The question mark over Mansell

Nigel Mansell won 31 grands prix in Formula 1 - more than any other British driver - and was world champion in 1992. But after delving through his statistics, Tony Dodgins finds that there is still a question mark lingering over his career

At Silverstone, I had cause to speak to Jacques Laffite about the 1986 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch – the one that ended his Formula 1 career with badly-broken legs.

It was for a feature that will appear in AUTOSPORT magazine and while reminiscing, the Frenchman said with a smile: "Not a good outcome for me but pretty good for Nigel [Mansell]. He'd broken a driveshaft off the line and if I hadn't crashed, that would have been it for him. But there was a restart and he was able to take the spare car and beat Nelson [Piquet], which was important for him."

To continue reading this feature...

You must have an AUTOSPORT+ subscription. Prices start from just $1.50 per week and give you full unrestriced access to all news and features. View package options? Magazine subscriber?