How Nigel Mansell felt Williams had ‘torpedoed’ his title chances before Ferrari F1 move

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Nigel Mansell finally saw Formula 1 title success in 1992 with Williams after 12 years in the sport.

The Brit made his debut in F1 in 1980 with Lotus and spent five years with the team before making the move to Williams in 1985.

Mansell had proven himself to be a competitive driver behind the wheel but had struggled with unreliable machinery and countless retirements. It was with the Grove-based outfit that he began to establish a title challenge.

The 71-year-old finished second in the standings in 1986 to Alain Prost by two points and in 1987 to Williams teammate Nelson Piquet.

Powered by Honda engines, Williams were a force to be reckoned with at the front and heading into 1988, Mansell believed he had a great chance of the championship.

But those aspirations would come crashing down as Williams made a decision that would ultimately see him leave the team for Maranello.

Williams ‘torpedoed’ Nigel Mansell’s 1988 title chances by selling their Honda engines to McLaren

The Grove-based outfit sold their Honda engines to McLaren ahead of the 1988 season – a decision that would prove costly on track despite the £24m fee that had acquired.

McLaren would go on to dominate the championship with Prost and Ayrton Senna, with the latter winning his first championship. Meanwhile, Williams had to use a Judd V8 engine in his first season in F1 – and it would prove catastrophic.

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Mansell finished two races all year – both of which being second-place finishes. At the time, he had been in talks with Enzo Ferrari over a move to the famous red team.

Speaking on the Beyond The Grid Podcast, Mansell recalled he was so ‘disillusioned’ with what Williams had done that a move to Ferrari was ‘too good’ of an opportunity to pass.

“The pivotal thing came really in 1986-1987 when we were going for two world championships,” he said.

“We had the accident in 1987 and then I was outright number one for Williams in 1988 and I really honestly thought in 1988 I got an incredible chance of winning the championship.

“And then the thing that torpedoed that for me was, and I understand the reasons for it, but to sell the Honda engine for, I think it was about £24m at the time to McLaren for Ayrton and Alain to use and to dominate like there was no tomorrow.

“I finished only two races in 1988, and they [Ferrari] came and spoke to me at the end of 1987, beginning of 1988. And I was so disillusioned with what happened with what Williams did, I really thought the opportunity was too good to not take up and we came to an agreement with Ferrari.

“Really, I never looked back”.

Alain Prost felt Nigel Mansell was jealous of him as Ferrari teammates

The 71-year-old moved to Ferrari in 1989 to partner with close friend Gerhard Berger. Mansell was one of 11 British drivers to race for Ferrari and was the last driver Enzo Ferrari officially signed before he passed away in 1988.

Winning on his debut in Brazil, unreliable machinery followed Mansell to Ferrari from Williams. He finished fourth in the standings with two wins, six podiums, nine retirements and two disqualifications.

In 1990, he would be partnered with Prost after he departed McLaren in the wake of the drama with Senna at McLaren. Prost felt Mansell was jealous of him at Ferrari because he could speak Italian to the team.

More unreliable machinery hampered Mansell’s chances of being competitive at Ferrari in 1990. After finishing sixth in the standings, he eventually left the team due to internal politics and returned to Williams.

As the team adopted active suspension under the guidance of legendary engineer Adrian Newey, Mansell used it to his advantage to dominate the championship in 1992 for his first and only title.