Nigel Mansell returns to single-seaters

Nigel Mansell at the wheel of a car Renault, this inevitably brings to mind his title of World Champion of F1 gleaned in 1992. But it was not at the wheel of an F1 that the Briton completed around ten laps of the Silverstone circuit on Friday, but aboard the Formula Renault 3.5 with which his son Greg is racing this season.

“First of all, I have to thank Greg for allowing me to drive his car on the eve of qualifying and the first race of the weekend. He warned me well. I had no right to damage his car. You are witnesses, everything is ok? » says Nigel Mansell, just out of his son's car.

“I’m going to do a demonstration on Sunday. We are expecting almost 100 people at Silverstone, so it was important to do a few laps today to give the fans a good show. It's a great experience. I always feel a special emotion when I drive a car powered by a Renault engine and of course, that can only make me think of my title in 000."

“It's been quite a while since I last drove a single-seater. It?s still fantastic. The car is really efficient, very pleasant to drive. I was a little cramped and above all I had to brake with my left foot, for the first time! This gave me a big scare in Becketts in the first round. I was a little fast, I wanted to brake and by reflex I used my right foot? and I accelerated! »

Very close to his son, Nigel Mansell now has the privilege of knowing a little about the car he drives. “We talk a lot with Greg. It won't change much in our relationship to have completed a few laps aboard this car, but above all it allowed me to have fun. The FR 3.5 Series is truly one of the best disciplines today. The car is efficient and above all the driver must provoke the car to set a time. This results in a very tight grid and the experienced drivers make the difference. »

Nigel is therefore ready and motivated to complete a few more laps in front of his fans on Sunday. What is certain is that the passion is still the same for the Briton. ?It?s terrible, I thought that as I got older the desire to pilot would die out little by little. But no ! I still really want to drive in racing cars. »

See you one day at 24 Hours of Le Mans with his sons? “I’m going to test an LMP1 in a few weeks. We have to see how things will evolve. Nothing is decided, but everything is possible. »