Nigel Mansell

Nigel Mansell Mansell at the 1991 United States Grand Prix Born 8 August 1953 (1953-08-08) (age 58) Upton-upon-Severn, United Kingdom Formula One World Championship career Nationality British Active years 1980–1992, 1994–1995 Teams Lotus, Williams, Ferrari, McLaren Races 191 (187 starts) Championships 1 (1992) Wins 31 Podiums 59 Career points 480 (482)[1] Pole positions 32 Fastest laps 30 First race 1980 Austrian Grand Prix First win 1985 European Grand Prix Last win 1994 Australian Grand Prix Last race 1995 Spanish Grand Prix 24 Hours of Le Mans career Participating years 2010 Teams Beechdean Mansell Best finish DNF

Nigel Mansell Debut season CART, 1993 Former teams Newman/Haas Racing Starts 31 Wins 5 Poles 11 Best finish 1st in 1993 Previous series 1982–1992; 1994 Formula One Championship titles 1993 CART IndyCar World Series champion, CART Rookie of the Year Awards 1993 Royal Automobile Club Gold Medal, ESPY for Best Driver

Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE (born 8 August 1953 in Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, England) is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship (1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series (1993). Mansell was the reigning F1 champion when he moved over to CART, being the first person to win the CART title in his debut season, making him the only person to hold both titles simultaneously.

His career in Formula One spanned 15 seasons, with his final two full seasons of top-level racing being spent in the CART series. Mansell remains the most successful British Formula One driver of all time in terms of race wins with 31 victories, and is fourth overall on the Formula One race winners list behind Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost, and Ayrton Senna. He holds the record for the most number of poles set in a single season, which was equalled in 2011 by Sebastian Vettel. He was rated in the top 10 Formula One drivers of all time by longtime Formula One commentator Murray Walker.^[2] In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 24th on their top drivers of all-time.^[3] He was also ranked #9 of the 50 greatest F1 drivers of all time by the Times Online on a list that also included such drivers as Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark.^[4]

Mansell raced in the GP Masters series and signed a one-off race deal for the Scuderia Ecosse GT race team to drive their number 63 Ferrari F430 GT2 car at Silverstone on 6 May 2007. He has since competed in additional sports car races with his sons, Leo and Greg, including the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans.

To date, he is the most recent inductee to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame from a country other than the US, having been inducted in 2005.

He is the current President of one of the UK's largest Youth Work Charities, UK Youth.^[5]

Career

Born in Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, Mansell spent 11 years of his early life as a Special Constable for the Isle of Man and latterly for Devon and Cornwall Constabulary.^[6] He had a fairly slow start to his racing career, using his own money to help work his way up the ranks. After considerable success in kart racing, he moved to the Formula Ford series to the disapproval of his father. In 1976, Mansell won 6 of the 9 races he took part in, including his debut event at Mallory Park. He entered 42 races the following year and won 33 to become the 1977 British Formula Ford champion, despite suffering a broken neck in a qualifying session at Brands Hatch. Doctors told him he had been perilously close to quadriplegia, that he would be confined for six months and would never drive again. Mansell discharged himself from the hospital and returned to racing. Three weeks before the accident he had resigned his job as an aerospace engineer, having previously sold most of his personal belongings to finance his foray into Formula Ford.^[7] Later that year he was given the chance to race a Lola T570 Formula 3 car at Silverstone. He finished fourth and decided that he was ready to move into the higher formula.^[8]

Mansell raced in Formula Three in 1978–1979. Mansell's first season in Formula Three started with a pole position and a 2nd place finish. However, the car was not competitive, as a commercial deal with Unipart required his team to use Triumph Dolomite engines that were vastly inferior to the Toyota engines used by the leading teams. After three 7th place finishes and a fourth in his last race, he parted from the team. The next season saw him take a paid drive with Dave Price Racing. Following a first win in the series at Silverstone in March, he went on to finish 8th in the championship.^[8] His racing was consistent, but a collision with Andrea de Cesaris resulted in a huge cartwheeling crash which he was lucky to survive. Again he was hospitalised, this time with broken vertebrae. His driving was noticed by Colin Chapman, owner of Lotus, and shortly after his accident, hiding the extent of his injury with painkillers, Mansell performed well enough in a tryout with Lotus to become a test driver for the Formula One team.

Formula One

1980–1984: Lotus

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 before the final race of the season and Mansell had to give up his car for Andretti to compete in. 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 one of the team's shareholders, David Thieme, and much speculation in the press that Jean-Pierre Jarier would fill the vacancy, Chapman announced at the start of the season 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. 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. Team mate Elio de Angelis took a surprise win at the 1982 Austrian Grand Prix, and was frequently faster than his less experienced colleague Mansell.

Mansell's Lotus 91 from 1982 being exhibited in March 2007.

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 to not 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.^[9]

As a result of the gestures such as the above, Mansell became very close to Chapman and was devastated by his 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. Warr was not keen on honoring the last year of the contract that Mansell had signed with Chapman. However, with encouragement from Lotus's sponsors, John Player Special, it was announced Mansell would be staying with the team.

Mansell set his first pole position in a Lotus 95T at the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix.

In 1984, Mansell finished in the championship top 10 for the first time, and took his first career pole position. 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 getting off line and losing control on the slippery painted lines on the road surface. Mid-way through 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 firstly turning down Williams's offer, Mansell eventually signed for them.

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 2 hours of driving in 104°F (about 40°C) conditions Mansell fainted while pushing his car over the line to salvage a sixth place finish (and thus 1 championship point) in a race of which he had led half, having started from pole.^[10]

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 quoted "He'll never win a Grand Prix as long as I have a hole in my arse".^[11]

1985–1988: Williams

Mansell at the 1985 German Grand Prix.

In 1985 Frank Williams hired Mansell to drive alongside Keke Rosberg as part of the Williams team, Mansell later saying "Keke was probably one of the best team-mates I've had in my career".^{[citation needed]} Mansell was given the now famous "Red 5" number on his car, which he carried on subsequent Williams and Newman/Haas cars and which was brought to the public's attention mainly through commentator Murray Walker and his enthusiastic commentary for the BBC.

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.

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.

Going into 1986, the Williams-Honda team had a car capable of winning regularly, and Mansell had established himself as a potential World Championship contender. He also had a new team-mate in Nelson Piquet. The Brazilian publicly described Mansell as "an uneducated blockhead" and had also criticised his wife, Roseanne.^{[citation needed]} Unperturbed by Piquet's mind games, Mansell went on to record five Grand Prix wins in 1986 and also played 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. The 1986 season went right down-to-the-wire in Adelaide, Australia for the Australian Grand Prix with Prost, Piquet and Mansell all still in contention for the title. 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. 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.

Six more wins followed in 1987, including an emotional and hugely popular victory at Silverstone in which he came back from 28 seconds behind in 30 laps to beat team-mate Piquet, with his car running out of fuel on the slowing down lap. However, at the Italian Grand Prix he missed a gear and let Piquet, who was using an active suspension car, through to win. A heavy qualifying accident at Suzuka in Japan for the penultimate race of the season severely injured Mansell's back (a spinal concussion), and as a result of Mansell absent from the remaining two races, Piquet became champion for the third time even though he failed to score any points in these two remaining races.

Mansell driving for Williams at the 1988 Canadian Grand Prix.

In 1988, Williams lost the turbo power of Honda to McLaren, and had to settle with a naturally aspirated Judd engine. A dismal season followed, which saw Mansell's Williams team experiment with a terribly unreliable (but extremely innovative) active suspension system. Mansell would complete only two of the fourteen races in which he appeared in 1988, both being podium finishes. Ironically, one of these was a second place at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone where the team had reverted to a passive suspension set-up.

Mansell developed chickenpox in the summer of 1988 and after a competitive (but ill-advised) drive in the very hot conditions of the 1988 Hungarian Grand Prix the illness became even worse, forcing him to miss the next two Grands Prix.

1989–1990: Ferrari

In preparation for the 1989 season, Mansell became the last Ferrari driver to be personally selected by Enzo Ferrari before his death in August 1988, an honour Mansell described as "one of the greatest in my entire career". Enzo Ferrari presented a 1989 Ferrari F40 as a gift to Mansell.^[12] In Italy he became known as "il leone" ("the lion") by the tifosi (Ferrari fans) because of his fearless driving style. The season was one of change in the sport, with the banning of turbo engines by the FIA and the introduction of the electronic gearbox by Ferrari.

Mansell believed that 1989 would be a development year and that he would be able to challenge for the championship the following season. In his first appearance with the team he scored a very unlikely win in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro; his least favourite track and the home race of his bitter rival Piquet. He later joked^{[citation needed]} that he had booked an early flight home for halfway through the race as he predicted the car's new electronic gearbox would last only a few laps. Mansell became the first driver to win a race in a car with a semi-automatic gearbox. He also remained the last man to win on his Ferrari debut until Kimi Räikkönen in the 2007 Australian Grand Prix.

Mansell in Ferrari overalls at the 1990 United States Grand Prix.

The rest of 1989 was characterised by gearbox and various other problems, including a disqualification at the Canadian Grand Prix and a black-flagged incident at the Portuguese Grand Prix for reversing in the pit-lane, which resulted in a ban for the next race in Spain. However, Mansell finished fourth in the Championship with the help of a memorable second win for Ferrari at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where, after concentrating on the race set-up of his car, he won after a fantastic late-race pass on Ayrton Senna having started 12th on the grid.

A tough 1990 followed with Ferrari, in which his car suffered more reliability problems, forcing him to retire from seven races. He was paired with Alain Prost, the reigning World Champion, who took over as the team's lead driver. Mansell recalls one incident where at the 1990 British Grand Prix, the car he drove didn't handle the same as in the previous race where he had taken pole position. On confronting the mechanics, it transpired that Prost saw Mansell as having a superior car and as a result, they were swapped without telling Mansell.^[13] After retiring from the race, he announced he was retiring from the sport altogether at the end of the season. Mansell scored only a single win, at the 1990 Portuguese Grand Prix and finished 5th in the world championship. His retirement plans were halted when Frank Williams again stepped in. Williams signed Mansell on 1 October 1990 after Mansell was ensured the contract stated that he would be the focus of the team, having experienced being the 'Number Two' driver at Ferrari. Mansell would be paid £4.6 million a season, a deal which made him the highest paid British sportsman at the time.^[14]

1991–1992: Return to Williams

Mansell scored his first finish of 1991 with second place at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Mansell gives Ayrton Senna a lift back to the paddock on the Victory Lap of the 1991 British Grand Prix, at Silverstone. Mansell had won the race, while Senna had run out of fuel.

Mansell's return to Williams wasn't straightforward. He would agree to return only if a list of demands were met, including undisputed number one status, guarantees of support in a wide variety of areas with each guarantee in writing, and assurances from suppliers such as Renault and Elf that they would do everything necessary to help him win. Frank Williams said the demands were 'impossible', Mansell concluded that if that were the case he would be happy to retire.^{[citation needed]} Three weeks later the impossible had happened and Mansell was a Williams driver.

His second stint with Williams was even better than the first. Back in the familiar 'Red 5', he won five races in 1991, most memorably in the Spanish Grand Prix. In this race he went wheel to wheel with Ayrton Senna, with only centimetres to spare, at over 320 km/h (199 mph) on the main straight. Quite a different spectacle was offered following Mansell's victory in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Senna's car had stopped on the final lap, but, rather than leave his rival stranded out on the circuit, Mansell pulled over on his victory lap and allowed Senna to ride on the Williams sidepod back to the pits.

The Williams team's decision to develop their new semi-automatic gearbox by racing with it at the start of the season, was at the cost of points in the opening rounds of the championship. Senna was on 40 points by the time Mansell gained his first 6 in Monaco. Despite a good mid season, which included a hat-trick of victories, Senna's consistency (and Mansell's retirements at key races) meant that he finished second in the Championship once again, this time behind Senna.

1992 would be Mansell's finest season. He started the year with five straight victories (a record not equalled until Michael Schumacher in 2004). At the sixth round of the season in Monaco, he took pole and dominated much of the race. However, with seven laps remaining, Mansell suffered a loose wheel nut and was forced into the pits, emerging behind Ayrton Senna's McLaren-Honda. Mansell, on fresh tyres, set a lap record almost two seconds quicker than Senna's and closed from 5.2 to 1.9 seconds in only two laps. The pair duelled around Monaco for the final four laps but Mansell could find no way past, finishing just 0.2 seconds behind the Brazilian.^[15][16] Mansell became the most successful British driver of all time when he won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, as he surpassed Jackie Stewart's record of 27 wins with his 28th. Mansell was crowned Formula One World Champion early in the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the eleventh round of that season, where his second place finish clinched the Drivers' Championship, securing the title in the least number of Grands Prix since the 16-race season format started. Mansell also set the then-record for the most number of wins in one season (9); both records stood until broken by Schumacher in 2002. He managed a record-breaking 14 pole positions that year, a record only equalled by Sebastian Vettel in 2011.

Other Formula One records set in 1992 that he still holds are the highest percentage of pole positions in a season (88%), most wins from pole position in a season (9) most races before becoming World Champion (180 races) and most runner-up championship finishes before becoming World Champion (3).

He won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award again in 1992, one of only three people to have won the award twice.

CART IndyCar World Series

Nigel Mansell driving in the 1993 CART IndyCar World Series

Despite being world champion, Mansell had a public disagreement with Williams. In his autobiography Mansell writes that this was because of a deal made at the previous Hungarian Grand Prix, which Williams reneged on, and the prospect of Frenchman Alain Prost joining the Renault-powered team.

Williams had neglected to tell Mansell that Prost had signed for 1993 at only the second race of the 1992 season in Mexico, a position that Mansell felt would be similar to their days together at Ferrari. To boot, Williams had Senna offering to drive the second car for free (although Senna found later he couldn't because of Prost's clause in his contract allowing him to veto the move) and decided that there was little sense in paying the high fees Mansell went on to demand. With the original offer revoked, Mansell with no teams near the competitiveness of Williams decided that enough was enough. An eleventh hour offer was made to him at the Italian Grand Prix, but by then the damage was done; Mansell retired from F1.

Mansell consequently left to join the Newman/Haas CART team in 1993. He took over the seat of Michael Andretti, who coincidentally had left CART to race in Formula One for McLaren. At the season opener at Surfers Paradise, Australia, he became the first "rookie" to take pole position and win his first race. A few weeks later however, he suffered a substantial crash at the Phoenix International Raceway, severely injuring his back. At the 1993 Indianapolis 500, Mansell would lead the race only to finish third after losing the lead to Emerson Fittipaldi and Arie Luyendyk after a poor re-start. On his 40th birthday, however, Mansell would avenge his loss at Indianapolis to score a 500-mile race victory at Michigan, considered by many a tougher 500 mile race to win. He would go on to score five wins for the 1993 CART season, which, with more high-placed finishes, was good enough to earn him the championship. This enabled Mansell to become the only driver in history to hold both the Formula One and CART championships at the same time, because when he won the 1993 CART championship he was still the reigning F1 world champion, with the 1993 F1 championship not yet having been decided.

Following this successful season in CART, Mansell received several awards, including a Gold Medal from the Royal Automobile Club and the 1993 ESPY Award for Best Driver.

His Newman/Haas car was much less reliable the following year, 1994, and results suffered. It was during this season that Mansell "wore out his welcome" in the United States with glimpses of rude behaviour, particularly after he was knocked out of the Indianapolis 500. After the crash, he stormed out of the track hospital, and refused medical care. When a reporter asked Mansell if he had spoken with Dennis Vitolo, the driver who had crashed into him, Mansell replied, "you speak to him." and shoved the camera away. Subsequently, Mansell was due to sign autographs at a K-mart (the primary sponsor of his car), but because of a lack of demand the event was cancelled. Mansell was also the catalyst for the breakdown in the relationship between himself and Mario Andretti. Mario has since remarked "I guess if Ronnie Peterson was the best team-mate I ever had, Nigel Mansell was the worst" and "I had a lot of respect for him as a driver, but not as a man".^[17]

Return to Formula One

In 1994 Mansell made a Formula One comeback. After the untimely death of Ayrton Senna, he returned to Formula One with Williams, replacing young rookie David Coulthard for the French Grand Prix and the last three races of the season. Mansell was paid approximately £900,000 per race, compared to Williams's lead driver at the time, Damon Hill being paid £300,000 for the entire season.^[18] Mansell's return was helped by Bernie Ecclestone helping unravel his contracts in the United States. It was important for F1 to have a world champion driving that season, and with worldwide TV viewing figures starting to decline, they needed Mansell. The 40-year-old wasn't as quick as Damon Hill in race trim but signs that his speeds were coming back were evident in Japan during a fantastic battle with the Ferrari of Jean Alesi. Mansell took his final Grand Prix victory in Adelaide, which was the final race of the season, having out-qualified the two title contenders at the time, Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher, in the process. The plan initially was for Mansell to protect Hill from Schumacher, but both drivers passed him at the start and eventually collided (causing the retirement of both), handing Schumacher his 1st world title.

Williams had an option on Mansell's services for 1995 which Mansell was convinced they would take. Williams however, opted for youth over experience and hired Coulthard.

1995: McLaren

Mansell was quick again and on the back of winning two titles, he was still hot property. After losing the Williams seat to David Coulthard, Mansell signed to drive for McLaren in 1995.

It was well documented that Mansell and Ron Dennis never saw eye to eye but with McLaren's sponsors wanting a world champion, Dennis had only two options: the second option, Schumacher, was already taken, which left Mansell. Media speculated from the start that they wouldn't last together because of their two contrasting personalities.

The season started dismally; Mansell couldn't fit into the car and wasn't able to race until Imola, where he ran in the midfield, a good way off the pace of his team-mate Mika Häkkinen. The Spanish Grand Prix saw a similar outcome but, outpaced and frustrated with his car's handling characteristics, he chose to retire after just two races with the team. Mansell cited the decision to retire as his not wanting to make up the numbers and with no hope of the MP4/10 being competitive.

A few testing sessions with F1 teams including Jordan suggested another comeback could be on the cards, but it never happened.

British Touring Car Championship

Mansell took part in the 1993 TOCA Shootout, held at Donington Park. Mansell drove a Ford Mondeo with his usual red number 5. The race ended in disaster for Mansell; he was knocked unconscious following a crash. His car appeared to lose grip on the exit of the Old Hairpin and collided with Tiff Needell's Nissan, resulting in a spin and a heavy impact with the tyre wall under the bridge.^[19]

Mansell made a return to racing in 1998 in the British Touring Car Championship, driving in a Ford Mondeo for three rounds. With the number 5 already taken by James Thompson, Mansell raced with the red number 55.^[20][21]

At his first event at Donington Park, he retired 3 laps into the sprint race, meaning he would start the feature race in 19th position on the grid. As the conditions changed and the track got wetter, Mansell found himself leading the race for several laps, and he finished in 5th position.^[22] The race was regarded by many fans as one of the greatest in touring car history.^[23]

It was to be his best finish in the series, as he failed to finish either race at the next round he participated in at Brands Hatch, and at his final race at Silverstone he finished in 14th and 11th place.^[24][25] Having competed in 3 of the 13 rounds, he finished 18th out of 21 in the drivers' championship.^[26]

Subsequent appearances

Mansell demonstrated a Jordan EJ14 in the streets of London before the 2004 British Grand Prix.

On July 16, 2005, Mansell took part in a Race of Legends exhibition event at the Norisring round of the DTM.^[27] He competed against Jody Scheckter, Alain Prost, Mick Doohan, Emerson Fittipaldi and Johnny Cecotto, each driver having an opportunity to drive Audi, Mercedes and Opel cars. Prost was announced as the winner by the DTM organisers.^[28]

Mansell became a financial stakeholder and a driver in the new Grand Prix Masters series. Following a period of testing and developing the car, Mansell made a successful race comeback by winning the inaugural race of the series in Kyalami in November 2005.^[29] After the success of the race at Kyalami, four dates were scheduled for the GP Masters Series in 2006, including one at Silverstone. Mansell won the season opener at Qatar in April from pole position.^[30] The Monza round of the series was cancelled due to noise limitations at the venue, whilst technical issues quickly ruled him out of the Silverstone race.^[31]

Also in 2006 he appeared to Brands Hatch, scene of his first Grand Prix win, in May 2006, driving some demonstration laps in the BMW M3 GTR that Andy Priaulx drove to victory in the 2005 24 Hours Nürburgring, as part of the World Touring Car Championship event.

Mansell at the 2007 British Grand Prix. After retiring from Formula One, he shaved his distinctive trademark moustache.

On the weekend of May 6, 2007 he made an appearance in the second round of the FIA GT Championship at Silverstone driving a Ferrari 430 GT2 for the Scuderia Ecosse team.^[32] He was paired with Chris Niarchos, finishing 7th in class and 21st overall.^[33]

Mansell, with his son Leo, tested a Chamberlain-Synergy team Le Mans prototype Lola-AER B06/10 during the week commencing 14 July 2008, at the Estoril circuit. The pair were said to be considering a drive in the American Le Mans series, possibly commencing as soon as October 2008 in the Petit Le Mans event,^[34][35] although neither driver was in the final field.

On July 3, 2009, Mansell tested his other son Greg's World Series by Renault car at the Silverstone Circuit, setting a best time six seconds off the pace of the fastest driver in the session.^[36]

Mansell took part in the last round of the 2009 Le Mans Series, the 1000 km of Silverstone, driving Team LNT's Ginetta-Zytek GZ09 alongside his son Greg and team boss Lawrence Tomlinson.^[37]

Mansell raced a Ginetta-Zytek Z09R in the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, alongside his two sons.^[38] According to the BBC, this was the first time a father has raced at Le Mans in the same car as his two sons. However, in the race he crashed out after only five laps, following a puncture.^[39]

For the 2010 Formula One season, the Sporting Regulations were changed so that a former driver sits on the stewards' panel. Mansell took this role at both the 2010 and 2011 British Grand Prix.

Endorsements

On October 1, 2009 Nigel appeared as the 'Face of Euronics'.^[40]

In 2010, Nigel paired with Iranian-British comic Omid Djalili in an UK television advertising campaign for price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com and at the end of the first ad, Djalili put a fake moustache on Mansell's upper lip.

Video games

There were two video games endorsed by Mansell: Nigel Mansell's Grand Prix (1988, Martech) and Nigel Mansell's World Championship (1993, Gremlin Graphics).

Personal life

Mansell currently lives in Jersey, Channel Islands. Mansell lived in Port Erin on the Isle of Man during most of his F1 career until 1995.^[41]

Helmet

Mansell raced with a Blue helmet with 2 red and white arrows on each side forming on the frontview a drawing resembling the union jack with the Upper angles of the arrows united by a red and white U, with the white chin area, when he entered to Williams, it was added a blue ring on the white part of the helmet. in 1993, the chin area became red.

Awards

Mansell was awarded the title of BBC Sports Personality of the Year in both 1986 and 1992.^[42][43] Only two other people have won the award twice, one of which being fellow racing driver and former F1 World Champion Damon Hill. Mansell was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005.^[44]

Racing career results

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

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

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos	Pts
1980	Ralt Racing Ltd.	Ralt/RH6	Honda	THR	HOC	NÜR	VAL	PAU	SIL 11	ZOL Ret	MUG	ZAN 5	PER	MIS	HOC 2	12th	8

Formula One World Championship results

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

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points[1]
1980	Team Essex Lotus	Lotus 81B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG	BRA	RSA	USW	BEL	MON	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA DNQ	CAN	USA				NC	0
1981	Team Essex Lotus	Lotus 81B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	USW Ret	BRA 11	ARG Ret	SMR WD	BEL 3													14th	8
	John Player Team Lotus	Lotus 87							MON Ret	ESP 6	FRA 7	GBR DNQ	GER Ret	AUT Ret	NED Ret	ITA Ret	CAN Ret	CPL 4
1982	John Player Team Lotus	Lotus 87B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA Ret																	14th	7
		Lotus 91			BRA 3	USW 7	SMR	BEL Ret	MON 4	DET Ret	CAN Ret	NED	GBR Ret	FRA	GER 9	AUT Ret	SUI 8	ITA 7	CPL Ret
1983	John Player Team Lotus	Lotus 92	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	BRA 12	USW 12	FRA Ret	SMR 12	MON Ret	BEL Ret	DET 6	CAN Ret										12th	10
		Lotus 94T	Renault EF1 1.5 V6t									GBR 4	GER Ret	AUT 5	NED Ret	ITA 8	EUR 3	RSA NC
1984	John Player Special Team Lotus	Lotus 95T	Renault EF4B 1.5 V6t	BRA Ret	RSA Ret	BEL Ret	SMR Ret	FRA 3	MON Ret	CAN 6	DET Ret	DAL 6	GBR Ret	GER 4	AUT Ret	NED 3	ITA Ret	EUR Ret	POR Ret		9th	13
1985	Canon Williams Honda	Williams FW10	Honda RA164E 1.5 V6t	BRA Ret	POR 5	SMR 5	MON 7	CAN 6	DET Ret	FRA DNS	GBR Ret	GER 6	AUT Ret	NED 6	ITA 11	BEL 2	EUR 1	RSA 1	AUS Ret		6th	31
1986	Canon Williams Honda	Williams FW11	Honda RA166E 1.5 V6t	BRA Ret	ESP 2	SMR Ret	MON 4	BEL 1	CAN 1	DET 5	FRA 1	GBR 1	GER 3	HUN 3	AUT Ret	ITA 2	POR 1	MEX 5	AUS Ret		2nd	70 (72)
1987	Canon Williams Honda	Williams FW11B	Honda RA167E 1.5 V6t	BRA 6	SMR 1	BEL Ret	MON Ret	DET 5	FRA 1	GBR 1	GER Ret	HUN 14	AUT 1	ITA 3	POR Ret	ESP 1	MEX 1	JPN DNS	AUS		2nd	61
1988	Canon Williams	Williams FW12	Judd CV 3.5 V8	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	MON Ret	MEX Ret	CAN Ret	DET Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 2	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL	ITA	POR Ret	ESP 2	JPN Ret	AUS Ret		9th	12
1989	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari 640	Ferrari 035/5 3.5 V12	BRA 1	SMR Ret	MON Ret	MEX Ret	USA Ret	CAN DSQ	FRA 2	GBR 2	GER 3	HUN 1	BEL 3	ITA Ret	POR DSQ	ESP EX	JPN Ret	AUS Ret		4th	38
1990	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari 641	Ferrari 036 3.5 V12	USA Ret	BRA 4	SMR Ret	MON Ret														5th	37
		Ferrari 641/2	Ferrari 037 3.5 V12					CAN 3	MEX 2	FRA 18	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN 17	BEL Ret	ITA 4	POR 1	ESP 2	JPN Ret	AUS 2
1991	Canon Williams Renault	Williams FW14	Renault RS3 3.5 V10	USA Ret	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	MON 2	CAN 6	MEX 2	FRA 1	GBR 1	GER 1	HUN 2	BEL Ret	ITA 1	POR DSQ	ESP 1	JPN Ret	AUS 2		2nd	72
1992	Canon Williams Renault	Williams FW14B	Renault RS3C/RS4 3.5 V10	RSA 1	MEX 1	BRA 1	ESP 1	SMR 1	MON 2	CAN Ret	FRA 1	GBR 1	GER 1	HUN 2	BEL 2	ITA Ret	POR 1	JPN Ret	AUS Ret		1st	108
1994	Rothmans Williams Renault	Williams FW16	Renault RS6 3.5 V10	BRA	PAC	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA Ret	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR					9th	13
		Williams FW16B															EUR Ret	JPN 4	AUS 1
1995	Marlboro McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4/10	Mercedes FO 110 3.0 V10	BRA	ARG	SMR 10	ESP Ret	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	PAC	JPN	AUS	NC	0

American Open-Wheel racing results

CART

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points
1993	Kmart Texaco Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T93/00	Ford Cosworth XB	SUF 1	PHX INJ	LBH 3	INDY 3	MIL 1	DET Ret	POR 2	CLE 3	TOR Ret	MIC 1	NWH 1	ROA 2	VAN 6	MDO 12	NAZ 1	LAG Ret	1st	191
1994	Kmart Texaco Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T94/00	Ford Cosworth XB	SUF 9	PHX 3	LBH 2	INDY Ret	MIL 5	DET Ret	POR 5	CLE 2	TOR Ret	MIC Ret	MDO 7	NWH Ret	VAN Ret	ROA 13	NAZ Ret	LAG 8	8th	88

Complete BTCC Results

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

Year	Team	Car	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		12		13		Position	Points
1998	Ford Mondeo Racing	Ford Mondeo	THR		SIL		DON		BHI		OUL		DON		CRO		SNE		THR		KNO		BHI		OUL		SIL		18th	7
													Ret	5*									Ret	Ret			14	11

* Point awarded for leading the feature race for at least a lap.

Complete Grand Prix Masters results

(key)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4
2005	Team Altech	RSA 1
2006	Team Altech	QAT 1	ITA C	GBR Ret	RSA C
2007	Team Altech	ROM C	QAT C	RSA C

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2010	LMP1	5	D	Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S Zytek ZJ458 4.5 L V8	Beechdean Mansell	Greg Mansell Leo Mansell	4	DNF	DNF

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} 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. ^ Murray Walker's F1 Greats Video
3. ^ "Kinser, Mansell, Garlits, Lauda, and Muldowney set high standards". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/columns/story?columnist=blount_terry&id=3400774. Retrieved 2008-05-19. 
4. ^ Eason, Kevin (2009-03-27). "The 50 greatest Formula One drivers Nos 101". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article5986660.ece. Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
5. ^ Who We Are | Our Supporters. UK Youth (2010-11-13). Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
6. ^ "Former racing champion banned from the road". BBC News. January 23, 2993. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/49787.stm. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
7. ^ Mansell, Nigel My Autobiography page 88 Collins Willow ISBN 0-00-218497-4
8. ^ ^{a b} King Nigel Mansell Statistics. Nigelmansell.free.fr. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
9. ^ Mansell, Nigel My Autobiography page 120 Collins Willow ISBN 0-00-218497-4
10. ^ United States GP, 1984. grandprix.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
11. ^ Mansell, Nigel My Autobiography page 141 Collins Willow ISBN 0-00-218497-4
12. ^ Mansell, Nigel My Autobiography page 199 Collins Willow ISBN 0-00-218497-4
13. ^ Mansell, Nigel My Autobiography page 222 Collins Willow ISBN 0-00-218497-4
14. ^ Hamilton, Maurice Frank Williams page 186 Macmillan ISBN 0-333-71716-3
15. ^ "Grand Prix results: Monaco GP, 1992". GrandPrix.com. http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr522.html. Retrieved 2007-02-23. 
16. ^ Autocourse 1992 pp.150, 153
17. ^ "Mario: Nige my worst team-mate". ITv-F1. http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=37066. Retrieved 23 August 2006. 
18. ^ Hamilton, Maurice Frank Williams page 244 Macmillan ISBN 0-333-71716-3
19. ^ Motorsportmad.com: 1993 TOCA Shootout Donnington Park – Mansell massive crash
20. ^ James Thompson – Honda Accord 1998. Redshoes Archive (1998-04-26). Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
21. ^ Nigel Mansell – Ford Mondeo 1998. Redshoes Archive (1998-09-20). Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
22. ^ Donington Park June 14 1998. BTCC Pages. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
23. ^ Reid 150 Not Out. Crash.net (1980-01-01). Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
24. ^ Brands Hatch August 31 1998. BTCC Pages. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
25. ^ Silverstone September 20 1998. BTCC Pages. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
26. ^ BTCC 1998 Season. Btccpages.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
27. ^ "The € 500,000 Euro Race – World Champions in DTM Cars". DTM.de. http://mobile.dtm.de/newsausgabe.php?id=2778. Retrieved 22 December 2006. 
28. ^ "Prost wins the €500,000 charity race". DTM.de. http://mobile.dtm.de/newsausgabe.php?id=2809. Retrieved 22 December 2006. . Note: In-depth information on times set by each driver do not appear to have been formally published by the organisers.
29. ^ Mansell secures GP Masters glory. BBC News (2005-11-13). Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
30. ^ Mansell wins first ever Grand Prix in Qatar^{[dead link]}
31. ^ Odds against Mansell in GP Masters^{[dead link]}
32. ^ "Nigel Mansell to race for Scuderia Ecosse at Silverstone". FIAGT.com. http://www.fiagt.com/newsitem.php?key=1200. Retrieved 14 April 2007. 
33. ^ "Results of Round 2 of the 2007 FIA GT Championship at Silverstone". FIAGT.com. http://www.fiagt.com/results.php?event=2&season=2007&session=Race%20Result. 
34. ^ English, Steven (2008-07-17). "Mansell tests ALMS Lola with son Leo". autosport.com. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/69202. Retrieved 2008-07-18. 
35. ^ English, Steven (2008-07-24). "Mansells plan Petit Le Mans outing". autosport.com. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/69427. Retrieved 2008-08-30. 
36. ^ Mills, Peter (2009-07-03). "Nigel Mansell tests Renault 3.5 car". autosport.com (Haymarket). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76675. Retrieved 2009-07-03. 
37. ^ "Mansell enters AUTOSPORT 1000km". Autosport. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77768. 
38. ^ "Nigel Mansell set to race with sons at Le Mans 24-Hours". http://news.bbc.co.uk/.+2010-02-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/8498519.stm. Retrieved 2010-03-15. 
39. ^ "Mansell suffers crash at Le Mans". BBC News. 2010-06-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/8736997.stm. 
40. ^ "Mansell face of Euronics". http://www.euronics.co.uk/.+2000-10-01. http://www.euronics.co.uk/. Retrieved 2009-10-10. 
41. ^ BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | Mansell makes Isle of Man return. BBC News (2007-12-20). Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
42. ^ 1986 bbc.co.uk: BBC Sports Personalility of the year. BBC News. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
43. ^ 1992 bbc.co.uk: BBC Sports Personalility of the year. BBC News. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.
44. ^ Waltrip Heads Class of 2005 at Motorsports Hall of Fame. Motorsportshalloffame.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-11.

References

• Hamilton, Maurice Frank Williams Macmillan ISBN 0-333-71716-3
• Mansell, Nigel My Autobiography Collins Willow ISBN 0-00-218497-4
• BTCC Pages
• Crash.net

External links

• Nigel Mansell official website
• Nigel Mansell official Twitter account
• Profile – by FIA GT Championship official website
• King Nigel Mansell – Unofficial site
• Biography of Nigel Mansell
• BBC Sport – News of Return in Grand Prix Masters
• Grand Prix Masters
• Nigel Mansell statistics
• Nigel Mansell Videos
• Grand Prix History – Hall of Fame, Nigel Mansell
• Nigel Mansell Lotus 87

Persondata
Name	Mansell, Nigel
Alternative names
Short description	English racing driver
Date of birth	August 8, 1953
Place of birth	Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire
Date of death
Place of death