“This is the magic device”: When F1 royalty Nigel Mansell brought over his Williams tech to IndyCar

Nigel Mansell is one of the most loved British racing drivers of all time. The F1 and IndyCar champ was a generational talent in its true sense when he conquered both open-wheel racing disciplines in the 1990s.

Mansell made his F1 debut in 1980 for Lotus and drove for two more teams, Williams and Ferrari, in his first and longest F1 stint of 13 years. In 1992, the Briton was in the second year of his second stint racing for Williams, the team he spent four seasons with from 1985 to 1988. It was his best year at the pinnacle of motorsport. Mansell took 14 pole positions and nine wins in 16 races to dominantly win his first F1 championship. Williams teammate Riccardo Patrese came runner-up in the championship with 56 points, 52 short of Mansell's 108.

To everybody's surprise, Mansell announced retirement from F1 after a dispute with Williams, which allegedly broke his trust. He later announced his next move to join IndyCar for the 1993 season to replace Michael Andretti at Newman/Haas Racing. During his rookie season in America, he recorded a video showing the differences between F1 and Indy Cars. While talking about the gear lever, he revealed a nostalgia-inducing Williams F1 part that he equipped on his Indy car. Mansell said:

"We're just about yo show you the thing that's given me probably the biggest consternation of the last 4 years, which of course, is the gear lever. I haven't had one in the Williams for a few years, and this is the magic device which all cars have, and you just gotta get used to it again. That knob is the actual knob I used when the last time I used to change gear in '86, '87, and '88. So a little bit of nostalgia there. It's the actual same knob that I won quite a few races with the Williams team."

That year, Nigel Mansell created history by winning the IndyCar championship in his rookie year. He stood on 10 podiums, which included five victories and a third-place finish at the Indy 500.

The Williams controversy that led to Nigel Mansell's sour F1 exit in 1992

Nigel Mansell at Brooklands - Source: Getty

Nigel Mansell's F1 career took off during his partnership with Williams. He recorded his first (1986) and last (1994, upon his F1 return) F1 wins with the second-most successful team in F1 history. However, Williams owner, Frank Williams wasn't interested in retaining his newest champion driver. In 2020, Mansell revealed (via Autosport):

"It was the happiest day of my life, winning the world championship for Williams, only for me to find out 24 hours later that my services wouldn't really be required going forward."

Williams had already decided to replace Mansell with then-three-time champ Alain Prost for the 1993 season when he went on to win his fourth and final title. At a surprise press conference in Monza in September 1992, Mansell announced his retirement after Williams showed no strong intent to retain him.

However, after his championship-winning 1993 IndyCar season, Mansell returned to Williams for one last season before calling it a day in 1995.