Question and answer
The clash that ignites the eve of the Miami weekend is one of those we did not see coming, which does not concern the track – at least not directly – but which could nevertheless cause some headaches for the F1 leadership. Do you remember the controversial statements of Stefano Domenicali, CEO of the Circus, who emphasized how current F1 “has no problems” and rather accused the critics of the 2026 regulations of being “old people with short memories“, because “it was like that in the 80s too”? Well. An answer, point by point, came from a ‘veteran’ of some stature: the 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell, a symbol driver of the 80s for courage and passion, beloved by many motorsport fans.
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In an interview given to the site Autosport.com and destined to spark debate, Mansell dismantled Domenicali’s statements, sharply criticizing current F1: “I could get into trouble for saying this, but unfortunately some overtakes are completely fake – Mansell declared – in short, some seem fantastic. Then you exit the next corner and the car flashes past you while the other stays behind, because the computer gives you extra power at the wrong moment and the driver obviously has no control, otherwise he wouldn’t have used it. I think it was Lando who said: ‘Well, I didn’t want to overtake him entering the fast corner towards the chicane, but I had no choice’. I think you have to be very careful – warned the former Williams, Ferrari, Lotus and McLaren driver – because I know that many fans around the world are very unhappy and, to be honest with the fans, I agree with them“.
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Lift and coast to whom?
The second point on which Mansell replied is the comparison between what happened in the 80s and what happens today. Equating the current lift and coast to what drivers did 40 years ago was not appreciated by the English Lion: “If we lifted off the accelerator and coasted, it was to modulate acceleration. Modulating the accelerator when you are in someone’s slipstream and decide not to overtake means saving fuel. It’s a smart tactical move. Having to entrust a computer with controlling the car’s driving and battery recharge is something completely different. And we didn’t slow down by 50 or 70 km/h entering the fastest corners. So it’s a bit bold to make that comparison. And I feel enormous solidarity for these drivers. I think at the moment [driving in F1] is very dangerous. And in Japan we already escaped a terrible accident. So it was luck, you could have really been hurt. Fortunately the outcome [of the accident] was not as serious as it seemed“.
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