‘He'll have a blast': Nigel Mansell, the lion of Ferrari, has high hopes for Lewis Hamilton

The Guardian

15-03-2025

Regardless of how Lewis Hamilton's hugely anticipated debut for Ferrari pans out at Melbourne in Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix and whether his glorious adventure to cap a remarkable career is a success or not, for one former driver, his countryman has made the right decision.
'The experience I had at Ferrari, money can't buy,' says Nigel Mansell with a fond smile. 'Money can't buy those emotions, or feelings or accolades. It made me all round a better person and driver. They treasure their drivers. It's something incredibly special.'
Mansell was named Il Leone – The Lion – by the tifosi, who took the man from the West Midlands to their hearts as if he had been born within the sound of the bells of Maranello. For two seasons in 1989 and 1990 Mansell battled against an unreliable car with such fearlessness, verve and sheer bloody-minded determination that he remains admired across Italy to this day and he believes Hamilton will receive a similar response – whether he returns with his eighth world title or not.
Now 71 years old, Mansell was the last driver signed by Enzo Ferrari before his death in August 1988 and recalls a tricky time on track but a unique experience in driving for Ferrari.
'There was the power of Mr Ferrari just moving a finger at lunch,' he says. 'You're in a canteen with 30 to 40 people all at the table sitting directly opposite and he would just move his hand and from 120 decibels the whole restaurant went stony silent. To have the power of people thinking: 'He's going to say something,' and all he was doing was going to pick up the salt, it was amazing.'
In 1989 F1's turbo era had come to a close, Ferrari were adapting both to their founder's death and their first car designed by John Barnard, the former McLaren engineer. The Ferrari 640 was groundbreaking, with a revolutionary semi-automatic gearbox and a paddleshift system that would later be adopted across the sport. But while quick, it was very unreliable.
At his Ferrari debut in Rio de Janeiro, the car had broken down in three of the four practice and qualifying sessions and Mansell expected an early trip home, only for the car to keep going in the race, firing up the British driver's indomitable spirit. Against the odds he took the flag and Italian hearts.
Back in Maranello he would swiftly discover what it really meant to be wearing the team's scarlet colours. Having gone out to buy a teddy bear for his newly born son Leo, Mansell was pulled over for speeding in his new Testarossa.
Lewis Hamilton will be burning the midnight oil to learn Ferrari's rain settings with wet weather forecast for the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, as the Briton continues to get up to speed with his new team.
The 40-year-old struggled for pace during the three practice sessions and qualified only eighth, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc, in scorching heat on Saturday.
Despite Ferrari's lack of qualifying pace, rain on Sunday could help them make up ground to the McLarens at the front.
"Tomorrow's going to be a challenge, I've never driven this car in the rain," said Hamilton. "I don't even know the rain settings so I've got to go and study that tonight. It will be a learning experience again."
Hamilton was nearly nine-tenths of a second behind Lando Norris's fastest lap but if the seven-time world champion was disappointed by his car's performance, he hid it well.
"I had a really good time out there today. Everything's been a first this weekend," Hamilton said. "To be that close in my first qualifying session, I'd definitely take it. We'll just get our heads down and start working, trying to find out why we're not on pace with the frontrunners." Reuters
'I was on the side of the road with two army officers with machine guns and two carabinieri and they were marching towards the car. I thought: 'I've done it this time, I'm going to be arrested.' I put the window down and as soon as they saw it was me in the car they saluted and let me go. The power of Ferrari and being the driver for Ferrari …'
Mansell went on to seal his reputation as the Italian fans' lionheart with some revered performances. His victory against Ayrton Senna at Hungary in 1989 from 12th on the grid included a breathtaking dive into the lead as the pair went past the slow-moving Onyx of Stefan Johansson. In 1990 at Imola, he was pushed off the track while trying to pass McLaren's Gerhard Berger, did a full 360 degrees at 200mph but incredibly caught the spin and drove on. The next lap he broke the track record before the car gave up the ghost. Of course the fans loved it, as did the team.
The same year at Mexico, Berger in the dying laps had squeezed Mansell to take second but unbowed, the British driver attacked to take back the place round the outside of the fearsome banked Peraltada corner, while Alain Prost, in front, claimed the win.
'On the slow-down lap, everyone was going berserk around the circuit, the marshals, everybody came out of the pit lane celebrating,' Mansell says. 'I thought I'd won the race. I thought Alain had broken down and I'd won the bloody race. I drove into the pits, everyone was going berserk. Alain had won the race but my overtake on the last lap with Gerhard, they were in raptures for that. I didn't get that until I got out of the car.'
Special times for Mansell, so might Hamilton follow in his footsteps? 'To finish his career, or have the opportunity to finish his career with an eighth world championship hopefully with Ferrari? He'll have a blast. They'll embrace him like there's no tomorrow.'
Mansell is unstinting in his admiration for Hamilton and his achievements, which he believes have put him in a unique position with the team. 'He's super intelligent, super clever. I love the guy. I've been a huge fan of Lewis his whole career,' he says. 'He's got the motivation and mindset. Lewis's 2025 will rejuvenate him to what he was five, 10 years ago and going to Ferrari is just incredibly inspirational. The doors it will unlock and Lewis can ask for pretty much anything, and it'll be accepted. Ferrari will give him everything he requires to get the job done. And until I'm proven wrong, I think he will get the job done.'
In retirement Mansell has dedicated much of his time to his work as president for the last 25 years of the charity UK Youth, dedicated to building a brighter future for young people. He is fronting their appeal to raise more than £3m to build an indoor learning and sports centre at its Avon Tyrrell site in Hampshire. Unsurprisingly then he also admires Hamilton's work with his Mission 44 project to make a difference in young people's lives.
With such shared goals, he believes that Hamilton will form a bond similar to the one he forged with Ferrari that remains enormously strong to this day. When Mansell arrived at the team's garage at the Las Vegas GP two years ago, he was greeted with great enthusiasm. 'Ferrari is the most romantic team in Formula One, there's no question about it,' he says fondly. 'You become a member of the family of Ferrari when you drive for them, win for them, and do something special.'
A family who were generous to a fault, as Mansell also discovered. 'Lewis might like this,' he says smiling. 'I was walking through the factory once and admiring a motorbike. All I said was: 'Oh what a beautiful bike,' that's all, carried on walking, never thought anything of it. Two weeks later one arrived at my home in the Isle of Man.'
The same thing happened when Mansell tried the latest Testarossa, noting the Ferrari road car was a fantastic drive. Two weeks later one duly turned up at his home, prompting him to try to go one better.
'I flew one of their Falcon 900 planes to a test and I got off the plane and I said to the captain: 'Just make sure they know this is the most wonderful plane I've ever flown.' I'm still waiting because that one was worth $34m but I know it was worth a try,' he says with a laugh.
Mansell may have won only three races with the Scuderia and was far from taking a title with them but even now feels that: 'It felt like I did.' He is convinced it is something Hamilton will feel too, another lion ready to roar once more for Ferrari. 'You're part of the family, part of the heritage, part of the history which they embrace and love. It's a different way.'