After failing to agree a new contract with Frank Williams for 1993, Mansell was persuaded to make the jump across the pond by Hollywood legend Paul Newman and US business tycoon Carl Haas – and their statement signing delivered in spades.
Winning first time out in Surfer’s Paradise, Mansell became an instant Indy fan favourite – and with his own team also. The only person who wasn’t enamoured, it seemed, was Andretti.
“Business-wise and from a team standpoint, it made sense,” he says. “But all of a sudden Nigel was the preferred driver. I felt like it was a little bit unfair.”
Mansell’s immediate success helped him in his aims to give himself the best chance of the title – wrapping the team around him by buying presents for Andretti’s mechanics and giving cash bonuses to his own.
“He was bubbly,” says crew chief Tom Wurtz. “He was energetic. He was a fun-loving guy who made everybody feel good.”
The all-star line-up from left: Mario Andretti, Paul Newman, Mansell and cigar-chomping Carl Haas
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Andretti has a somewhat different view of it: “Paul [Newman] came to me a couple of times and said, ‘Why can’t you two get along?’ I said, ‘It takes two. He’s a tremendous talent, no question, but he’s totally divided the team. We used to be able to sit down after practice and discuss things. But he looks at my worksheets and I can’t look at his. When he wins a race, he buys gifts for my mechanics. That’s all underhanded stuff. How the hell can I get along with a guy like that?’ I felt totally isolated.”
However, the hardnosed Mansell appears to have just seen it as a way to get things done, having experienced much the same from Alain Prost at Ferrari and Nelson Piquet at Williams.
