1992 world champion, Nigel Mansell backs Lando Norris in criticising yo-yo overtakes, while expressing fears over safety.

Love him or loathe him, you can't deny that Mansell, Il Leone, was one of the sport's true racers.

The perpetual victim, forever playing to the gallery, nonetheless, once behind the wheel, when the visor went down and the race got underway he was a legend.

Speaking to Autosport, at a time the current crop of drivers are likely to have been given the order to stop publicly criticising the new regulations, Mansell has given his opinion.

"I might get shot for saying this, but sadly some of the overtakes are just totally false," he said. "I mean, some of the overtakes look great and then you come out the next corner and then the car just blasts past you and the other car goes backwards because the computer is giving you the extra power not at the right time and the driver doesn't control that obviously because he wouldn't have employed it.

"I think it was Lando who said, 'well I didn't want to overtake him going into the fast corner into the chicane, but I had no choice'," he continued, "I think coming out the corner he didn't lean and then the car just blasts past him again going down the straight.

"I think you've got to be very careful because, forget me, it doesn't matter about me, but the fans around the world, I know an awful lot of them are very grumpy and to be fair to the fans I agree with them."

Referring to Stefano Domenicali's recent claim that in the 80s drivers were having to lift and coast, the former Williams and Ferrari star said: "No, we didn't! If you lifted then coasted it was like feathering, feathering a throttle when you're slipstreaming somebody and deciding not to overtake them, that's saving fuel and feathering, that's smart.

"Having to have a computer just take over the running of the car and harvest for the battery, that's something totally different and we didn't slow down 50 to 70 k's going into the fastest corners.

"So, it's a bit of a stretch to compare that I have to say, and you know, not that you've asked me, I do sympathise with the drivers enormously, I think it's very dangerous at the moment and we got away with one terrible accident in Japan already, so that was luck, he could have been hurt really bad."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by @R1Racing71, 29/04/2026 17:12

"love him or loath him??? Id give my right arm to see the likes of Nige and his ilk race in F1."

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2. Posted by Anthony, 29/04/2026 12:38

"Great comments from Nigel and let’s hope that other former champions join him in expressing their views on the new regulations. "

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3. Posted by Spindoctor, 29/04/2026 10:42

"Hardly surprising that Nigel Mansell, probably the most effective exponent of the 'old school' of go flat-out whenever possible & be brave always. He exemplified an era when cars needed to be driven & drivers really made a difference."

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Mansell critical of 2026 rules

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