Categories: Look backRace and classic pictures

Mansell and Vettel: past and future glory

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It was on this day in 1992 that Nigel Mansell finally became Formula One champion for the first (and only) time, having been runner-up on three previous occasions in 1986, 1987 and 1991. In his title-winning season there was practically no one else in it, as he won nine of the 16 races and finished second in three more races, including Hungary where being runner-up to Aryton Senna was enough to mathematically clinch the title just a week after his 39th birthday.

Future world champion Sebastian Vettel was only five years old when Mansell succeeded in his dream. Vettel himself would go on to become the youngest-ever Formula One world champion in 2010 when he took the crown at 23 years and 135 days.

Here's a rather special picture of the past and future world champions together in July 2007 at the British Grand Prix. Vettel had just turned 20 at the time and was working as a test driver for BMW Sauber, but he'd already made his Grand Prix début with the team the previous month in the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as a last minute stand-in for Robert Kubica who was sidelined with concussion after crashing in Canada.

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.