Former F1 world champion Nigel Mansell has recalled when Bernie Ecclestone brought him back from America to fill the void left by Ayrton Senna’s death.
In 1994 Ayrton Senna started the season as the only world champion on the F1 grid. He won three titles but hadn’t held the title since 1991. 1992 champion Nigel Mansell was in IndyCar, and title holder Alain Prost was retired.
Unfortunately, Ayrton Senna lost his life in a crash during the 1994 F1 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. Earlier in the season, Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna’s teammate at Williams, Damon Hill, battled for the title.
However, Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill weren’t household names at the time, so Bernie Ecclestone clearly felt that F1 needed an injection of personality, and wanted to revive Nigel Mansell. took every possible measure.
Nigel Mansell returned for the final three races following taking a spot from Williams in place of David Coulthard at the F1 French Grand Prix two months following Ayrton Senna’s death.
Nigel Mansell even scored the final F1 victory of his career at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. Perhaps it is more remembered for the controversial clash between Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill that resulted in the race that decided the title in favor of Schumacher.
Nigel Mansell recalled how Ecclestone persuaded him to quit IndyCar racing and return to F1.
“I won’t go into details, but I had a four- or five-year contract in America and I was really happy with America. I was really happy with defending the title, or at least trying to do so. said Nigel Mansell, 69.
“And two drivers died on the horribly fateful weekend in Imola. Roland Ratzenberger died on Saturday and Ayrton on Sunday. It was horrific.”
“And obviously at the time there was no F1 world champion racing in F1, so Bernie Ecclestone decided something had to be done regarding it.”
“He did some miraculous negotiations behind closed doors and I can’t even imagine how he did it. He bought out all my American contracts and put me in F1. returned to
“It was the most amazing thing psychologically at the time. Ayrton was a very big person. Driving a dead man’s car was not very fun and it affected me a lot.”
Nigel Mansell also spoke regarding participating in a private test for Williams. When rumors circulated that it was being done, it was suddenly no longer private.
“We did a test at Brands Hatch, no one there, and in regarding an hour there were tens of thousands of people there,” recalled Mansell.
“It was extraordinary and I enjoyed driving the car. I hadn’t driven it in almost two years.”
“The first race[French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours]was even better because we were on the front row of the grid.
Category: F1 / Ayrton Senna
