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Nigel Ernest James Mansell (; born 8 August 1953) is a British former racing driver, who competed in
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 ...
from to . Mansell won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won 31 Grands Prix across 15 seasons. In American open-wheel racing, Mansell won the IndyCar World Series in
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
with Newman/Haas Racing, and remains the only driver to have simultaneously held both the World Drivers' Championship and the American open-wheel National Championship. 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 was the reigning F1 champion when he moved to CART, becoming the first person to win the CART title in his debut season, and making him the only person to hold both the World Drivers' Championship and the American open-wheel National Championship simultaneously. Mansell is the second most successful British Formula One driver of all time in terms of race wins with 31 victories, behind
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
with wins, and is eighth overall on the Formula One race winners list, behind Hamilton,
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
, Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...
. He held the record for the most pole positions set in a single season, which was broken in by Sebastian Vettel. He also remains the last Formula One driver to win a Grand Prix over the age of 40, which was the 1994 Australian Grand Prix. Mansell raced in the Grand Prix Masters series in 2005, and won the championship title. He later 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, and was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005.


Early life and career

Nigel Ernest James Mansell was born on 8 August 1953 in Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, where his parents, Eric and Joyce Mansell, ran a tea shop. He grew up in Hall Green,
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. He attended Hall Green Secondary school. Mansell 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 Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...
series to the disapproval of his father. In 1976, Mansell won six of the nine races he took part in, including his debut event at
Mallory Park Mallory Park is a motor racing circuit situated in the village of Kirkby Mallory, just off the A47 road, A47, between Leicester and Hinckley, in central England. Originally used for Grass track racing, grass-track until 1955, a new, basicall ...
. He entered 42 races the following year and won 33 of them to become the 1977 British Formula Ford champion, despite suffering a broken neck in a qualifying session at
Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...
. 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 from his job as an
aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...
, having previously sold most of his personal belongings to finance his foray into Formula Ford. 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.King Nigel Mansell Statistics
. Nigelmansell.free.fr. Retrieved on 11 June 2011.
Mansell raced in
Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...
in 1978–1980. Mansell's first season in
Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...
started with a
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
and a second-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
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engines used by the leading teams. After three seventh-place finishes and a fourth in his last race, he parted from the team. The next season saw him drive for David Price Racing. Following a first win in the series at Silverstone in March, he went on to finish eighth in the championship. 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 Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...
. 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 during a tryout at the Paul Ricard circuit with Lotus, where he was pitted against a number of other drivers to determine who was going to take the second seat for the 1980 season alongside Mario Andretti, as Argentine Carlos Reutemann was leaving to go to Williams. Driving a 79, the seat eventually went to Italian driver Elio de Angelis, but Mansell was selected to become a test driver for the Norfolk-based Formula One team.


Formula One


1980–1984: Lotus

;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 , 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
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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 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 season, Mansell planned to race in the
24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
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 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 Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
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 Special (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 The Dutch Grand Prix () is an annual Formula One World Championship auto racing event, held at Circuit Zandvoort, North Holland, the Netherlands, from 1950 through 1985, and after a 35 year hiatus, from 2021 to 2026. It has been a part of the ...
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 (about 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 quoted as saying "He'll never win a Grand Prix as long as I have a hole in my arse".


1985–1988: Williams

;1985 In 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 for the
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, which Mansell kept carrying on subsequent Williams and Newman/Haas cars; even on the 1994 Williams, in which he would race the number 2, it would be red coloured. Rosberg, the 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 commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
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 Paul Ricard Circuit's 1.8 km long Mistral Straight he went off at the fast Courbe de Signes at over 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 Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
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 Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...
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 , 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 Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, 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. In a 2012 interview for Sky Sports Legends of F1 Mansell revealed that, had he hit the wall rather than wrestling the car safely to a halt in the run-off area at the end of the straight, the stewards would most likely have red flagged the race. As the race was over two thirds distance, he would have kept his position and won his first F1 world title. 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 France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, 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 Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...
where Mansell and Piquet finished 1–2. Williams's absence from the day-to-day running of the team 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 Six more wins followed in , including an emotional and hugely popular victory at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix in which he came back from 28 seconds behind in 30 laps to beat teammate Piquet, with his car running out of fuel on the slowing down lap. A serious qualifying accident at Suzuka in Japan for the penultimate race of the season severely injured Mansell's back (a spinal concussion). Trying to beat Piquet's lap time, Mansell made a mistake and hit the guardrail. As a result of Mansell's absence from the remaining two races, Piquet became champion for the third time. Piquet called his win over Mansell "a win of intelligence over stupidity". The Brazilian also added that he won because he was more consistent than his teammate, racking up points and podiums where Mansell often ran into trouble. Piquet's was a percentage driving policy which worked well in the ultra-competitive Williams-Honda, whereas Mansell was a hard charger who many felt often pushed his luck too far. ;1988 In , for the first time in his career, Mansell was a team's first driver, having won more races in the previous two seasons than any other driver. However, Williams lost the
turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...
power of Honda to McLaren, and had to settle with a naturally aspirated Judd
V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Origins The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, a ...
in its first season in F1. A dismal season followed, which saw Mansell's Williams team experiment with a terribly unreliable (but extremely innovative) active suspension system (the system had worked well when introduced by the team in 1987 where it could draw on approximately 5% of the reported produced by the Honda turbo, but struggled with the Judd V8). Mansell would complete only two of the 14 races in which he appeared in 1988, both being podium finishes. One of these was a second place at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone where, overnight, the team had stopped using its active suspension (after months of Patrick Head telling Mansell and teammate Riccardo Patrese that it would take many months of work to do so), and reverted to a passive suspension set-up. Mansell contracted 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 worse, forcing him to miss the next two Grands Prix in
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where he was replaced by
Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Brundle won the World Sportscar Champions ...
, and
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where he was replaced by Frenchman Jean-Louis Schlesser. By missing the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Mansell missed the traditional welcome by the Tifosi for a newly signed
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
driver after he had announced he would be leaving Williams to join the Maranello-based team for .


1989–1990: Ferrari

;1989 In preparation for the 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. In
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
he became known as "il leone" ("the lion") by the '' tifosi'' 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 electronically controlled
semi-automatic transmission A semi-automatic transmission is a multiple-speed Transmission (mechanics), transmission where part of its operation is Automation, automated (typically the actuation of the clutch), but the driver's input is still required to launch the vehicle f ...
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 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix at the
Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet The Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet (Nelson Piquet International Racetrack), also known as Jacarepaguá after Jacarepaguá, the neighbourhood in which it was located, and also as the Autódromo Riocentro, was a motorsport circuit in Rio d ...
in Rio de Janeiro; his least favourite track, and the home race of his bitter rival Piquet. He later joked 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 (as it had done throughout pre-season testing and in qualifying for the race). Mansell became the first driver to win a race in a car with a semi-automatic gearbox. The race saw him as the first driver to win in their debut race for the Scuderia since Mario Andretti had won the 1971 South African Grand Prix and he would remain the last man to win on his Ferrari debut until Kimi Räikkönen won the 2007 Australian 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 second win for Ferrari at the tight and twisty Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Early in practice Mansell had seen that trying to qualify the car high on the grid was a pointless exercise and he decided instead to concentrate on a good race set-up. After qualifying 12th (0.681s behind teammate Gerhard Berger in sixth and 2.225s behind pole man Riccardo Patrese in his Williams-Renault) and not even being considered a chance for the race, he charged his way through the field until he pulled off a sensational passing manoeuvre on the McLaren-Honda of World Champion Ayrton Senna on lap 58 to take a lead he would not lose. ;1990 A tough followed with Ferrari, in which his car suffered more reliability problems, forcing him to retire from seven races. He was paired with Alain Prost, (who was also the reigning World Champion), and who took over as the team's lead driver. Mansell recalls one incident where at the 1990 British Grand Prix, the car he drove did not 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. After retiring from the race, he announced he was retiring from the sport altogether at the end of the season. This, combined with the fact that Frenchman Prost was not only a triple World Champion and the winner of more Grands Prix than anyone in history, but also spoke fluent Italian, whereas Mansell's Italian was only conversational at best, gave Prost greater influence within the Maranello-based team. According to Prost, Mansell only attended two or three mechanical briefings throughout the season, preferring playing golf. One notable highlight of the season was a daring pass on Gerhard Berger around the daunting high speed Peraltada corner that was later renamed in his honour. Approaching the corner for the penultimate time Mansell was bobbing from side to side in Berger's mirrors. Heading into one of the quickest corners on the calendar at the time, where the Ferraris had registered forces of 4.7g during practice, Mansell launched to the outside of Berger and flashed past to take second place. Mansell scored only a single win, at the 1990 Portuguese Grand Prix, finished a thrilling second to Nelson Piquet in
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and finished fifth in the World Championship. Mansell then announced his retirement from Formula One.


1991–1992: Return to Williams

;1991 Mansell's retirement plans were halted when Frank Williams stepped in. Mansell's return to Williams was not straightforward. He would agree to return only if a list of demands were met, including undisputed number one status over Riccardo Patrese (who had remained with the team through 1989 and 1990), 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. Three weeks later the impossible had happened and Mansell was a Williams driver. Williams signed Mansell on 1 October 1990 after Mansell was assured 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. His second stint with Williams was even better than the first. Back in the familiar 'Red 5', he won five races in , including the Spanish Grand Prix. In this race he went wheel-to-wheel with Ayrton Senna, with only centimetres to spare, at over 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 (the two had come to blows in the pits following their first lap tangle during the 1987 Belgian Grand Prix and were hardly close friends), 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 with four straight wins to open the season by the time Mansell gained his first finish with a second in
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. Mansell then had the next race in
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practically won when his Williams FW14 stopped half a lap from the finish with what was reported to be transmission failure, though it was claimed by designer Adrian Newey that Mansell had let his engine revs drop too low while he was waving to the crowd in celebration and stalled his engine. This handed Nelson Piquet his 23rd and last F1 race win. Despite a good mid-season, which included a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
of victories, Senna's consistency and Mansell's retirements at key races meant that he finished second in the Championship for the third time in his career, this time behind Senna. ;1992 - Formula One World Champion Mansell started the season with five straight victories (a record not equalled until
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
in ). At the sixth round of the season in
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, 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. Mansell broke the record for most wins by a 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 finally crowned Formula One World Champion at the age of 39 early in the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the 11th round of that season, where his second-place finish clinched the Drivers' Championship, securing the title in the fewest Grands Prix since the 16-race season format started. Mansell also set the then-record for the most wins in one season (9); both records stood until broken by Schumacher in
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
. He managed 14 pole positions that year at the Brazilian Grand Prix on 26 November, a record only broken by Sebastian Vettel in
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
. He also held the record for the most races before becoming World Champion with 180 races; this record was broken by Nico Rosberg in
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with 206 races. Other Formula One records set in 1992 that he still holds are the highest percentage of pole positions in a season (88%), most Grand Prix wins before becoming World Champion (29), and most runner-up championship finishes before becoming World Champion (three). Mansell also holds the record for most DNFs from Grands Prix where a driver started from pole and scored the fastest lap, at four ( 1987 German Grand Prix, 1990 British Grand Prix, 1992 Japanese Grand Prix, and 1992 Italian Grand Prix). Mansell is also the driver with the most wins (31) among those who never won at Monaco. He won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award again in 1992, one of only four people to have won the award twice. During this season, Mansell gained a reputation for a psychological competitiveness and mind games. After the announcement by the FIA that the organization would be weighing drivers, Mansell, known for ignoring diet, starved and dehydrated himself the day prior to weigh-ins. This measure led to Mansell weighing less than his teammate Riccardo Patrese by half a kilogram. ;Dispute with Williams and departure from F1 Whilst 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 his former Ferrari teammate Alain Prost, who had sat out the 1992 season, being his teammate on Williams for the 1993 season. Mansell's contract was due to expire at the end of the season. According to Patrick Head, Mansell pushed for a contract extension to be agreed early in the season. Despite this being unusual for the team, Mansell's perseverance purportedly paid off, and met with both Frank Williams and Patrick Head at the Williams Motorhome in Jerez, where they discussed and subsequently shook hands on a deal for a further two seasons (1993 and 1994). They followed this up with a written contract sent to Mansell's home address in the Isle of Man for final review and signature. According to Head, Mansell procrastinated on returning the signed agreement however, whilst winning back-to-back races over the upcoming months, finally resulting in Mansell asking for more money, which infuriated and frustrated the Williams leadership team. According to Mansell, Williams had initially neglected to tell him that Prost had signed for
1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
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 in 1990. To boot, Ayrton Senna had expressed a strong desire to drive for Williams and even offered to drive for them at no salary (only to later be rebuffed as Prost, whose rivalry with the Brazilian was more intense as the one he had with Mansell, had a clause written into his contract which enabled him to block Senna's effort). Williams decided that there was little sense in paying the high fees Mansell went on to demand, and told him that he needed to sign on the original deal or Senna was ready to be signed instead. When Mansell discovered that Senna's potential signing was untrue and a ruse, he decided to move on and called a press conference to announce his retirement. Wiliams made an 11th hour offer to Mansell at the Italian Grand Prix, but by then the damage was done as he retired from F1.


CART IndyCar World Series

Mansell then signed with Newman/Haas Racing to pair with Mario Andretti in the CART series, replacing Mario's son
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
who moved to F1 and McLaren. At the season opener in
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, Australia, he became the first "rookie" to take pole position and win his first race. A few weeks later 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 restart. On his 40th birthday Mansell would avenge his loss at Indianapolis to score a 200-mile race victory at New Hampshire International Speedway, perhaps his most exciting CART victory. He would go on to score five wins in 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; when he won the 1993 CART championship he was still the reigning F1 world champion, 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
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and the 1994 ESPY Award for Best Driver. His Newman/Haas car was much less reliable the following year, 1994, and results suffered. Mansell was also the catalyst for the breakdown in the relationship between himself and Mario Andretti. Andretti 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".


Brief return to Formula One


1994: Williams

In , after the CART season ended, Mansell returned to F1 and re-joined the Williams team. Since he had left it in 1992, the team had undergone some significant changes. Damon Hill had been promoted from test driver and was running full-time in one car. Prost, Mansell's replacement, won the 1993 Drivers' Championship and then retired after the season. This allowed Williams and Ayrton Senna to finally work out an agreement, and the team received a new sponsor in Rothmans International for a season in which they were expected to remain as champions. However, the car proved unreliable and tricky to handle early in the season, leading Senna to retire from the opening rounds despite claiming pole. In the third race at
Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...
, Senna was killed in a crash at the Tamburello curve. Williams test driver David Coulthard took over Senna's seat for the majority of 1994 and Williams got permission from Newman/Haas Racing to bring back Mansell at the French Grand Prix and the final three races of 1994 in Europe, Japan and Australia. Mansell was paid approximately £900,000 per race, compared to teammate Damon Hill being paid £300,000 for the entire season. 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 41-year-old was not as quick as Hill in race trim but signs that his speeds were coming back were evident in Japan during a battle with the Ferrari of Jean Alesi. Mansell took his final Grand Prix victory in
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, the last race of the season, having out-qualified the two title contenders at the time, Damon Hill and
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
, in the process (helped out by the second qualifying session being held on a wet track, with the times from the first session making up the grid). 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 first world title. Mansell purportedly agreed a new contract to drive for Williams again in 1995, but later claimed this was rescinded. Williams ultimately opted for youth over experience and hired Coulthard for the 1995 season.


1995: McLaren

After losing the Williams seat to David Coulthard, Mansell signed to drive for McLaren in . McLaren's title sponsors
Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (PMI, now separate from Altria) in most global territories outside the ...
wanted a world champion, whereas McLaren and their engine suppliers Mercedes wanted a lower-profile driver for what was Mercedes' second year back in Formula One since abandoning it in . Before the season started, Mansell could not fit into the narrow car and was deputised by Mark Blundell for the opening two rounds in Brazil and Argentina. Mansell's car was completed in 33 days and in time for
Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...
, where despite being in the top six late in the race, a clash with Eddie Irvine saw him finish 10th and out of the points. The Spanish Grand Prix saw Mansell become frustrated over 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 McLaren MP4/10 being competitive. In 2015, Mansell stated that he was wrong to leave McLaren so soon and that in hindsight he should have continued with the team for the season and help improve the car.


1997: Jordan potential comeback

A few testing sessions with F1 teams including
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
suggested another comeback could be on the cards, but it never happened. Reports at the time suggested that the Mansell–Jordan partnership for 1997 was a real possibility with Eddie Jordan's title sponsor willing to pay for the deal. The Jordan team said after the tests in Barcelona in December 1996 that Mansell decided against it.


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 with six laps remaining. He lost control of his car through the exit of the Old Hairpin, over-corrected the slide and collided with
Tiff Needell Timothy Richard "Tiff" Needell (born 29 October 1951) is a British racing driver and television presenter. He is a presenter of '' Lovecars'', and formerly served as co-presenter of '' Top Gear'' and '' Fifth Gear''. Biography Needell attende ...
's Vauxhall Cavalier, resulting in a spin and a bad crash into the concrete wall under the bridge.Mansell made a return to racing in 1998 in the
British Touring Car Championship The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), officially known as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by ...
, driving in a Ford Mondeo for three rounds. With the number 5 already taken by James Thompson, Mansell raced with the red number 55. At his first event at Donington Park, he retired three 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 became wetter, Mansell found himself leading the race for several laps, and he finished in fifth position. The race was regarded by many fans as one of the greatest in touring car history. 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 Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...
, and at his final race at Silverstone he finished in 14th and 11th place. Having competed in three of the 13 rounds, he finished 18th out of 21 in the Drivers' Championship.


Subsequent appearances

On 16 July 2005, Mansell took part in a ''Race of Legends'' exhibition event at the Norisring round of the DTM. He competed against other Formula One World Champions Jody Scheckter, Alain Prost and Emerson Fittipaldi, as well as Motorcycle Grand Prix World Champions
Mick Doohan Michael Sydney Doohan ( ; born 4 June 1965) is an Australian former Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle road racing List of Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champions, World Champion, who won five consecutive List of 500cc/Mo ...
and Johnny Cecotto (himself a former F1 driver), each driver having an opportunity to drive
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...
, Mercedes and
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cars. Prost was announced as the winner by the DTM organisers. 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 (Mansell had won at the old Kyalami circuit in 1985 and had also won at the new circuit in 1992). 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
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in April from pole position. 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. Also in 2006 he appeared at
Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...
, scene of his first Grand Prix win, in October 1985, 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. On the weekend of 6 May 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. He was paired with Chris Niarchos, finishing seventh in class and 21st overall. Mansell, with his son Leo, tested a Chamberlain-Synergy team
Le Mans prototype A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le M ...
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, although neither driver was in the final field. On 3 July 2009, Mansell tested his other son Greg's World Series by Renault car at the
Silverstone Circuit Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 British Grand ...
, setting a best time six seconds off the pace of the fastest driver in the session. Mansell took part in the last round of the 2009 Le Mans Series, the 1000 km of Silverstone, driving Team LNT's Ginetta- Zytek GZ09S alongside his son Greg and team boss Lawrence Tomlinson. Mansell raced a Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S in the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, alongside his two sons. 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 after only five laps, following a tyre puncture. Reports at the time indicated that he had suffered a concussion, but Mansell later revealed that the accident left him unable to talk or recognise his wife and children. To recover, he took up magic in order to “get isbrain to work in different ways.” Since taking up the hobby, Mansell has become a member of the Magic Circle and gone on to perform around the world, as he explained in a special video interview to mark 30 years since his F1 world-title win in 2022. 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 the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 British Grands Prix. Also Monaco GP 2012, US GP 2013, Brazil GP 2015.


Biographies

Mansell has written several autobiographies and books on racing in general: *''In the Driving Seat'' (1989) (with Derick Allsop) *''Driven to Win'' (1990) *''Mansell and Williams: Challenge for the Championship'' (1991) *''Indycar Racing'' (1993) (with Jeremy Shaw) *''My Story'' (1995) (with James Allen) *''Staying on Track'' (2015)


Television and video games

Mansell participated in Prince Edward's charity television special '' The Grand Knockout Tournament'' (1987). There were three video games endorsed by Mansell: ''Nigel Mansell's Grand Prix'' (1988, Martech), '' Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing'' (1993, Gremlin Graphics), and '' Newman/Haas IndyCar'' (1994). Mansell also appeared as a playable driver for Williams in Codemasters' '' F1 2013''. Mansell makes a guest appearance in Series 7, Episode 5 of '' Top Gear'', a motoring show presented by
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...
,
Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...
, and
James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' fr ...
. In " Eurocrash", Series 5, Episode 2 of ''
The Grand Tour ''The Grand Tour'' is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, and Andy Wilman, for Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November 2016. The programme was devised in the wake of the depar ...
'', another motoring show presented by Clarkson, Hammond, and May, the presenters "steal" a wax figure of Mansell from the Polonia Wax Museum in
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
,
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and take it with them on their road trip across
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.


Personal life

Mansell married his wife, Roseanne, on 19 April 1975, after having met as college students. He lived in Port Erin on the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
during most of his F1 career until 1995. Mansell currently lives in
Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
,
Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
. He spent 11 years of his life as a Special Constable on the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
during his driving career, and in
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
after he retired from racing. During this period, he also developed a golf course in Devon. A keen golfer, Mansell revealed a desire to compete in
The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
and briefly participated in the 1988 Australian Open. In the late 1980s he bought a sports car dealership in Pimperne in
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
, naming it Nigel Mansell Sports Cars Ltd. Mansell was the owner of the Team UK Youth cycling team. His sons Leo and Greg are also former racing drivers. In addition to the aforementioned Ferrari F40, Mansell has also owned a bronze left-hand drive 1988 Mercedes-Benz (C126) 560SEC that he used to travel to races in Europe and later sold to art critic Brian Sewell, and a red 1984 Audi Quattro.


"Red 5"

Although teams in motor racing series are generally allocated numbers, Mansell has been associated with the number 5 for many years. This began when he joined Williams in 1985 and was allocated car number 5, as at the time Formula One racing numbers were allocated by constructor and Williams received numbers 5 and 6. For the first four races of the 1985 season, both Williams cars had white numbers, but from a distance the numerals "5" and "6" resembled each other. As a consequence, it was decided to give Mansell's car a red number to make it more distinctive. While this was initially just for recognition, BBC F1 commentator Murray Walker began describing Mansell's car as "Red Five", leading to Mansell retaining the red coloured number throughout his first spell at Williams. On his return to the team in 1991, Williams had retained the number 5 car, allowing Mansell to race as "Red Five" once again. After his departure to CART in 1993 to drive for Newman/Haas, he again ran the red number 5 after Newman Hass made a deal to acquire it from Penske (it had been Emerson Fittipaldi's race number since 1991). In addition, "Red Five" fitted well into the livery of his Indy car, as Newman Haas's main sponsors
Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Independ ...
and Kmart both shared corporate colors of black, white and red. When he returned to Williams for four races in 1994 the team's numbers were 0 and 2 as they had won the Drivers' and Constructors' titles in 1993 but could not run #1 as Alain Prost had retired. Damon Hill drove car #0 while Mansell raced the #2 with the number on the nose of the car painted red (the #2 was white when the car was driven by Ayrton Senna and David Coulthard). So associated with the red 5 is Mansell that, in 2004, he purchased a yacht from Sunseeker, one of his longtime sponsors, which he named ''Red 5''.


Honours and awards

Mansell was awarded the title of BBC Sports Personality of the Year in both 1986 and 1992. Only four other people have won the award more than once, including fellow racing drivers and former F1 World Champions Damon Hill and
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
. Mansell was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005. Mansell won the Hawthorn Memorial Trophy, an award for the leading
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
or
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driver in F1 each year seven times. Already an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(OBE), Mansell was appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to children and young people (as president of UK Youth). He has also received the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal. In 2015 turn 17 of the
Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez Autodromo or Autódromo is an Italian language, Italian, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Spanish language, Spanish word for race track. It may refer to: * Autódromo de Benguela, Benguela, Angola * Autódromo Chiapas, Berriozábal, Chiapas * ...
was renamed in honour of Mansell, twice winner of the Mexican Grand Prix (
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
and
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
). He received The London Classic Car Show Icon Award in 2018. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2006.Nigel Mansell
at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America


Racing record


Career summary


Complete European Formula Two Championship results

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


Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.


American open-wheel racing

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)


PPG Indy Car World Series


=Indianapolis 500

=


Complete British Touring Car Championship results

( key; Races in bold indicate pole position – 1-point awarded all races; Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap; * signifies that driver led feature race for at least one lap – 1-point awarded)


Complete Grand Prix Masters results

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


Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results


Notes


References

* Hamilton, Maurice ''Frank Williams'' Macmillan * Mansell, Nigel ''My Autobiography'' Collins Willow * Warr, Peter ''Team Lotus – My View From The Pit Wall'' Haynes Publishing
BTCC Pages

Crash.net


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansell, Nigel Mansell family 1953 births Living people People from Upton-upon-Severn Jersey sportsmen English racing drivers BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners European Formula Two Championship drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Champ Car champions Champ Car drivers International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year Indianapolis 500 drivers English Formula One drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Team Lotus Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Williams Formula One drivers Formula One race winners Formula One World Drivers' Champions FIA GT Championship drivers British Touring Car Championship drivers Racing drivers from Birmingham, West Midlands Segrave Trophy recipients Commanders of the Order of the British Empire BRDC Gold Star winners Grand Prix Masters drivers Formula Ford drivers British special constables 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Manx police officers Sportspeople from Worcestershire Newman/Haas Racing drivers David Price Racing drivers 20th-century English sportsmen