Nigel Mansell turns 70

The passage of time is inexorable, every era has its own heroes, and if today we conduct a poll of fans and make the top ten riders of all time based on it, then it is not a fact that Nigel Mansell will be in it .

But the 1992 world champion will certainly enter the top ten of Britain’s best representatives, who have played in Formula 1 in several years, there is no doubt about that.

Yes, he won “only” one title, although it could have been more, but it didn’t work out. Let’s not forget that he made his World Championship debut at the wheel of Lotus when he was already 27 years old, and it cannot be said that he was considered particularly promising. But what has always distinguished Nigel Mansell is an unshakable belief in himself and his strength.

His first victory came only from the 75th attempt – it was the European Grand Prix, held in October 1985 at the British circuit in Brands Hatch, but then he was unstoppable. Mansell’s F1 stats are impressive: 31 wins, 32 poles, 59 podiums and 30 best laps.

It was fast on tracks of all types and configurations, and in all conditions. But not everyone remembers how he did it: for example, the future Commander of the Order of the British Empire had to mortgage his house in Birmingham in his youth to drive in Formula 3, and although his aggressive driving style began to already taking shape, only in this series he did not achieve much.

Money soon ran out, and there were no offers from the teams, but despite this, Mansell trained hard, worked on improving his physical condition and did not refuse any even not very interesting option, and after a while he achieved his goal , have had the opportunity to work on tests behind the wheel of a Lotus car.

At the same time, in 1980, the British press literally wrote the following about him: “You can name many drivers who deserve a place in Lotus more than Mansell …” But he paid no attention to that.

While driving for Lotus, Nigel climbed the podium as early as 1981, in his first full season in F1, repeated it the following year and even then spent many races impressively clear, allowing him to move to Williams – then he discovered count victory.

Mansell could have become world champion as early as 1986, but in the season finale in Australia, at the end of the race, a tire on his Williams exploded. He had a chance to win the title in 1987, but crashed his car during qualifying at Suzuka and was forced to miss the final two rounds of the season due to his injuries. And the title went to Nelson Piquet, his Williams teammate.

In 1989 and 1990 Mansell drove for Ferrari, but these were not the best years in the history of the Scuderia, and then he returned to Williams and finally got a car with which to show his best. In 1991 Nigel became vice-champion, losing only to Ayrton Senna, but the following season he took 9 wins in 16 Grand Prix and eventually became world champion.

It was the pinnacle of his Formula 1 career, after which he decided to try his luck in the overseas IndyCar series and won the title at the first attempt.

At home he was called “Big Nige”, in Italy – “Il Leone”, ie “lion”, and this is no coincidence. Today Nigel Mansell celebrates his 70th birthday and the entire motorsport world congratulates one of Britain’s most celebrated champions. We just have to join in!