Why do Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill and not get the credit the deserve?

Question

People are so quick to jump to the conclusion that it was all about the car with Mansell and Hill. If that's the case, why didn't Williams employ complete nobodys to cut down on the wages bill? It would make economic sense, especially since F1 is more of a business than a sport. And it's not as if the Benettons were slow.
Nobody has ever grabbed a car by the scruff of the neck and charged as hard as Mansell when he was on one. Nobody. And just look at his results in Masters GP.
Damon Hill fended off the (apparently mighty) Schumacher despite the German's usual underhanded tactics, Hakkinen (the only driver Schumacher feared) and Villeneuve when he was on form, and easily a worthy opponent for all of the above.
The best car doesn't mean your going to win.
And if it did, look at Barrichello, Coulthard, and Patrese.

It's talent that wins. And both Mansell and Hill had it in abundance.

Answer 1

Without going into a long diatribe -basically they're both under-rated by virtue of the fact that they raced for a long time and have very few wins/championships to show for it. Unfortunately, when Mansell won his title the cars were so loaded with gadgets (ABS, Traction control, active suspension etc.) that alot of people say it was all on the car. I think had the cars been more even throughout the field that he still would have been right near the top but the gap would have been significantly reduced. He may have won almost as often but not by the huge gaps of 30-50 seconds over the 2nd place car.

Also, I think in part it has to do with their personalities - both are very subdued - more so than a number of other drivers and they tend to fade into the background more so their achievments do not stand out as much.

Answer 2

Damon Hill won the world championship in 96 and I nearly jumped through the ceiling. What a dude. No-one ever wins a F1 world title by accident. The man had talent. He developed that Williams. He developed the car Mansell and Prost took to world titles. That was his main skill but it cannot be taken away from him that he raced and won that car to a title. He also won many other races against Prost, Senna, Schumacher, Hakkinen, Villeneuve and Mansell. He even came 2nd in an Arrows in Hungary 1997 on a track that no-one can supposedly overtake on. Do the doubters remember that race? It was incredible! Mansell has more racing talent in his little finger than most recent racers, and indeed some before him - Piquet, Berger etc. At least Gerhard was humble and knew the limits of his talent. I just hope Jenson shows us HE has the talent to achieve as much as Mansell and Hill. Or maybe Lewis will do that.

Oh and don't forget that when Damons dad died they didn't have a lot of money and he had to work his way up the tree and as a result was 32 when he made his debut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

I think they do get the credit they deserve, but when your a 7 time world champion like Schumacher you get more of the spotlight because of such an incredible feat. Being the best is about the whole package and Schumacher made the team what it was. Sure, it was a team effort, but it was his efforts that brought the team together. Mansell and Hill never had that ability or at least never took the opportunity to do so. What you do on the track is a reflection of what you do off the track with your team. If you are the best driver you won't wrestle a car into victory, you will help command a team into victory with your stamp on the completion of success. Mansell and Hill had greatness within them, but Schumacher had greatness within him and around him, that is the pure difference. Now let's see if Alonso can carry the torch in the same fashion, or if he will let it slowly extinguish like so many others before him.

Answer 4

When I was young, loved watching Mansell in his Williams in proper races. He didn't have car advantage (Honda powered Lotus, Renualt powered Benetton, MacLaren had ace cars and Ferrari were usually about the top) and with drivers like Senna, Prost, Rosberg, Piquet etc around, wasn't exactly an amatuer series!

Schumacher had/has talent, no question, but who else has been able to match his skill? Senna was taken before they could have any real battles. And then Ferrari has been untouchable until Alonso's two titles.

Mansell is my top sports hero, but F1 has become so boring now I have got in MotoGP in a big way, racing there is unbelievable! Maybe Rossi could liven F1 back up...

Answer 5

It ultimately came down to the car, but you're right, you can't say that they didn't have talent. Hill nearly won in an under-powered Arrows only to be betrayed by a faulty hydraulic system, barely crawling over the line in 2nd place. Plus he didn't get credit at the time he needed it, because he was rammed out of the championship decider in 1994 by Schumacher (dirty move).
Mansell had a few strokes of bad luck over his career, exactly at times when the title was in his grasp. But if he won in one of the two most technologically-advanced F1 cars ever doesn't mean that the car did all the hard work.

In my book, they fully deserve the wins and the titles that they won.

Answer 6

Nigel Mansell was one of the most fun drivers to watch in an open wheel race car. No lack of talent there, and I think Mansell has gotten much of the credit he deserves, not sure about Damon Hill, though.

Answer 7

Damon Hill was a good driver who did a workman-like job. He was competent, but not really far above the rest of the field. Williams didn't employ nobodies, but they knew how much was the driver, and how much was the car. Nigel was altogether different. He was one of the best I have ever seen - as his results in Indy cars and in the GP Masters shows. Nigel, Schumi, Senna and the Professor - if only we could have gotten them all at the same time, and in decent cars. I wonder if Prost has been offered a seat in GP Masters, now that Alan Jones has decided that he can't handle the g-forces? (I'm not knocking Jones - his era in racing was just a little too different, and the learning curve just a little too steep. You may as well get "Black Jack" Brabham to drive. Hmmm, there's a thought. I know he's still racing...

Answer 8

Hmmmmm.... Mansell was a wonder to watch, he was awesome behind the wheel! The only thing that put me off him was the way he whinged so often.

But I cant agree with you on Damon Hill- he maybe had some level of talent, but in my opinion his World Champion title had more to do with his car than anything else. Look at Villeneuve- even HE could win a Williams.

As far as money is concerned, why do you think Frank Williams cut them both loose when they became FIA F1 World Champions? They started asking for too much money.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

Damien Hill had the personality of a mortian, a total snob and was expecting to have everything handed to him because his last name was "Hill". A BIG disappointment and embarrasment from his dad Graham. On the other hand, Nigel Mansell winning the 1992 F1 Championship and then winning the 1993 CART Championship is quite a feat to be sure. Unfortunately, Nigel's drive and determination was never the same after that.