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26th July 2011, 23:36 #21
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Thierry Boutsen
Originally Posted by wewillbebest
At the same time...Williams was trying to sign Ayrton Senna away from McLaren. They had already signed Adrian Newey from Leyton House to be chief designer, and were determined to get a top-line driver into the car to satisfy Renault's need for a championship. Williams offered Ayrton a massive amount of $$$, and he actually signed a contract in September 1990 in Frank's private jet in France. The contract, however, had a clause in it stating that either party could nullify the contract before 12 midnight on the same day. Senna told McLaren and Honda that he had signed for Williams, Honda promptly came up with more money, and Senna told Williams he was staying with McLaren and Honda.
So now Williams was a team in need of a replacement driver, Thierry Boutsen having already been told he was not being retained. At the same time there was a driver leaving Ferrari...Mansell duly sold himself to Williams for a lot of money (I bet Nigel knew exactly how much money Williams was going to pay Ayrton, and made sure he was paid most of that). This indirectly led to the infamous 1992 incident where Mansell announced his decision to leave Williams at Monza; Williams was trying to cut his remuneration for 1993 because they felt they had overpaid for him, plus they had some French driver named Prost also under contract for 1993...
The 1991/92 marriage of Mansell and Williams was a marriage of necessity, and the end was perhaps predictable.
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27th July 2011, 08:47 #22
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The whole Mansell joining Williams in 1991 then leaving the following year probably deserves a book to itself!!
I'm not convinced by the 'Mansell as victim' in this saga. Poor old Nigel 'pushed' out of Ferrari by former friend Prost, happily heading for retirement until Williams show that need him so much they offer him all he could ever ask for doesn't entirely ring true, but it's the way Nige tells it.Riccardo Patrese - 256GPs 1977-1993
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27th July 2011, 13:34 #23
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Originally Posted by ArrowsFA1The world according to Taki Inoue: https://mobile.twitter.com/takiinoue/st ... 7249326080
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27th July 2011, 14:43 #24
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Originally Posted by wedge
Stepping out of the Ferrari at Silverstone and gathering the press to announce retirement was fairly typical drama and yet fairly soon after Nigel had signed with Williams. Retirement or negotiating ploy? By mid-1990 I'm not so sure Mansell was in demand. Sure he'd been a championship challenger but had come up short and his two years at Ferrari hadn't done much to cement his place among the best drivers. On the other hand Jean Alesi was seen as a rising star and very much in demand by both Wiliams and Ferrari. Perhaps Mansell saw that his time at Ferrari was over and other options limited. Maybe he knew Alesi would be taking his place in 1991, but it would be unlike Mansell to admit that publically hence "retirement".
Having missed the opportunity to sign Alesi Williams didn't exactly have their pick of drivers, but they did have an improving car-engine combination and Adrian Newey who, even then, was highly regarded for his work at Leyton House. Mansell maintains that he had retired but Williams persuaded him to un-retire with an exceptional offer that he simply couldn't turn down. That may all very well be true, but there's no doubt that Williams heading into 1991 were an attractive proposition for any driver so was much persuasion really needed?
The whole departure from Williams in '92 had as much drama as the 1990 retirement. I know Riccardo Patrese signed for Benetton because as far as he knew Mansell/Prost was a done deal and there was certainly a deal there for Mansell at Williams had he wanted it. The speed with which he gave his press conference (at Monza IIRC) announcing he would be leaving, then the Indycar deal announcement made me question the whole 'Mansell pushed out of Williams' version of events that The Sun ran with and which led to 'protests' outside the Williams factory.
Nigel, bless him, does seem to enjoy this picture of him having the world (Prost, Williams) against him but against all odds he battles through (the 'impossible' Williams deal, kicked out as WDC only to bravely head for the US and win there against all odds). There's an element of truth in it but for me he overplays these kind of things which detracts from his very real talent.Riccardo Patrese - 256GPs 1977-1993
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27th July 2011, 16:08 #25
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Well Mansell is my all time hero and I'm quite happy to concede that he is a complex individual. Certainly enjoys the limelight - still does if his sons', err, talents are anything to go by.
The me against the world thing, well, he had to battle against the odds earlier in his career. Never had enough more nor the right equipment and at Lotus Peter Warr once said "Mansell will never win a race as long as I have a hole up my arse".
Funny that Mansell should say Hamilton is spoilt in F1 Racing magazine. However, racing drivers tend to be selfish individuals. Senna was paid a million dollars per race to stay at McLaren and his approach in 1993 was halfhearted (and yet still won 5 races!). Not long ago I found out Lauda unretired because he wanted to save his airline.The world according to Taki Inoue: https://mobile.twitter.com/takiinoue/st ... 7249326080
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28th July 2011, 11:54 #26
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Originally Posted by ArrowsFA1
Originally Posted by ArrowsFA1CMR4L titles: 2, RBR MF Cup titles: 2
:champion:
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28th July 2011, 13:59 #27
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Originally Posted by Bruce D
But Penske were still a force to be reckoned with. The built their own chassis and could come up with updates more frequently than being a Lola customer. Not to mention the great strength in depth of the field. You had Raul Boesel, Bobby Rahal, Al Jr threatening race wins.
Penske may have had the dominant car of 1994 but Mansell was out-driving his, just like Montoya would in 2000 when Ganassi switched to the underpowered Toyota engine.
[youtube]9PaXLJJB2ho[/youtube]The world according to Taki Inoue: https://mobile.twitter.com/takiinoue/st ... 7249326080
Tänak got 20 points closer to Evans, but as the main reason was a bad rally for Evans, I would say that Evans lost 20 points to Tänak, not Tänak gained. The point is, if the other one does not...
[WRC] Vodafone Rally de Portugal...