Nigel Mansell Autobiography

by Nigel Mansell

  The circuits have changed beyond belief. I have to say some for the better, some for the worse, in my opinion. Improved from the point of view of safety, yes – undeniable and to be applauded. In terms of spectacular corners and needing a presence of mind to hang on to the car in those corners, less so sometimes. Some of the tracks don’t have any corners that can end your race anymore. In my opinion, those tracks have become too sterile. Some of the modern drivers who don’t realise how lucky they are even have the audacity to say there’s not much grip on the Astroturf when they slide off. Well, don’t go on it then!

  The pit lane is so much safer now, too. It seems hard to believe but in my era, on certain circuits, people in the team and the pits could be in as much danger as the drivers themselves. Back then, there was no speed limit in the pits, so we used to fly in at crazy speeds. I think the fastest recorded exit of a pit was over 180mph. There were no restrictions at all; we used to come blasting into the pits with our tyres blazing, then fire back out at mad speeds. It was a hell of a skill not to actually hit anybody, to come in and hit your marks then get out as quickly as you possibly could. It was scary stuff. Terrifying for the drivers and the mechanics alike, but yet again, through safety standards that have been introduced, the welfare of the pit crew is extensively protected.

  We didn’t have the technology at that time to limit engines in a very controlled way, but after a number of serious injuries in the pit lane, thankfully new regulations were brought in. Having 60–80kmh pit lane speeds is relatively sterile by comparison, sure, but from a safety point of view you cannot knock it. Pit lane minimum widths and the ban on refuelling have added to the safety improvement, of course.

  In my day, we used to have an old saying: ‘How do you know a really good driver? By how he comes back from a biggie.’ The old school used to view it that, when a driver has had a massive accident, it was how he returned from it that was the mark of the man. How he nursed himself through the physical injuries, the broken legs, broken feet, broken arms, broken back; how he dealt with the psychological challenges, the impact on his confidence, and yet still be able to go back and do the job. How he recovered in terms of determination, how he trained to get back in the car and then how he mentally handled putting his neck on the line again having had such a big shunt. There are many examples of drivers who had horrific accidents in days gone by and then came back amazingly well. Just look at how Niki Lauda returned after the appalling injuries and burns he suffered in a crash in 1976.

  With the monsters we drove in yesteryear, the cars weren’t always safe, weren’t comfortable, the tracks were highly charged and dangerous; you had to be more cavalier, you certainly had to be more calculating, and you had to be a lot more aware of the dangers going into notorious corners on certain circuits.

  In the modern era there are many, many drivers who will go through their entire career without having a big shunt and, even if they do crash, they will barely be hurt. Consequently, today’s drivers have less cause for fear in their cars, largely because the circuits have been made so safe. I have never had that luxury, so I acknowledge I can’t personally state whether a modern-day driver battles with fear or not, but I do know that the physical risk my generation of drivers endured was at times cripplingly real and frightening.

  I think this is tied in with another element of modern F1 that in my opinion feels very different from my era. I don’t believe I am being over-sentimental here, but in my day there was an etiquette, an unspoken respect among drivers, that I am not sure exists in the same way anymore. In yesteryear, if you pushed someone off the track or had an avoidable racing incident, you could kill somebody. So there was (usually!) a real understanding and an appreciation that these cars were not Dodgems – they could literally take someone’s life or maim them and finish a career. We knew we had to respect the risk that we were all collectively taking. Of course, some drivers occasionally got into trouble when they overstepped the mark, but there was an overarching mutual respect because of the risks we were all taking.

  In the modern era, some of the drivers – not all of them, I must state – seem to think they are driving Dodgem cars and that occasionally bumping into somebody is fun. It isn’t fun; it’s dangerous, and totally disrespectful to themselves and to the other drivers. When you are supposed to be the best drivers in the world, you don’t need to do that. You can drive hard and fast and show some great driving manoeuvres without contact; it can still be incredibly exciting without being dangerous or disrespectful. The new safety standards are absolutely fantastic, but one result is that some of the less sporting drivers now do not observe this etiquette; they are not as respectful to their fellow racers. That is a shame.

  I digress. Getting back to the exemplary safety standards in modern F1, in this day and age, you have almost bulletproof cars – the safety on the cars is second to none, the technology on the cars is second to none, the safety standards on the circuits are second to none. Of course, this all costs a massive amount of money. The FIA have poured millions and millions of pounds into improving safety in Formula 1 and for that they must be commended. Hats off to the FIA, Jean Todt, Bernie Ecclestone, Charlie Whiting, the whole organisation, they are on it all the time – perfecting the safety year on year in tiny detail, learning year on year, never sitting on their laurels, always improving. They even resurface some of the circuits. Think of the cost of all this! The attention to detail for driver and circuit safety goes hand in hand, and the modern racer is very blessed with the team of people at the FIA who take the safety of those drivers very seriously indeed.

  The most impressive element of these safety improvements is that the FIA are faced with a constantly moving target. One new regulation or track evolution is introduced but then, in the never-ending search for faster lap times and better performance, almost immediately the clever team engineers and designers create some new technology and there are suddenly safety issues that maybe didn’t even exist before. The amount of money that has been spent on safety is enormous and I must congratulate the FIA on their dogged determination to make Formula 1 a sport where the risks are diminished and contained.

  Of course, if you are travelling in a car at speeds of up to and over 200mph, you can never fully eliminate risk. In Japan in 2014, we saw the most awful accident in which Jules Bianchi was so badly injured. I was there that day and I can say it was a complete freak accident. I don’t apportion blame anywhere because everyone was doing the most fantastic job. There was a freakish set of circumstances that all aligned randomly and caused that dreadful accident. Losing control of the car at the specific point that was probably the most dangerous place on the circuit under yellow flags, in the heavy rain, at a certain precise moment, meant that he came off in the exact place to collide with that recovery vehicle. You are talking about having the most ghastly luck; it leaves me speechless and my heart goes out to his family for what has happened. As this book went to press, we received the very sad news that Jules had lost his fight and succumbed to his injuries. I was proud and privileged to have met and spoken to him the day before his accident. What a sad loss of a very skilful and wonderful young man.

  Thankfully, an incident like that is very much the rare exception. I often see crashes in the modern era where I think, If that had been in the 1980s, he would never get out of that alive. Even more so, I see big accidents where you watch the incident unfold with growing trepidation and yet the driver just gets out of the car, waves to the crowd and walks back to the pit. They walk away and everybody says, ‘My goodness me, amazing.’

  I have to qualify this and commend the FIA even more: F1 is probably the safest motorsport in the world, because of the strict safety guidelines, because of the controls and safety standards of the FIA and the tracks and the way Bernie runs the whole organisation – it is absolutely fantastic. The FIA have done a great job and that needs to be stated.

  In the 1950s and 1960s, Formula 1 witnessed horrific carnage. In the 1970s there were
multiple fatalities; in my era, through the 1980s and first half of the 1990s, things had improved but there were still many tragedies. The new era of safety was ushered in following that terrible weekend when Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger were both killed. If you look at the advances since then, Formula 1 is almost unrecognisable as a sport. Yes, some of the changes along the way have unintentionally reduced the racing spectacle. However, regardless of those arguments, F1 can now hold its head up high and rightly say it is the safest motorsport in the world.

  Someone asked me recently how I thought my 1992 World Championship-winning car would stand up if it was to race on the current F1 grid. Obviously, it’s a purely hypothetical question, but it is an interesting thought. All things being equal, with the drivers being of identical talent, I actually think in some ways the car would do quite well . . . on certain circuits.

  If we raced the old cars versus the new cars, on different circuits you’d have different scenarios. For example, modern F1 cars can corner incredibly well. Back in my era, we had those cars with 1350bhp, so in terms of sheer power, they were a mighty creation. Perhaps if we drove around the old Silverstone, with those very fast corners that we went round flat out, I’d be very surprised if we didn’t kick the ass of a number of the present-day cars. Only because of the horsepower advantage, though. However, if you go to a medium/slow circuit, there’s no question whatsoever that today’s cars would kick the old cars into a cocked hat, because of the technology, the aero, the electronic assistance. There’s such a better balance to the cars now.

  If I was asked how I would improve Formula 1, I would definitely have a number of firm ideas. I acknowledge that power steering is an incredible aid and I don’t think you can take that away now, but I would remove a number of the other aids. I would make sure that wheelspin came back into Formula 1. I would give the cars 30 per cent more horsepower.

  I would make the tyres bigger and wider so that the cars have more mechanical grip. Yes, they’d be slower down the straights but you can compensate for that to some degree by having more horsepower. I think we need to make it more interesting under braking and through the corners, I want to see the drivers having to muscle cars around the circuit.

  I would definitely attract more teams on to the grid – that’s not necessarily as simplistic as saying there should be a spending cap. It is about making sure new teams have the ability to design and produce a car that is competitive. Formula 1 needs to be more of a level playing field. We have to make sure the sport remains exciting and attracts new fans, as well as keeping the existing supporters.

  Another fabulous privilege of being a steward and being around the paddock is that I have met and got to know many of the current crop of F1 drivers. I’ve spoken earlier about some of my childhood heroes and also about my contemporaries in my own career, but now I’d like to chat to you about the modern generation. In my opinion, the modern F1 grid is excellent; all the drivers bring a variety of skills and styles to the table. Maybe I am biased, but I think a few of them would have struggled to compete with the great world champions of the past.

  What do world champions have that separate them from other racers? An incredible determination, a dogged single-mindedness, they are so incredibly focused on winning. However, to be a champion it is not enough to just win. First of all you have to concentrate on being successful, then you have to be focused on winning consistently, but then you have to have the incredible ability to maintain this package for an entire year. People can do well and maybe win at one race weekend, but to put all the ingredients together that you need to be a champion, over the course of a whole year, is a very different challenge. World champions have the ability to see the bigger picture, and know what is needed to motivate everyone for a whole season, to keep up the winning ways and make sure they don’t miss their opportunity.

  Let’s start with the most successful driver of the modern era, Michael Schumacher. Michael was a very cool cookie from day one. Some people hit the right team at the right time, and the Benetton was certainly a great car. Even so, Michael did an extraordinary job from very early on in his career. It was clear straight away that he was an athlete, a great driver, and a driver with a light touch. That combination was fantastic.

  He was also blessed with a fantastic management team led by Willi Weber, who was able to get him the support he needed at the right time. When he arrived at Ferrari, there was a perfect storm of fabulous engineering, brilliant management, an amazing team principal and senior management at the manufacturer, plus this incredible young driver. When you win so prolifically, to then keep all that support and the team together, that is a talent in itself. Some people get the backing of manufacturers and the team for years; some enjoy it only fleetingly or for a season or two, and then the moment is gone. I would say I fit into the latter category.

  Another point to make is that the unprecedented degree of reliability that Ferrari demonstrated to the world – not just to different manufacturers, but to the wider world – with years of no DNFs, was just mind-blowing. Ferrari has got to take great credit for that and Jean Todt has got to take great credit too, along with Ross Brawn and the rest of the team. For many years they were totally unbeatable. However, Michael still had to race each and every car, and he did that sublimely.

  I believe Michael Schumacher moved the goalposts in Formula 1. He raised the bar with his fitness levels, his approach, and the reliability he was able to utilise. I would say he was a racer more than a driver. Of course, Michael had his moments where he did things on the track, in qualifying and the races, that some people felt were not appropriate. At those times, he was doing what he thought was required to win, but he attracted a lot of criticism for that. However, you should never let that take away from his wonderful achievements. I don’t think that anyone will come close to seven World Championships for many years to come.

  I always found Michael to be a very nice young man. Obviously he had his critics due to his approach to certain situations on the track. A Formula 1 paddock is a very highly charged place, full of drivers who are intensely competitive individuals, who want to be the best in the world, so sometimes tempers flare and people disagree. I certainly experienced that a few times, let’s be honest!

  With Michael, it was clear to all of us that this young driver was a potential threat to Ayrton’s crown, so that ramped up the tension between the two of them. Michael stood his ground and said, ‘Just because I am the new kid on the block and you are a champion, I am not going to be pushed about.’ You have to admire him for that. He wasn’t intimidated or apprehensive; he wanted to win, he wanted to be world champion, simple as that. If someone was a legend and the top of the tree, then Michael was even more motivated to overhaul them. Like I said, he was a true racer.

  I was horrified when I heard about his skiing accident and the injuries he has suffered. Michael is in our minds all the time. I have admired Michael and known him as a friend and as a driver in a lot of ways for many years, and I admire his fight now. I know that all of Formula 1 and its fans are praying for him and hoping for some sort of recovery. What must never be forgotten is that what Michael achieved in his career was magical.

  Jenson Button is a really super guy, extremely professional, very likable and a gentleman around the paddock. In my opinion he is underrated; I think he deserves more kudos than he gets sometimes. He is a world champion, don’t forget. I think, on the one hand, Jenson is not an out-and-out racer, because he needs a car to offer something special for him in particular. But, when he gets that, he is absolutely one of the best out-and-out racers there is. That’s not a contradiction in terms. Some people are out-and-out racers regardless of what car they are in. I put Jenson into the category of a driver who, when he’s got everything perfect, is sheer brilliance. Better still, and perhaps more impressively, when he hasn’t got everything perfect, I would put him into the category of being smart – he is very clever.

  He won’t push a car that he knows
isn’t up to the job. He should never be underestimated, certainly not by his rivals on track. I was delighted for him when McLaren renewed his contract going into the 2015 season, because now he can flourish. He can do a fantastic job; he has done so in the past and he will do so again. I have absolutely no doubt that, given the right car, Jenson could be world champion again. No doubt at all. I was 40 when I won my title, so he has time on his hands!

  I am a big fan of Fernando Alonso, a big fan. For me, at the time of writing, Alonso is the sleeping giant of Formula 1. He did such a fantastic job for Ferrari. I know there were difficulties there at times, but I personally think he did an incredible job at Maranello. Now he is with Jenson at McLaren, where he too will flourish if he’s given the opportunity. Both Alonso and Jenson will need to be patient because the new engine partnership with Honda will take time to bed in and get right, for sure. However, Alonso is from a breed of true racers, it is in his blood, and in my opinion he has the talent and experience to go on to win a whole number of World Championships. He is both more calculating and also more daring than most drivers on the grid, so I just hope he gets the opportunity to show exactly how good he is with McLaren. He has done brilliantly. I am a big admirer of him.

  Sebastian Vettel is a great driver. At times there was an underlying feeling held by some of his critics that he won four titles because he was number one driver in a car that was massively superior to its rivals. The season at Red Bull in 2014, when Vettel struggled, notably against his new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, was held up as further proof of this theory.

  However, I disagree. I think Sebastian is a hugely talented driver. Yes, he has been fortunate with the support he’s had all the way through his career. However, he is a protégé who has backed up his early promise and I think it is all too easy to denigrate his achievements. When he eclipsed my record of the greatest number of laps led in a season (mine stood at 692, Seb managed 711, albeit with more races), I sent him a note congratulating him and he accepted that very graciously and said some lovely things about me. In fact, he actually said that my note meant more to him than the actual record! There were various other records of mine that he took from me, but let’s not talk about that!