Mansell on stewards’ panel at Silverstone

Posted on

| Written by

Nigel Mansell will act as the drivers’ representative on the stewards’ panel in the British Grand Prix.

The 1992 world champion won 31 F1 races in a career spanning 1980 to 1995. He also won the 1993 IndyCar title.

More recently Mansell made an ill-fated bid to race in the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours with sons Leo and Greg. He crashed out following a puncture just a few laps into the race.

The other stewards this weekend are Ron McCabe, who is a member of the Motor Sports Association Judicial Advisory Committee, and FIA WMSC members Lars ?âÔÇôsterlind and Garry Connelly.

2010 British Grand Prix

    Browse all 2010 British Grand Prix articles

    Author information

    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

    Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

    38 comments on “Mansell on stewards’ panel at Silverstone”

    1. Sush Meerkat
      8th July 2010, 9:06

      Oh no, Mansell loves the sound of his own voice, bring Herbert back, at least he talks about stuff that isn’t himself.

      1. Have you been able to find a live feed or recording of the stewards panel discussing events during the race? It would surely help clear up a few contentious issues…

      2. miguelF1O (@)
        8th July 2010, 14:36

        looks like hes going to penalise the drivers who destroyed his carrer

        1. I didn’t know stewards could penalise themselves.

      3. I was gonna say the same thing. What idiotic things will he say during the weekend?

        1. £10 says he gets a sneaky mention of Sunseeker into a TV interview over the weekend :-)

    2. Not sure whether that is a good idea.But I hope that he will do a good job.

    3. After describing LH as a “Manufacatured racer”, I hope he will not influence a process to the detriment of Mr. Hamilton ….. :-(

      But he can be sure if he does, the British public will bury him alive!!

      1. i’m sure he would “influence a process to the detriment of mr. hamilton” if mr. hamilton deserved it, which he has on many previous occasions. in fact, i can’t think of another driver who’s actions so often demanded inquiry and reprimand.

        if the british public bury him alive for making the right call, well what’s that say?

        1. Sorry F1Yankee, but I have nothing to sweeten your bitterness…. :-( I just want to remind you that Mr. Hamilton has received more controvertial punishments that any driver in the same period of being an F1 driver.

          Just remember; a fly can do nothing to the dead body of an elephant …. (he who has ears let him hear!!)

        2. in fact, i can’t think of another driver who’s actions so often demanded inquiry and reprimand

          Are you too young to have watched Schumacher or Senna driving in their prime then ?

          Those two are my two favourite drivers of all time but it would take me days to give you a full list of their controversial moves that should have been (and in some cases were) investigated.

          The best drivers are always pushing the limits of acceptable behaviour, that’s why people love/hate them and it’s what turns them into legends/villains.

          I can’t remember having many conversations about the races where Schumi lead from the start and put in 200 miles of perfect laps, something he did quite often, but the races like Adelaide ’94 will be getting talked about long after we’re gone.

          1. in terms of races per penalty, i’m sure hamilton blows everyone else away – he can’t even follow the safety car cleanly. i don’t recall schumacher and senna being in legal trouble either.

            1. Senna punted Prost off track. I repeat, Senna punted Prost off track at around 100MPH+.

      2. If he is biased at all for the British Grand Prix, it will be in favor of the all British team and British line up…..

      3. Nigel Mansell should recuse himself, not for what he has said before, but because of what he will later. He likes to be on the front cover of the papers and he will not let this opportunity pass without accomplishing this.

    4. Mansell’s only one person. He won’t have a hgue amount of influence, he’s just a temporary voice to explain things from the driver’s side. He probably just provides more information than being solely responsible for all the decisions. They could bring in Nelson Piquet jnr but the stewards wouldn;t suddenly say it’s acceptable to fix races.

      Good move. Experienced, knows what it is like to get in a tangle or two and I’m guessing most of Britain will be happy to have ‘our Nige’ back at Silverstone.

      1. I think your right Steph, these guys are there to give a driver’s point of view on moves, but only one of 4 votes towards desicions.

        And it is nice to have this British 4 times British GP winner present at the panel in Silverstone. They could hardly have asked Hill as the BRDC president!

      2. Plus he is slightly less likely than Hill or other British former racers to be accused of being biased against Ferrari by the tifosi if any penalties get dished out to them.

        1. i have no idea what the heck you’re talking about. ferrari’s one penalty this year came from the race director, and none from stewards.

          1. I wasn’t referring to a specific situation or previous penalty, only that in particular Mansell would be protected from any accusations of anti-Ferrari bias above any other living British former driver due to the time he spent driving for them and the affection he is held in by the tifosi (or at least those who were around back in the late 1980’s and early 90’s). The reference to him being an ex-Ferrari driver was more the point of my comment…

            1. Rob I am a Ferrari fan since long before Mansell drove for them and I was one of 1000’s that was not happy with his appointment. This however has nothing to do with his position as steward for the race. He is experienced and by all accounts will be fair. Do people here honestly think because he is not a fully paid up member of the Hamilton fan club he will try to get at him? The ex drivers has been an excellent move by the FIA and not one has yet tried to give an unfair penalty. It’s the fans who are paranoid and think they know better not the ex world champions and the others used so far

    5. This is the LAST thing the British GP and British drivers wanted!Imagine ANY contravesy with either Hamilton or Button and imediately Ferrari or Red Bull will claim favouritism or something was “manipulated”. Mansell will not be able to resist finding a way of opening his big mouth and making his presence felt, so that the public remember his own Silverstone jaunts! A recipe for disaster just when things were settling down!!

      1. Just what I was thinking. I wonder how long it will be before the teams start vetoing the ‘guest’ steward before the race?
        Also, don’t forget his ‘ill-fated’ attempt at Touring Cars, when he expected them to be kind and gentle!

      2. Exactly.
        While I have no doubt Mansell will be fair and balanced, surely it would have been a better idea to have a non-British driver on the panel just to stop and accusations of bias.

        1. *any accusations of bias.

        2. You could say that for any driver who shares nationality with another driver on the grid.

      3. Agreed, even for the non-Brits. If there is a difficult to call incident (say Spa 2008), no good can come of the stewards decisions. Even if they’re right, people will think he was biased.

    6. Ferrari rightly or wrongly complained about the penalties given 2 weeks ago. There cirtisisim was against Charlie Whiting and the FIA not and individual steward. The attack on Hill after Monaco was not by teams more so crazy fans that have nothing better to do other than think F1 is a giant conspiracy.

    7. I really think this celebrity guest thing is getting on abit. A permant pannel of 5 trusted, possibly non championship drivers on rotation might be better. Still no one can argue with someone like Mansells experiance behind the wheel, so I suppose it’s still good.

      1. I agree. If they want drivers, guys like Wurz, Sato, Kobayashi, etc are better. the fans will always think the ex-champions are biased.

        1. Erm, I think Kobayashi is still active…… The last time I checked, he was and still driving for Sauber… Or did you mean Yuji Ide? ;-)

    8. Nigel Mansell might not be fond of Hamilton’s personality, but he has always been a racer – just as Hamilton is – and he will make the right calls.

      1. Hmm, dunno about that. Mansell’s comments about LH always strike me as envious more than anything else. Not too easy about this choice for driver rep, at all.

      2. I concur, Damon. He’s a World Champ, and a true racer, so he’ll definately be fair, and won’t be out to get Ham like a few seem to think.

    9. Hamilton had better watch his p’s and q’s when it comes to Mansell this weekend, because of the antipathy that I believe Nigel has towards Lewis.

    10. Mansell is simply an absolute legend who also happens to spout nonsense from time to time.

      His credentials as a racing driver and in this case, as a race steward can be in no doubt.

      One of the fastest, most thrilling, exciting & aggressive drivers of all time and on a good day utterly unbeatable.

      Mansell (and all F1 stewards to date) understands the heat of the battle better than all you nay sayers could ever hope to imagine.

      Appreciate one of your greatest living sporting legends, please!

      Sorry, nothing but ridiculous, baseless criticisms throughout this thread…

      1. I love the fact that we all read in bias and conspiracy to the appointment of a driver as a steward.

        I doubt there’s going to be much more than an even handed a fair approach.

        I think most people just read in more drama than there actually is.

        Mansell’s a racing driving, he understands the value of winning a race on merit as much as anyone.

    11. Mansell is not Mansell anyway…

      I mean, he lost his moustache !

    Comments are closed.