to salvage a sixth-place finish (and thus one championship point) in a race of which he had led half, having started from pole.

In his autobiography, Mansell claimed that his final race with the Lotus team—the 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix—was heavily compromised by Warr's unwillingness to give Mansell the brake pads he desired for the race. With 18 laps of the race remaining, and with Mansell in second position, the brakes on his car failed. On Mansell's departure, Warr was infamously quoted as saying:

> "He'll never win a Grand Prix as long as I have a hole in my arse".
>
>

### Williams (1985–1987)

1985
In 1985 Frank Williams hired Mansell to drive alongside Keke Rosberg as part of the Williams team, Mansell later saying "We have the greatest respect for each other." Mansell was given the number 5 on his car, which initially was white like the 6 on Rosberg car, but was changed to red from the Canadian Grand Prix onwards, probably to help distinguish his car from Rosberg's due to their helmets being similar. That gave birth to the "Red 5", brought to the public's attention mainly through commentator Murray Walker, which Mansell kept carrying on subsequent Williams and Newman/Haas cars.

Rosberg, the 1982 World Champion who was heading into his fourth season with the team, was initially against Williams signing Mansell based on the clash the pair had at Dallas the previous year (Rosberg won that race and in an interview while on the podium publicly berated Mansell's blocking tactics while leading early in the race, which earned Rosberg a round of boos from the crowd who had appreciated Mansell's courage in trying to push his Lotus to the finish in the extreme heat). Other factors were what Rosberg later said in a 1986 interview was second-hand information about Mansell which ultimately proved to be false. The drivers found they got along well and from early in the pre-season formed a good working and personal relationship.

1985 initially appeared to provide more of the same for Mansell, although he was closer to the pace than before, especially as the Honda engines became more competitive by mid-season.

During practice for the 1985 French Grand Prix, Mansell unwillingly broke the record for the highest speed crash in Formula One history. At the end of the Circuit Paul Ricard's 1.8 km long Mistral Straight he went off at the fast Courbe de Signes at over 322 km/h (200 mph) in his Williams FW10. Mansell suffered a concussion, which kept him out of the race. Teammate Rosberg claimed the pole for the race and finished second behind the Brabham-BMW of Nelson Piquet.

Mansell achieved second place at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, and followed this with his first victory in 72 starts at the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch in England. He achieved a second straight victory at the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami. These triumphs helped turn Mansell into a Formula One star.

1986
Going into 1986, the Williams-Honda team had a car, the FW11 which was capable of winning regularly, and Mansell had a new confidence that led to establishing himself as a potential World Championship contender. He also had a new teammate in twice World Champion Nelson Piquet who had joined Williams looking to be a regular winner and contender again after the Brabham-BMWs had become increasingly unreliable and uncompetitive. The Brazilian publicly described Mansell as "an uneducated blockhead" and had also criticised Mansell's wife Roseanne's looks, later retracting these statements following threats of legal action.

Mansell won five Grand Prix in 1986 and also played a part in one of the closest finishes in Formula One history, finishing second to Ayrton Senna in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez by a mere 0.014 seconds (Mansell later jokingly said they should give himself and Senna 7½ points each). The 1986 season was led mostly by Mansell in championship points, and it went down to the wire in Adelaide, Australia for the Australian Grand Prix with Prost, Piquet and Mansell all still in contention for the title. The equation was simple, Prost and Piquet needed to win and have Mansell finish no higher than fourth. After aiming for a third-place finish which would guarantee him the title, Mansell would narrowly miss out on winning it after his left-rear tyre exploded in spectacular fashion on the main straight with only 19 laps of the race to go. Instead Mansell ended the season as runner-up to Alain Prost. His efforts in 1986 led to his being voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

1986 proved to be a tough year for both Mansell and the Williams team, off the track at least. After a pre-season test session at the Paul Ricard Circuit in the south of France, team owner Frank Williams was involved in a horrific road accident which left him a tetraplegic. Williams would not return to the scene until making a surprise appearance at the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch where Mansell and Piquet finished 1–2. Williams's absence from the day-to-day running of the team actually created tension between the team and engine supplier Honda. The Japanese giant regarded dual World Champion Nelson Piquet as the team's number one driver (they were reportedly paying the bulk of Piquet's multimillion-dollar retainer) and were reportedly unhappy that the team's co-owner and Technical Director Patrick Head did not rein in Mansell during races and allowed him to take both points and wins from Piquet. As it was, while Williams dominated the Constructors' Championship, the two drivers took enough points from each other to allow McLaren's Alain Prost to sneak through and win the Drivers' Championship.

Before the season had started Honda had reportedly attempted to persuade Frank Williams to replace Mansell with their own test driver Satoru Nakajima. Williams, who was always more interested in the Constructors' title than the Drivers' as it showed that his team was the best, refused to do this, rightly believing that having two proven F1 winners in Piquet and Mansell would better-serve the team than Nakajima would as an F1 rookie.

1987
This section is incomplete. If you'd like to help, please add the relevant information.

## Post Formula One career

### CART IndyCar World Series (1993)

The announcement that Mansell was heading to the United States to race in Indy Car increased the profile of the series significantly in the United Kingdom. Whilst races had aired live on satellite in the past, Mansell's profile was such that highlights of his races would air on Britain's biggest commercial network, ITV. This was a huge commercial boon for the sport in a country that was dominated by Formula One, and by the increasingly exciting British Touring Car Championship. Newman/Haas Racing also acquired the number 5 from Team Penske, who used the number with another former Formula One World Drivers' Champion, Emerson Fittipaldi, the previous season. As a result of the car's largely white livery, the iconic "Red 5" remained. Mansell's teammate was another Formula One World Drivers' Champion, Mario Andretti.

At the season opening event at Surfers Paradise, Mansell became the first CART "rookie" to take pole position and win his first race. At the second round in Phoenix two weeks later, Mansell suffered a mild concussion and severe bruising after hitting the turn one wall at 170 mph (274 km/h) during qualifying. His injuries were severe enough to force him to miss the race. In the aftermath of the controversial incident between Jean Alesi and Michael Bartels at the 1993 European Grand Prix, which saw Alesi banned for two races, Formula One ringleader Bernie Ecclestone insisted that Mansell's former rival Alain Prost ask him to make a substitute appearance to cover Alesi's ban, as the two races would not clash with Mansell's schedule. Despite significant discussions between the two sides, Mansell reaffirmed his commitment to the series, in particular his attempt at the 1993 Indy 500. Here Mansell would renew his rivalry with Joey Davies, after the latter secured a drive with Team Penske for the event.

## Personal life

Mansell married his wife, Roseanne, on 19 April 1975, after having met each other as college students. They have three children; a daughter, Chloe (b. 1982), and two sons, Leo (b. 1985), and Greg (b. 1987).

During the off-season, Mansell resides in Port Erin on the Isle of Man. Mansell is also a Special Constable in the Isle of Man Constabulary. A keen golfer, Mansell revealed a desire to compete in The Open Championship and briefly participated in the 1988 Australian Open. In the late 1980s he bought a sports car dealership in Pimperne in Dorset, naming it Nigel Mansell Sports Cars Ltd.

Mansell appeared without his trademark moustache in the first half of the 1988 season.

## Formula One Statistical Overview

### Formula One Record

*Numbers not in brackets are the championship points scored, while numbers in brackets refer to the total points scored.*

### Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in **bold** indicate pole position; races in *italics* indicate fastest lap)

Notes

* ‡ - Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
* † - Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

## Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Up until 1990, not all points scored by a driver contributed to their final World Championship tally (see list of points scoring systems for more information). Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.
2. ↑ Mansell, Nigel *My Autobiography* page 120 Collins Willow <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>ISBN 0-00-218497-4
3. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Mansell, Nigel (1996). *Nigel Mansell: My Autobiography*. Harper Collins. ISBN 0002187035.
4. ↑ United States GP, 1984. grandprix.com. Retrieved on 11 June 2011.
5. ↑ Mansell, Nigel *My Autobiography* page 141 Collins Willow <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>ISBN 0-00-218497-4
6. ↑ Roebuck, Nigel (17 August 2011). Mansell interview: A champion in waiting.
7. ↑ Red 5. Sock affairs.
8. ↑ Malcolm Folley: *Senna versus Prost* Century, 2009, <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>ISBN 978-1-84605-540-9, p. 221
9. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"F1 driver rivalries ranked: Where do Hamilton and Rosberg figure in the most intense battles in history?". *The Telegraph*. 23 November 2016. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
10. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Mansell's title hopes explode". *The Guardian*. October 1986. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
11. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Phillips, David (1993-04-04). "Motor Racing: Mansell recovers from horrifying crash: Britain's F1 champion misses oval-track debut after 170 mph IndyCar accident". *The Independent*. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
12. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Mansell, Nigel (2015). *Staying on Track: The Autobiography* (illustrated ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 16. ISBN 978-1471150227.
13. ↑ Designer - Consultant (en-GB).
14. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Young, Colin (17 July 1986). "Mansell has another driving ambition". *The Sydney Morning Herald*. p. 39.
15. ↑ Pye, Steven (16 December 2013). Heard the one about Nigel Mansell playing golf in the Australian Open?. The Guardian (Guardian Media Group).
16. ↑ https://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2008/12/pimperne/

**1951**: J. M. Fangio
**1952**: A. Ascari
**1953**: A. Ascari
**1954**: J. M. Fangio
**1955**: J. M. Fangio
**1956**: J. M. Fangio
**1957**: J. M. Fangio
**1958**: M. Hawthorn
**1959**: J. Brabham
**1961**: P. Hill
**1962**: G. Hill
**1963**: J. Clark
**1964**: J. Surtees
**1965**: J. Clark
**1966**: J. Brabham
**1967**: D. Hulme
**1968**: G. Hill
**1969**: J. Stewart
**1971**: J. Stewart
**1972**: E. Fittipaldi
**1973**: J. Stewart
**1974**: E. Fittipaldi
**1975**: N. Lauda
**1976**: J. Hunt
**1977**: N. Lauda
**1978**: M. Andretti
**1979**: J. Scheckter
**1981**: N. Piquet
**1982**: K. Rosberg
**1983**: N. Piquet
**1984**: N. Lauda
**1985**: A. Prost
**1986**: A. Prost
**1987**: A. Prost
**1988**: A. Senna
**1989**: A. Prost
**1991**: J. Davies
**1992**: **N. Mansell**