Williams vs McLaren Eighties
The only driver to hold both the F1 World Championship and the American open-wheel National Championship simultaneously.
Nigel Mansell is a British former racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship with Williams and the IndyCar World Series with Newman/Haas Racing.
Quick Facts
- Peak championship years
- 1986–1987 (Williams), 1988–1990 (McLaren)
Lore & Background
Mansell won 31 Grands Prix across 15 Formula One seasons. He remains the only driver to have simultaneously held both the World Drivers' Championship and the American open-wheel National Championship. He held the record for the most pole positions set in a single season, which was later broken by Sebastian Vettel. He was the last Formula One driver to win a Grand Prix over the age of 40 until Lewis Hamilton's win at the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Reader's Guide
Mansell's career in Formula One spanned 15 seasons, with his final two full seasons of top-level racing 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. He raced in the Grand Prix Masters series in 2005 and won the championship. He later signed a one-off race deal for Scuderia Ecosse GT to drive a Ferrari F430 GT2 at Silverstone on 6 May 2007. He competed in additional sports car races with his sons, including the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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