Nigel started his F1 career with team Lotus. Colin Chapman had hired him as test driver in 1980. As a test driver Nigel actually contested three Grand Prix for Lotus. In Austria he was retired by engine failure after spending most of his race in a fuel soaked cockpit. A spin in Holland and failure to qualify in Italy rounded off his first year.

He was given a full time seat for 1981 and his performance improved somewhat. His qualifications were erratic with his best position in Monaco where he qualified third. A few decent races saw him earn his first points as well as his first podium finish.

In 1982 Mansell took one-third place in Brazil. [A race that saw the two drivers ahead of him ultimately disqualified for underweight cars. This was during the 'water cooled' brakes period. Huge cooling fluid containers were on all cars. Some teams thought that these containers could be empty during the race and then be filled up prior to inspection after the race] A fourth place in Monaco gave Nigel his final points for the year.

A further year with Lotus in 1983 saw the introduction of Renault engines. Mansell's teammate [Elio de Angelis] had the new engine at the beginning of the season. Nigel had to wait until the British GP.... As it happened, de Angelis only finished three races (only one of which was in the points). Mansell managed a sixth place in Detroit with the Ford engine, before recording three more points finishes one of which at home (Brands Hatch).

A final season with Lotus in 1984 had much the same outcome. The Lotus car was far too fragile and more often than not, it failed to finish the race. Five points finishes for the year, including two third places as well as one pole position in Dallas showed that Nigel was capable of results. In the four years that NM drove for Lotus he had only 11 retirements.

For 1985 Nigel joined Williams. Although Williams had the powerful Honda engine, they had struggled the previous year. The first race, in Brazil, saw Nigel qualify fifth. He picked up points finishes in three out of the first five races. Then on to his best finish to date, second at Belgium. (More importantly, he had beaten his teammate Keke Rosberg in a race for the first time) Nigel then won his first race, an unusually warm October day at Brands Hatch in front of his home crowd in the "European GP". He went to Kyalami with a win under his belt, started from pole position and won again. With the new car, Nigel and Keke revived Williams's fortunes and the team finished third in the constructors' championship. Nigel finished sixth in the drivers' championship.

1986 saw Mansell come of age. He seemed a much more mature driver and his results reflected that new attitude. The season got off to a poor start but wins in Belgium, Canada, France, and Britain and Portugal put him in contention for the title. It all depended on the outcome of the last race in Australia. Mansell started from pole, he was running high enough to clinch the title when he suffered a puncture at about 180 mph. The images of him wrestling with a car that was determined to spin have been shown many times. Mansell managed to keep the car in a straight line and bring it to a halt on a run off area. The title was now dependent on other drivers, Prost or Piquet could take the title but they both needed to win. Keke Rosberg was leading and that suited Mansell fine. When Keke also suffered a puncture, Piquet went into the lead. The title was gone. Piquet decided to pit for new tires, Prost went past and took the title from Mansell by two points.

In 1987 Mansell was again in fine form, he was on the front row for every race until Japan and managed 8 pole positions that season. Six wins and some minor points finishes saw him just 12 pointsbehind his teammate. In 1987 only the best 11 results counted, Nelson had already finished in 12 races and he would have to do better than third to improve his score. Nigel only had nine scoring races and so all hispoints would count. At Suzuka Mansell crashed in practice and injured his back, he couldn't compete in the race and so Piquet was champion. Second two years running is hard to take, when that is compounded by not having an engine, things look really bleak.

For 1988 Williams found themselves without an engine, a hastily conceived deal with Judd got them back on track and when Mansell qualified second for the first race things didn't look too bad. Sadly, Mansell only finished twice that year, second both times. In the wet at the British GP, and in a sunny Spanish race. Mansell finished ninth for the year and Williams seventh, poor results from a poor year.

In 1989 it was off to Ferrari. He won his first race for the team and was immediately taken into the hearts of the Tifosi. They christened him IL Leone and he repaid them with some fantastic results. The GP of Hungary was especially memorable. NM started 12th and managed to win a circuit that is notorious for it's lack of overtaking. The Tifosi were in heaven. Podium finishes in France, Britain, Belgium and Germany saw him finish fourth. An improvement on the previous year.

For 1990 Mansell found Berger replaced by Prost. Despite some fantastic driving in 1990, most notably his second place in Mexico, Mansell only managed one win, his sixteenth. This gave him the honor of sharing sixteen wins with Sterling Moss. He became so disenchanted with F1 that he decided to quit.

An offer from Williams tempted him back, and for 1991 he partnered Riccardo Patrese at Williams with the new Renault engine. The season didn't start well, retirements in the US and Brazilian GP's with gearbox problems, were followed by a collision with Brundle at San Marino. Second place at Monaco looked set to be followed by a win in Canada, where he rounded the last corner in the lead and ground to a halt while waving to the crowd. The year picked up however. His second place finish in Mexico was followed by wins in France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. Unfortunately, Senna was beyond his grasp. Nigel finished second in the championship for the third time. With 21 wins, he was now the most successful non-champion of all time.

The FW14B that Williams introduced in 1992 was a brilliant car. Nigel set out to win the championship from the start, beating Ayrton Senna's record of four wins at the start of a season by winning the first five races. He also started from pole for those first five races and set fastest laps in two of them just for good measure. It was Monaco and Ayrton Senna that halted his run, Mansell climbed all over the gearbox of Senna's McLaren but just couldn't find a way past. Senna won by 0.215 seconds in a thrilling race/chase to the flag. The next race was in Canada, Nigel qualified third and then spun off while trying to pass Senna. He then regained his form and starting from pole each time won in France, Britain and Germany. Second places in Hungary and Belgium left him too far ahead for anyone to catch and he was finally World champion. Mansell finished the season with another four pole positions, and one more win. Ever unhappy with his treatment [by Williams] at he end of the season while negotiations with Prost were being conducted, Mansell went off to Indy cars.

In 1993, he was at the peak of his driving form and managed to win the Indy car series in his first attempt.

Nigel stayed in Indy cars for 1994. After the death of Senna Renault pressured Williams into getting him back. Mansell competed four times, qualifying on pole for the last race in Australia and winning the race when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill collided.

For 1995 Mansell was back in Formula 1 full time... or so we thought. The McLaren car was too small for him and while modifications were being carried out, Mark Blundell sat in for him. He returned for round three, Imola, where he qualified ninth and finished tenth, two laps down to the leaders. The next race, in Spain, he qualified tenth and retired after 18 laps complaining of poor handling. He never took the wheel of a Formula 1 car again, an unglamorous end to a fantastic career. Nigel is undoubtedly one of the greater drivers in the history of Formula 1.