Nigel Mansell gave the British spectators precisely what they craved at Silverstone on July 12 — and nearly got a lot more than he bargained for as he crossed the start/finish line after 59 totally dominant laps.
The Briton had driven the almost perfect race. Only the first few hundred yards escaped his total control, as he spun his rear tyres a fraction more than team-mate Riccardo Patrese and the Italian sprinted ahead.
Mansell had been two full seconds faster than Riccardo in the only dry qualifying session on Friday, admitting afterwards that he did not believe it possible that he could better the dramatic 1m 18.965s lap that won him the 25th pole position of his career. Thus it was expected, particularly in the wake of team tactics in Magny Cours, that even if Riccardo did lead initially he would not be able to offer a consistent challenge. Whether that was because of technical, voluntary or physical restrictions was a moot point. The word on Friday was that although the two FW14Bs had Renault RS4 engines, Mansell's was the very latest evolution, something guaranteed to strike terror deep into Honda as Senna wound up a full three seconds off Mansell despite a similarly heroic qualifying performance. Riccardo, predictably, was honest enough to admit that while he might have pared his 1m 20.886s lap to something in the high 19s, a high 18s lap was quite beyond him.
