Nigel Mansell's 5 Pole Positions (1987)
The only driver to hold both the F1 World Championship and the American open-wheel National Championship simultaneously.
Nigel Ernest James Mansell (born 8 August 1953) is a British former racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1980 to 1992 and 1994–1995. Mansell won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1992 with Williams, and won 31 Grands Prix across 15 seasons. In American open-wheel racing, Mansell won the IndyCar World Series in 1993 with Newman/Haas Racing, and remains the only driver to have simultaneously held both the World Drivers' Championship and the American open-wheel National Championship.
Quick Facts
- Achievement
- 5 Pole Positions in First 7 Races
Lore & Background
Mansell's career in Formula One spanned 15 seasons, with his final two full seasons of top-level racing being spent in the CART series. He was the reigning F1 champion when he moved to CART, becoming the first person to win the CART title in his debut season, and making him the only person to hold both the World Drivers' Championship and the American open-wheel National Championship simultaneously. Mansell is one of the most successful British Formula One drivers of all time in terms of race wins with 31 victories, and is eighth overall on the Formula One race winners list. He held the record for the most pole positions set in a single season, which was broken in 2011 by Sebastian Vettel. He was the last Formula One driver to win a Grand Prix over the age of 40 with his win at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix, until Lewis Hamilton's win at the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Reader's Guide
Mansell raced in the Grand Prix Masters series in 2005, and won the championship title. He later signed a one-off race deal for the Scuderia Ecosse GT race team to drive their number 63 Ferrari F430 GT2 car at Silverstone on 6 May 2007. He has since competed in additional sports car races with his sons Leo and Greg, including the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, and was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who set 5 consecutive pole positions for Williams in 1987?
Nigel Mansell, widely known as 'The Lion,' claimed five straight pole positions during the opening stretch of the 1987 season while driving for Williams Racing.
What car and engine powered Mansell's 5-pole streak in 1987?
The Williams FW11B, running the Honda RA167E V6 turbo, was the combination Mansell used to dominate qualifying sessions that early in the year.
How many races did Mansell's 1987 pole streak cover?
Mansell took pole in five of the first six rounds of the 1987 championship, a consecutive run that defined the team's early-season rhythm.
Why is Mansell's 5-pole run a landmark in Williams Racing history?
That burst of qualifying supremacy helped cement Mansell's 1987 World Championship and is still cited as one of the clearest examples of a driver and car clicking perfectly in the team's catalogue.
Who was Mansell's teammate during his 1987 pole-position streak?
Nelson Piquet shared the Williams garage with Mansell that season, forming a British-Brazilian pairing that made the team's front-row presence nearly impossible to ignore.
More in Championships & Records
Elsewhere in Williams Racing
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced