Haas Lola

Full name	Team Haas (USA) Ltd.
Base	Colnbrook, England, United Kingdom
Founder(s)	Carl Haas Teddy Mayer
Noted drivers	Alan Jones Patrick Tambay Eddie Cheever
Formula One World Championship career
Constructors	Lola-Hart Lola-Ford
Debut	1985 Italian Grand Prix
Races competed	19
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0
Race victories	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
Final race	1986 Australian Grand Prix

Team Haas (USA) Ltd. was an American Formula One team founded by Carl Haas and Teddy Mayer in 1984, which competed in the World Championship from 1985 to 1986. The project was funded by Beatrice Foods and helped the team enter an agreement to use Ford engines for three seasons. 1980 World Champion Alan Jones was coaxed out of retirement to drive the team's first car at the end of the 1985 season and on into 1986. After a change of management at Beatrice led to the company withdrawing their funding of the project, the team was unable to continue in Formula One after the 1986 season.

The team was commonly known as Haas Lola due to Haas' association with Lola Cars International, although Lola was not involved in the project.^[1] Their cars were actually designed by Haas-owned design and construction company known as FORCE. Lola however earned the team's points towards the Constructors Championships as the team's designated constructor.

Team history[link]

Backing from Beatrice and Ford[link]

In autumn 1984, Carl Haas had successfully negotiated a sponsorship deal with Beatrice Foods for Haas's Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) IndyCar team. As part of the agreement, Beatrice agreed to help fund an expansion of the team into Formula One with primary sponsorship of the effort.^[2] With the aid of Beatrice, later that year Haas announced an engine supplier for the program. Ford was in the process of developing a turbocharged V6 engine (known as the TEC) as a replacement for their aged naturally aspirated Cosworth DFV V8 which was no longer able to successfully compete with its turbocharged competitors. The deal was announced to last for three seasons, with Haas being the exclusive receiver of the new engines.^[2] As part of the announcement, former World Champion Alan Jones announced his return from retirement to drive the team's first car in 1985.^[3] The development of the GBA engine at Cosworth was documented for Channel 4's Equinox series and broadcast in 1986.

With cash flow and engines, Carl Haas began creating the team as well as organising a design team to develop a new car. Former McLaren owner Teddy Mayer became co-owner of the project and aided the team in establishing their base,^[4] purchasing a disused factory in Colnbrook, England, and establishing Formula One Race Car Engineering (FORCE).^[2] The FORCE base housed the team's designers, led by former Williams engineer Neil Oatley and included new designer Ross Brawn. The team's cars were also to be built in the same factory.^[2]

Even with FORCE designing and building the cars, Carl Haas chose to enter the cars in the 1985 Formula One season under the constructor name of Lola. Haas was the official importer of cars from British firm Lola Cars International to the United States, and wished to associate the more popular Lola name with the team.^[2] Lola was however not involved in the project, and played no part in the design or construction of the team's cars.^[1]

1985 season[link]

The FORCE THL1 car

Team Haas entered the 1985 championship without the intention of running the full season as the team was still designing their first car, the THL1, when the season began. The team's promised Ford TEC engines were not able to be completed by the end of 1985, so Haas signed an agreement with Brian Hart Ltd. to purchase their 415T turbocharged Inline-4 engines until the Ford units could be completed.^[2] Goodyear was signed as the team's tyre supplier. The Oatley-designed THL1-Hart was first completed by the summer of 1985, and the team began preparation for several planned starts for driver Alan Jones by the end of the season.

The team made its first race appearance at the Italian Grand Prix, where Jones qualified second from last on the grid. The race was short lived as the Hart engine failed after only six laps. Haas opted to not attend the Belgian Grand Prix, returning instead for the team's home race at Brands Hatch, the European Grand Prix. Jones' qualifying was improved, earning 22nd on the grid, but the car failed once again after 13 laps due to radiator damage. At the South African Grand Prix, Jones qualified the car but was unable to take part in the race after he became ill. The Australian Grand Prix closed the team's short season, producing another short race after electrical problems sidelined the car after 20 laps.

1986 season[link]

After the team's experimental 1985 season, FORCE concentrated on developing the team's second car, the THL2, designed specifically for their contracted Ford engines. Frenchman Patrick Tambay, who had previously driven for Haas' Can-Am team in North America, was added as the team's second entry alongside Jones.^[1] Problems arose however before the season began, as Cosworth's efforts to build the new Ford engines had been delayed, forcing the team to start the season with the previous year's car. Even with the old machinery, Tambay was able to qualify 13th on the grid of the Brazilian Grand Prix, although he and Jones both retired. Tambay improved for the next round, the Spanish Grand Prix, as he finished the first race for the team, the last of eight cars to cross the finish line.

By the San Marino Grand Prix, the first THL2-Ford was completed for Jones, but was able to qualify 21st in comparison to Tambay's eleventh in the THL1-Hart. Tambay received his first THL2 at Monaco and quickly qualified eighth with it, only to crash out of the race in the final eleven laps. Although still outqualified by Tambay, Jones was in position to finish his first race with the team in Belgium before his car ran out of fuel in the closing laps. Jones managed to see the finish of the Canadian Grand Prix, but his teammate was injured in a heavy crash during the warm-up lap.^[4]

American driver Eddie Cheever was signed by Haas at Tambay's temporary replacement for the Detroit Grand Prix after Carl Haas had difficulty in obtaining a superlicence for Michael Andretti. Cheever qualified tenth and ran high enough to possibly earn points, but retired with a broken wheel peg, four laps after Jones had also retired with steering problems.^[4] Tambay, recovered from his injuries, returned to the team at the 1986 French Grand Prix. Over the next two Grands Prix Tambay was in a position to finish before mechanical problems forced him to retire within the final fifteen laps of both races.

The German Grand Prix became another first for the team as both cars finished the race. Tambay, a lap down, was classified eighth while Jones was ninth and two laps down from the race winner. Tambay improved this performance with a seventh place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix, after having qualified the car in a season best of sixth on the grid. The improvements finally paid off at the Austria as mechanical problems for many top teams allowed the two Haas entries to earn points towards the World Championship, even though both cars were two laps behind the winner. Jones finished in fourth, earning three points, just ahead of Tambay in fifth, who was awarded two points. Jones earned a further point for a sixth place finish at the Italian Grand Prix.

Problems began within the team however as a change in management in the summer of 1985 at Beatrice led to the company ending their sponsorship deal with Haas during the 1986 season, taking away funding from the effort.^[2] The team began to struggle for results as the money supply dwindled. Tambay finished the Portuguese Grand Prix, but did not complete enough laps to be classified in the results. Both drivers retired in Mexico, while the team ended the year with Alan Jones' Ford motor failing after 16 laps, and Tambay finishing the race 12 laps behind and once again not classified.

With a total of four points, Alan Jones was 12th in the Drivers Championship, while Tambay was 15th with two points. As the team's designated constructor, Lola received a total of six points, earning them eighth in the Constructors Championship.

1987 plans and demise[link]

Shortly after the end of the 1986 season, Carl Haas was continuing to try to find funding to continue into the 1987 season after Beatrice had opted to not return. The team still had a deal for Ford engines, but after being unable to find the sponsorship necessary, Carl Haas closed the team by the end of October, and the FORCE base was sold to Bernie Ecclestone, then owner of Brabham.^[2] The team was dismantled, with Haas and Mayer returning to the United States and Oatley moving on to design for McLaren. Jones and Tambay both left Formula One after their contracts ended, moving onto other categories of motorsport.^[1] The turbocharged Ford engines were used by Benetton in the 1987 season. The former FORCE factory was retained by Ecclestone for use by Alfa Romeo in building several racing cars before it was sold to March Engineering in 1989, where it built Ralts and March IndyCars.^[2]

Lola meanwhile had their own plans for 1987, building a Formula One car for the new Larrousse & Calmels team. Unlike the Haas Lolas, these cars were designed and built by Lola at their factory, making them the first Lolas in Formula One since the company built chassis for Embassy Hill in 1975.

Complete Formula One results[link]

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

References[link]

• All Formula One results are taken from formula1.com

v t e Lola Formula One cars Lola (1962–1968): Mk4 | Mk4A | T100 | T102 Honda (1968): RA300 | RA301 Embassy-Hill (1974–1975): T370 | T371 Haas Lola (1985–1986): THL1 | THL2 Larrousse (1987–1991): LC87 | LC88 | LC88B | LC89 | LC90 | LC91 BMS Scuderia Italia (1993): T93/30 MasterCard Lola (1997): T97/30 Test cars: T95/30

Look up haas in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Haas can refer to:

• Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley
• Haas Automation, a machine tool company
• Haas effect, a psychoacoustic effect
• Haas Pavilion at the University of California, Berkeley
• Newman/Haas Racing, an auto racing team
• Haas (rocket), a Romanian launch system
• Seri dialect name for the Honey Mesquite tree
• Hardware as a Service, a variation of Infrastructure as a Service

Haas as a surname may refer to:

• Andreas Haas (born 1982), German footballer
• Arthur Erich Haas (1884–1941), Austrian physicist
• Bernt Haas (born 1978), Austrian football (soccer) player
• Bill Haas (born 1982), American professional golfer
• Bob Haas (born 1942), former chairman of Levi Strauss & Co.
• Carl Haas (born 1930), American auto racing impresario
• Charles F. Haas (born 1913), American film and television director
• Charles S. Haas (born 1952), American screenwriter and actor
• Charlie Haas (born 1972), American professional wrestler
• Christl Haas (1943–2001), Austrian Olympic skiing champion
• Clark Haas (fl. 1957-1973), American cartoonist
• Conrad Haas (1509–1576), Austrian military engineer
• Darius de Haas (born 1968), American stage actor and singer
• David Haas (born 1957), American author and composer of liturgical music
• Dolly Haas (1910–1994), German-American actress
• Earle Haas (1888–1981), inventor of the modern menstrual tampon
• Eddie Haas (born 1935), American baseball outfielder and manager
• Eduard Haas (1897–19??), Austrian inventor of Pez candy
• Ernst Haas (1921–1986), Austrian photographer and photojournalist
• Ernst B. Haas (1924–2003), American political scientist
• Frank Joseph Haas, former Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia
• Fred Haas (ca. 1915–2004), American golfer
• Fritz Haas (zoologist) (1886–1969)
• Geertruida de Haas-Lorentz (1885–1973), Dutch physicist
• Gene Haas (born 1952), American machine tool manufacturer
• Georg Haas (physician) (1886–1971), German medical doctor
• Georg Friedrich Haas (born 1953), Austrian composer
• Hans Haas (1886–1935), German Protestant theologian
• Harald Haas (born 1990), Austrian software developer and politician
• Helmut Haas (fl. 1949), discoverer of the Haas effect, a psychoacoustic effect
• Hugo Haas (1901–1968), Czech film actor and director
• Jacob de Haas (1872–1937), UK journalist and an early leader of the Zionist movement
• Jay Haas (born 1953), American professional golfer
• Josef Haas (born 1937), Swiss cross country skier
• Joseph Haas (1879–1960), German composer
• Karen L. Haas, American government administrator and lobbyist
• Karl Haas (1913–2005), American classical music radio show host
• Lukas Haas (born 1976), American film actor
• Mario Haas (born 1974), Austrian football (soccer) forward
• Mary Haas (1910–1996), American linguist
• Mauritz de Haas (1832–1895), Dutch-American marine painter
• Maximilian Haas (born 1985), German footballer
• Monique Haas (1909–1987), French pianist
• Moose Haas (born 1956), American baseball player
• Mule Haas (1903–1974), American baseball player
• Nico de Haas (1907–ca. 2000), Dutch National-Socialist editor, photographer, and artist
• Pavel Haas (1899–1944), Czech Jewish composer
• Richard Haas (born 1936), American muralist
• Robert Haas (clergyman), 19th-century German Lutheran minister
• Robert Haas (musicologist) (1886–1960), Austrian musicologist
• Russ Haas (1974–2001), American professional wrestler
• Saskia Rao-de Haas, Dutch cellist of music from India
• Sidney V. Haas, M.D. (1870–1964), American pediatrician and originator of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet
• Thomas J. Haas, American university president
• Tommy Haas (born 1978), German tennis player
• Wander Johannes de Haas (1878–1960), Dutch physicist and mathematician
• Walter A. Haas (1889–1979), American president and chairman of Levi Strauss & Co.
• Walter A. Haas, Jr. (1916–1995), American president and chairman of Levi Strauss & Co.
• Walter H. Haas, (born 1917), American amateur astronomer, founder of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO)
• Waltraut Haas (born 1927), Austrian actress and singer
• Wolf Haas (born 1960), Austrian author
• Wolfgang Haas (born 1948), archbishop in Liechtenstein

See also[link]

• Hass avocado
• Hass (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Look up lola in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Lola may refer to:

People[link]

• Lola (given name)
• Lola (pornographic actress) (born 1976), American actress
• Lola (singer) (born 1981), French-born singer and songwriter
• Lola Beltrán or Lola, la grande (1932-1996), Mexican singer
• Lola Yo'ldosheva or Lola (born 1985), Uzbek singer, songwriter and actress

Characters in fiction[link]

• Lola Lola, the infamous seductress of Heinrich Mann's novel Professor Unrat
• Lola Bunny, girlfriend of Bugs Bunny
• Lola Sonner, from Charlie and Lola
• Lola, in Atonement
• Lola, in Shark Tale
• Lola, in later Plaza Sésamo television series
• Lola, in CatDog
• Lola, in South Park

Film and television[link]

• Lola (TV series), a 2008 Greek sitcom
• Lola (1961 film), a film by Jacques Demy
• Lola (1969 film), a film starring Charles Bronson
• Lola (1974 film), a film by David Hemmings
• Lola (1981 film), a film by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
• Lola, a 2001 Canadian film by Carl Bessai
• Lola, a 2009 film by Brilante Mendoza
• Clubbed to Death (film) or Lola, a film by Yolande Zauberman‎

Music[link]

• "Lola" (song), a song by The Kinks
• "Whatever Lola Wants" (Lola Gets), a song from the Broadway musical, Damn Yankees
• "Lola", a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
• "Lola", a song by Dana International
• "Lola", a song by Superbus
• Lola, the subject of Barry Manilow's song "Copacabana"

Places[link]

• Lola River, Romania
• Lola Prefecture, Guinea
• Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture, Guinea
• Lola Island, an island in the Solomon Islands

Other uses[link]

• Tropical Storm Lola (disambiguation), various cyclones
• Deutscher Filmpreis (German Film Awards) or Lolas
• Lola (computing), a hardware-description language
• Lola language of Indonesia
• Lola Cars, a racing car constructor based in England
• MasterCard Lola, a racing team
• Ladies of Liberty Alliance
• Lola 8, an early Serbian personal computer
• Lola, water balloons thrown in Nepal during the Holi festival
• Lola, a hawk mated to Pale Male
• Lola, the cat whose abuse was the subject of noted Internet vigilantism

See also[link]

• LOLA (disambiguation)
• Dolores (disambiguation), of which Lola is a diminutive form
• Lolita (disambiguation), a diminutive form of Lola

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Ross Brawn
Ross Brawn at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Born	Ross James Brawn (1954-11-23) 23 November 1954 (age 57) Manchester, Lancashire, UK
Nationality	British
Occupation	Team principal of Mercedes GP 2010–Present
Net worth	£100M
Partner	Jean Brawn

Ross James Brawn OBE (born 23 November 1954) is an English motorsport engineer and Formula One team principal. He has worked for a number of Formula One teams, serving as the technical director of the championship-winning Benetton and Ferrari teams. He took a sabbatical from the sport in 2007 but returned to F1 for the 2008 season as Team Principal of Honda.^[1] He was the owner of the Brawn GP team, which acquired the Honda team in early 2009, and won the Formula One Constructors and Drivers Championships in that year. Mercedes bought into the team in November 2009, making Brawn Team Principal & Co-Owner with Nick Fry. In 2011 Brawn & Fry sold the remaining shares to Mercedes Benz. Brawn remains as Team Principal with Fry as CEO.

Early life and family[link]

Brawn was born in south Manchester, Lancashire (now part of Greater Manchester) England. He became interested in engineering during his early years, often visiting Belle Vue Stadium to watch various forms of motor racing.^[2] He moved south aged 11 as his father took job near Reading and subsequently he attended Reading School in Reading, Berkshire.

In the early 1970s he was taken on as a trainee engineer by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority at its Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, Oxfordshire, where he studied instrumentation.

Brawn lives in Stoke Row, near Henley-on-Thames. In his spare time he enjoys gardening, fishing and listening to music. In 2006 Brawn received an honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering (DEng) from Brunel University for his services to motorsport. On 18 November 2011, Brawn received a second honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University.

Career[link]

His career in motorsport began in 1976 when he joined March Engineering in the town of Bicester as a milling machine operator. Soon afterwards he joined their Formula 3 racing team as a mechanic. Brawn was hired by Sir Frank Williams in 1978 as a machinist for the newly formed Williams team. He quickly moved up through the ranks, working in the R&D department and as an aerodynamicist in the team's wind tunnel.^[3]

After brief stints with the now-defunct Haas Lola and Arrows F1 teams, in 1989 Brawn moved to the Jaguar sports car racing division, and was lead designer on the Jaguar XJR-14 which won the 1991 World Sportscar Championship.^[4][3]

Benetton[link]

Later in 1991 Brawn returned to F1 as technical director of the Benetton team, helping it win consecutive World Drivers' Championships in 1994 and 1995 with Michael Schumacher, and to take the World Constructors' Championship in 1995. Brawn was credited by much of the specialist press with being an important part of these championships, particularly in terms of devising race strategy.

Ferrari[link]

Ross Brawn in the pit lane at the 2003 US GP.

Ross Brawn followed Schumacher to the Ferrari F1 team in late 1996, at the end of Schumacher's first year with the team. Again he was renowned for his race strategies as the team began to challenge for the championship from 1997, despite the superiority of the Williams cars that year and the McLarens from 1998 onwards. After these "rebuilding" years, he (as Ferrari technical director) helped Ferrari regain glory when the team won the Constructors' Championship in 1999, the first of six consecutive titles. The Brawn-guided Scuderia also powered Schumacher to five consecutive drivers' titles, from 2000 to 2004. Brawn's contributions to this unprecedented string of titles has led many to label him as a vital member of the Ferrari "dream team" along with Schumacher, team principal Jean Todt and chief designer Rory Byrne. In 2005 Ferrari never quite found form, and had to relinquish the title to Renault, and Schumacher passed the crown to Fernando Alonso. In 2006 Ferrari had a poor start to the season, but clearly had the fastest car by the end of that season.

On 26 October 2006 Ferrari announced that Brawn was to leave the team. It was believed that he would take a one year sabbatical, to allow other members of the Ferrari technical departments to advance within the team.

Honda[link]

Towards the end of 2007 it was reported that Brawn was to join the big-spending Red Bull outfit as part of a package intended to attract double world champion Fernando Alonso, but it was announced on 12 November 2007 that Brawn was to become the new team principal of Honda F1 .^[5] He started working with the British-based team on 26 November 2007.

With the withdrawal of Honda from Formula One announced in late 2008 Brawn was effectively out of the sport unless a buyer could quickly be found. This was unfortunate for Brawn as he believed that the team had a "race-winning car" for 2009.^[6]

Brawn GP[link]

Wikinews has related news: Brawn GP take over Honda Formula One team

On 5 March 2009 Brawn completed a 100% buy-out of Honda F1 and announced entry to the 2009 F1 World Championship under the new name Brawn GP.^[7]

Many aspects of Honda F1 were retained under the new ownership, including the experienced driver line-up of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button. Brawn GP chose to source their engines for the 2009 season from Mercedes-Benz.^[8] In the first Grand Prix of 2009 in Australia, Button qualified in pole position with Barrichello in 2nd place,^[9] they went on to finish in those positions.^[10] Of the 19 Grand Prix races of the 2009 season, Jenson Button won 6 and Rubens Barrichello won 2, while the team finished in both 1st and 2nd places in 4 races and in podium positions in 11 races.

The Brawn team was given a financial boost on the eve of the Australian GP when Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson announced he was going to become a team sponsor.^[11] The team then got a second sponsor on board, The Swiss brokers MIG Investments. Brawn GP won the 2009 Formula One World Constructors' Championship and one of its drivers, Jenson Button, won the World Drivers' Championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Brawn was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to motorsport.^[12][13]

Mercedes GP[link]

Brawn GP was bought out by Mercedes-Benz in November 2009 in a deal reported to be worth £110m.^[14] Brawn, as majority shareholder, stood to do very well financially from the deal and remained as team principal. He and Nick Fry kept a 24.9% share in the new team, which was then sold to Mercedes in early 2011.^[15] In December 2009 seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher confirmed that the main reason he decided to go to Mercedes GP was because of Ross Brawn.^[16] It was at Benetton and at Ferrari where Ross Brawn masterminded Schumacher's seven world titles. However, the start of the season was rather slow, and in the first three races, Schumacher managed only 6th in Bahrain, 10th in Australia, and retired in Malaysia because of a lost wheel nut, whilst Schumacher's teammate and country-man Nico Rosberg had a bit more success with the car, finishing 5th in Malaysia and in Australia and scoring the first podium for Mercedes Grand Prix with a 3rd place in Malaysia. The team won their first race on 15 April 2012, when Nico Rosberg won the Chinese Grand Prix.

Speeding offence[link]

Brawn escaped a driving ban after he admitted speeding at over 100 mph (160 km/h) on a dual carriageway. He was speeding in his Mercedes E63 AMG on the 70 mph (110 km/h) limited A30 at Sourton near Okehampton, Devon on May 30, 2009. Brawn paid a fine of £700, costs of £75, and had his licence endorsed with six points.

Following an offence in February 2009, Brawn already had three points. A further speeding offence could result in a ban lasting six months.^[17]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile – from Mercedes GP official website
• Ross Brawn – The Reluctant Entrepreneur

v t e  Mercedes-Benz in Formula One Current personnel: Bob Bell · Ross Brawn · Jock Clear · Aldo Costa  · Nick Fry · Norbert Haug · James Vowles · Geoff Willis Former personnel (1950s): Alfred Neubauer · Max Sailer · Rudolf Uhlenhaut Race drivers: 7. Michael Schumacher · 8. Nico Rosberg Test drivers: Sam Bird World Champions: Juan Manuel Fangio European Champions: Rudolf Caracciola Notable drivers: Louis Chiron · Luigi Fagioli · Hans Herrmann · Karl Kling · Hermann Lang · Stirling Moss · Richard Seaman · Manfred von Brauchitsch Cars Formula One: W196 · MGP W01 · MGP W02 · F1 W03 Grand Prix: W25 · W125 · W154 Voiturette: W165

v t e Brawn GP Personnel: Ross Brawn | Nick Fry | Loïc Bigois | Jörg Zander World Champions:  Jenson Button Other noted drivers: Rubens Barrichello Formula One cars: BGP 001

v t e Honda Racing F1 Personnel: 1963–1968: Soichiro Honda | Yoshio Nakamura | Shoichi Sano 1999: Harvey Postlethwaite | Tim Densham 2006–2008: Nick Fry | Ross Brawn | Yasuhiro Wada | Geoff Willis | Shuhei Nakamoto | Loïc Bigois Notable drivers: Jenson Button | Rubens Barrichello | Ronnie Bucknum | Richie Ginther | Jo Schlesser | John Surtees Formula One cars: RA270 | RA271 | RA272 | RA273 | RA300 | RA301 | RA302 | RC100 | RA099 | RA106 | RA107 | RA108

v t e   Scuderia Ferrari Founder: Enzo Ferrari President: Luca Cordero di Montezemolo Current personnel: Mario Almondo · Luca Baldisserri · Stefano Domenicali · Pat Fry · Hirohide Hamashima · Luca Marmorini · Neil Martin · Massimo Rivola · Rob Smedley · Andrea Stella · Nicholas Tombazis Former personnel: Luca Badoer · John Barnard · Ross Brawn · Gustav Brunner · Rory Byrne · Carlo Chiti · Gioacchino Colombo · Aldo Costa · Chris Dyer · Cesare Fiorio · Mauro Forghieri · Vittorio Jano · Aurelio Lampredi · Harvey Postlethwaite · Enrique Scalabroni · Gilles Simon · Nigel Stepney · Jean Todt Race drivers: 5. Fernando Alonso · 6. Felipe Massa Test drivers: TBA Former drivers World Champions:  Alberto Ascari ·  Juan Manuel Fangio ·  Mike Hawthorn ·  Phil Hill ·  Niki Lauda ·  Kimi Räikkönen ·  Jody Scheckter ·   Michael Schumacher ·  John Surtees Formula One cars: 125 · 212 · 166 · 275 · 340 · 375 · 500 · 553 · 625 · 555 · D50 · 801 · 246 · 156 · 158 · 1512 · 312 · 312B · 312T · 126C · 156/85 · F1/86 · F1/87 · 640 · 641 · 642 · 643 · F92A · F93A · 412T · F310 · F300 · F399 · F1-2000 · F2001 · F2002 · F2003-GA · F2004 · F2005 · 248 F1 · F2007 · F2008 · F60 · F10 · 150° Italia · F2012

v t e    Benetton Formula    Founder: Luciano Benetton Personnel: Flavio Briatore | John Barnard | Rocco Benetton | Ross Brawn | Mike Gascoyne | Nigel Stepney | Pat Symonds | Steve Matchett | David Richards | Peter Collins | Rory Byrne | Nicholas Tombazis | Pat Fry | Nick Wirth World Champions: Michael Schumacher Formula One cars: B186 | B187 | B188 | B189 | B189B | B190 | B190B | B191 | B191B | B192 | B193 | B193B | B194 | B195 | B196 | B197 | B198 | B199 | B200 | B201

v t e    Williams F1 Founders:  Frank Williams · Patrick Head Current Personnel:  Mike Coughlan · Toto Wolff Former Personnel:  Ross Brawn · Frank Dernie · Gavin Fisher · Sam Michael · Adrian Newey · Neil Oatley · Adam Parr · Enrique Scalabroni · Geoff Willis Race drivers: 18. Pastor Maldonado · 19. Bruno Senna Test drivers: Valtteri Bottas · Susie Wolff World Champions:  Alan Jones · Keke Rosberg · Nelson Piquet · Nigel Mansell · Alain Prost · Damon Hill · Jacques Villeneuve Formula One cars:  Frank Williams Racing Cars: FW · FW04 · FW05 Williams Grand Prix Engineering/WilliamsF1: FW06 · FW07 · FW07B · FW07C · FW08 · FW08C · FW09 · FW09B · FW10 · FW11 · FW11B · FW12 · FW12C · FW13 · FW13B · FW14 · FW14B · FW15C · FW16 · FW16B · FW17 · FW17B · FW18 · FW19 · FW20 · FW21 · FW22 · FW23 · FW24 · FW25 · FW26 · FW27 · FW28 · FW29 · FW30 · FW31 · FW32 · FW33 · FW34 FIA Formula Two Cars: JPH1 · JPH1B Le Mans prototypes: BMW V12 LM · BMW V12 LMR Road cars: Renault Clio Williams Rally cars: Metro 6R4 Touring cars: Renault Laguna (BTCC)

Nigel Mansell Mansell at the 1991 United States Grand Prix Born (1953-08-08) 8 August 1953 (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, CBE (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 held the record for the most number of poles set in a single season, which was broken 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]. He is also President of the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists).

Career[link]

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 1978–1980. 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[link]

1980–1984: Lotus[link]

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 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 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. This was demonstrated by the fact that Mansell's teammate Elio de Angelis had exclusive use of a Renault turbo-charged 93T for the whole season, and Mansell did not get to drive a turbocharged car until the 9th round, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, a race where he climbed from 16th to 2nd and eventually finished 4th in a brand-new, hastily designed 94T. 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), 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 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 firstly turning down Williams's offer, it was announced before the Dutch Grand Prix that he would indeed be joining Williams.

Mansell was remembered by many that year when he collapsed while pushing his car to the finish line after the transmission failed on the last lap of the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix. The race was one of the hottest on record, and after 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[link]

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 twice World Champion 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^[12] . In a 2012 interview for Sky Sports Legends of F1^[13] Mansell revealed that, had he hit the wall rather than bringing the car safely to a halt, the stewards would 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.

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[link]

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.^[14] 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.^[15] 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.^[16]

1991–1992: Return to Williams[link]

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.^[17][18] 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 14 pole positions that year, a record only broken by Sebastian Vettel in 2011 in the Brazilian Grand Prix on the 26th November.

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[link]

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".^[19]

Return to Formula One[link]

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.^[20] 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[link]

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[link]

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. He lost control of his car through the exit of the Old Hairpin, over-corrected the slide and collided with Tiff Needell's Nissan, resulting in a spin and a heavy impact with the tyre wall under the bridge.^[21]

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.^[22][23]

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.^[24] The race was regarded by many fans as one of the greatest in touring car history.^[25]

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.^[26][27] Having competed in 3 of the 13 rounds, he finished 18th out of 21 in the drivers' championship.^[28]

Subsequent appearances[link]

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.^[29] 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.^[30]

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.^[31] 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.^[32] 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.^[33]

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.^[34] He was paired with Chris Niarchos, finishing 7th in class and 21st overall.^[35]

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,^[36][37] 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.^[38]

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.^[39]

Mansell raced a Ginetta-Zytek Z09R in the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, alongside his two sons.^[40] 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.^[41]

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[link]

On October 1, 2009 Nigel appeared as the 'Face of Euronics'.^[42]