F1’s Favorite British Driver
Voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year twice, Nigel Mansell has earned his way into England’s heart. His high-speed racing career paired well with Mansell’s kind demeanor, making him a friendly face on the race track. But he had to work hard to become the legendary “Red 5”.
Bringing The Tea To The Track
Mansell was born on August 8, 1953, to his parents Eric and Joyce Mansell. They owned a tea shop in Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire. They weren’t the sort of folks one would expect to raise a successful F1 driver, but Mansell was full of surprises.
Contending With Parental Consent
Mansell’s racing career didn’t start with a bang—he began with kart racing and eventually worked his way up to the Formula Ford series. But his driving was met with disapproval from his father, despite showing an early aptitude for the sport.
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Finding Everlasting Love And Companionship
As he began racing, Mansell met a young woman who would become his partner for life. He and Roseanne met at college, and on April 19, 1975, they married. They went on to have three kids together and are still married to this day.
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A Break-Neck Speed Brought Consequences
In his second year in the Formula series, Mansell was in an accident on the track. It was a qualifying race at Brands Hatch, and he broke his neck. At the hospital, doctors warned him that he could’ve been paralyzed from the neck down and said he’d never race again. But that didn’t stop Mansell.
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His Vocation Outcompeted Injury
Mansell checked himself out of the hospital and committed fully to racing. He had already quit his aerospace engineering job and sold most of his belongings to pay for entry into the Formula series. Fortunately, he got a lucky break soon after his recovery.
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Setting A Standard For Himself
In 1977, mere months after his accident, Mansell raced a Lola T570 Formula 3 car at Silverstone Circuit. He was still a fairly new addition to the scene, but he managed to snag fifth place. That’s when he became more ambitious.
Setting Up A Solid Foundation Of Racing Experience
He decided to enter into the next level of formula. From 1978 to 1980, Mansell raced Formula Three. In his first season, he was given a peak starting position and managed to come in second place. His skill at the sport was only growing.
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His Star Was On The Rise
Mansell continued to place high in his races, and he was able to drive for an official racing team for the first time. But later that season, his consistent driving took another shocking turn. He and Andrea de Cesaris crashed on the track.
A Second Major Incident On The Track
They cartwheeled over the concrete and it was lucky that Mansell survived. But he wasn’t without injury. He broke several vertebrae and was hospitalized. This could have been an end to his career, but instead, he got lucky again.
The Start Of The F1 Icon
In 1980, Mansell did his first drive as a Formula One driver. He earned three F1 starts at Silverstone and drove the Lotus 81B, an early version of the Lotus 81. Unfortunately, his first race in the F1 circuit was struck with misfortune.
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His Constant Companion: Mechanical Issues
There was a fuel leak in the cockpit that inflicted first and second-degree burns to Mansell’s behind. Then, an engine failure forced him to withdraw from the first and second races. The third race went just as poorly, with an accident hindering his qualification.
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A New Friend At The Right Time
Just when he thought his career was all over before it began, Colin Chapman offered Mansell a spot on the Lotus team. But his time with Lotus wasn’t all happy, as the cars weren’t reliable and he was often second-place to his teammate, Elio de Angelis.
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Well-Paid Despite His Troubles
Mansell struck gold in 1982. He was supposed to race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans to make more money—they offered an extra £10,000 on top of his £50,000 a year salary. But Chapman offered him the same amount to not participate in the race. Chapman also offered to extend his contract to 1984, making Mansell a millionaire.
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A Terrible Loss Struck The Team
Chapman passed abruptly that year. Mansell was devastated. In his autobiography, Mansell said, “The bottom dropped out of my world. Part of me died with him. I had lost a part of my family”. The ripple effects of losing Chapman would cause strain elsewhere in Mansell’s life.
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The Acute Sense Of Loss Grew Worse With His Replacement
In Chapman’s absence, the Lotus team grew strained and the man who replaced him didn’t like Mansell at all. This meant that whatever advantages he’d received in befriending the team’s former principal were revoked. Any attempts to remedy the relationship with the new principal were hindered by his “awkward personality”.
Fighting Against The Odds At Every Turn
Mansell struggled to get the recognition and resources he deserved from the new principal. In his autobiography, he claimed that the principal refused to give him the brake pads he wanted for the 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix. This had terrifying consequences.
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He Was A Good Competitor, Even With Car Problems
During the race, Mansell managed to fight his way to second place. But with 18 laps left, his brakes failed. All this was because the principal didn’t like him as a teammate. This added to the chip on Mansell’s shoulder. That same year, he announced he would race for Frank Williams.
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He Found A New Home
About Williams, Mansell said, “We have the greatest respect for each other”. He was given the number 5 car on the team. Initially, his number was white, like his teammate Keke Rosberg’s number. But that led to some confusion.
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When He Became The Legend
The color for Mansell’s number was changed to red. After a few races, the announcers began referring to him as “Red 5”. The color red followed Mansell even after he moved to number 2. The legend of Red 5 was born and would stick with him for a long time.
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From Enemies To Friends
Initially, Mansell and Rosberg had a tense relationship based on a race the previous year. There was a misunderstanding about some of Mansell’s actions during the race. In the end, the two became good friends and teammates.
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Being The Best At The Worst Outcome
1985 proved to be a bad year for Mansell’s career. He managed to accidentally break a record for highest-speed crash in F1 history while practicing for the 1985 French Grand Prix. He flew off the track at 200 mph and was severely concussed.
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Racking Up The Wins
Despite this, Mansell competed in the 1985 Belgian Grand Prix, where he placed second, and the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, where he won. Then, he raced at the South African Grand Prix in Kyalami, where he won a second time. His victories in 1985 set him up to be an F1 icon, but he was just getting started.
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A New Competitor Enters The Race
In 1986, he set himself up as a contender for the World Championship. But a new teammate threatened his position. Nelson Piquet, a Brazilian racer, called Mansell “an uneducated blockhead”. Despite being on the same team, the two would go head-to-head for the championship title.
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Losing By A Hair
In 1986, Mansell and Ayrton Senna raced in the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez. Their finish was close by a few thousandths of a second, only 0.014 seconds apart. While Mansell got second at the time, he would also joke that the officials should have awarded them 71/2 points each.
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Adding To His Hefty List Of Wins
Mansell was incredibly successful that season, pulling in wins for five Grand Prix. He was en route to claim all the championship points, at least until the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide. There, he and two other competitors—including Piquet—battled it out for the title of World Champion.
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A Chance Incident Cost Him Everything
Mansell aimed for third, which would still earn him enough points. For a while, he was doing it. Then, his tire exploded with only 19 laps to go. Rather than crash his car into a wall—which would’ve stopped the race and let him keep his position—he brought his car safely off the track.
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He Was Rewarded For His Caution
His choice to not endanger others nor grasp futilely at the title garnered him a lot of popularity. Combined with his success in the 1986 season, Mansell was in a good position. He was even voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
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He Was Undermined Once Again
Despite having a fruitful season that year, the off-track season wasn’t going as he hoped. Honda, the Williams team engine supplier, was trying to supplant Mansell and force him to curb his skill and ambition. Luckily, Williams stood by Mansell.
Another Friend Stood By Him
Williams wanted to have winners on his team, and the past couple of years had proved Mansell was up to the task. Mansell had the potential to win a championship. He still had lots more gas in the tank, and more wins to steal from Piquet.
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Fighting Through Uncontrollable Circumstances
In 1987, Mansell scraped past and got ahead of Piquet in the British Grand Prix. Even with his car running out of fuel in the slowing lap, Mansell pulled it off. But the following year was plagued by mechanical issues, which meant Mansell only finished and won two out of the 14 competitions that he raced in.
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Racing With The Best
1989 brought Mansell a new racing team: Ferrari. He was the last team member that Enzo Ferrari personally selected prior to his passing later that year. Mansell called the honor “one of the greatest in my entire career”. Italian F1 fans dubbed him “il leone”, “the lion”.
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Facing The Realities Of High-Powered Cars
Unfortunately, the rest of 1989 was a disappointment and riddled with more mechanical issues. These problems continued into 1990, and Mansell had only one victory at the 1990 Portuguese Grand Prix, after a fantastic competition with Piquet in Australia. But then, he did something no one saw coming.
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An Abrupt Ending And A Fruitful Reunion
Mansell announced his retirement from F1. He was done with the sport, with the unreliable cars, all of it. That is, until Frank Williams stepped in and brought him back to the Williams team. This reunion made Mansell he top-paid British sportsman that year.
Being The Cream Of The Crop
And things went swimmingly. He stayed with Williams until 1992 when he finally claimed the World Champion title. It was the biggest win of his career. Not only that, but he set a new record for most wins by a British driver and most wins in a single season. These records went unbroken until 2002.
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Tacking On Even More Achievements
By the time he became World Champion, Mansell had won 29 Grand Prix and had been runner-up to the title three times. It was quite the year for him, as he also won BBC Sports Personality of the Year again, one of four people to win this award more than once.
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Time Away Made The Heart Grow Fonder
After a brief stint with CART IndyCar World Series, which he was also successful in, Mansell made a brief return to F1 Racing. He rejoined the Williams team, having left in 1992, and raced with them until 1995 when his contract was apparently rescinded.
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He Didn’t Have The Patience For This Team’s Cars
After that, Mansell raced for McLaren, but he couldn’t fit into the car they gave him. It was so frustrating that he left the team, but in 2015, commented that he regretted leaving. He didn’t win any races with the team, and the last couple of years in F1 petered out rather than came to a full stop.
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He Would Never Be Done With Racing
Mansell continued to appear in races sporadically in the early 2000s, but eventually focused more on making an appearance than racing. His two sons, Leo and Greg, both raced like their father, and Mansell supported their careers. Even in the later stages of his career, he was able to set himself apart as a fantastic driver.
Awarded Beyond The Bounds Of His Official Career
To this day, Mansell continues to be memorialized and awarded based on his success in the F1 circuit. In 2006, he was admitted to the Motorsports Hall Of Fame Of America, and he was given The London Classic Car Show Icon Award in 2018.
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The Career Of The Century
Over a 15-year F1 career, Nigel Mansell set himself apart. Not only did he bring fame to his own name, but he brought pride to British F1 fans. And his legacy continues, not just through his children but his lasting influence on the sport and the cars he raced with. Now, he lives his best life with his wife, his golf and country club, and his Ferrari dealership.
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