Nigel Mansell was once left absolutely furious with Martin Brundle after ‘nightmare’ Formula 1 Imola incident

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It took Nigel Mansell 12 years to achieve his dream of winning a Formula 1 title after joining the sport in 1980.

The 31-time race winner was a massive fan favourite in England and carried the hopes of British Formula 1 fans through the 1980s and 1990s.

The turning point in Mansell’s career came in 1985, after taking the bold decision to move from Lotus to Williams.

That’s when he started winning races before moving to Ferrari and then back to the Grove-based outfit in time to claim a maiden drivers’ championship in 1992.

He had many rivalries along the way, but little competition from his fellow countrymen at the time. Mansell has been compared to Max Verstappen, which shows how highly he was regarded.

Mansell was backed to dominate Ayrton Senna too, had he not decided to quit Formula 1 after the end of the 1992 season.

READ MORE: Damon Hill once feared for Nigel Mansell’s life after ‘ridiculously dangerous’ pole lap

Nigel Mansell once fumed at Martin Brundle for Imola ‘nightmare’ in 1991

One of just four Brits on the grid in 1991, Mansell managed to clash with one of his rivals at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (San Marino GP back then).

The clash cost him his spot in the race, forcing him to retire. It was doubly frustrating for the one-time champion, who had fought back from gearbox gremlins at the start.

Which driver rear-ended him? None other than Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle, who pushed his Brabham a bit too far that day.

“Have you ever had neutral after first gear on a start like that before? If you haven’t, I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m p—– off, I really am,” he told a Williams engineer, according to the F1 website.

“I drive slow, I get it together, it’s a f—— nightmare, and then someone stuffs me in the back for me to retire.”

READ MORE: Peter Windsor shares the moment F1 legends Gilles Villeneuve and Nigel Mansell became ‘bonded’ as friends

What happened to Nigel Mansell after the 1992 Formula 1 season?

After a disagreement with Williams led to him retiring from Formula 1 at the end of 1992, Mansell decided to cross the pond and compete in CART (IndyCar).

In his first season there, he claimed the championship and became the first driver in history to hold both the CART and Formula 1 titles.

He would return to Formula 1 in 1994 with Williams, after contracts were sorted by Bernie Ecclestone, eager for there still to be a champion on the grid.

Again, Williams opted against signing him for 1995 and he joined McLaren, where he would retire after just two races, despite them building a special car for him to fit in.