Definitely, Michael to Ferrari in place of the injured Felipe Massa. Such was the aura of MSC that I remember anticipating the 2009 Ferrari to suddenly change and maybe overhaul Brawn for the Constructors Championship, just if the great Schumacher was in the cockpit again! I remember being disappointed when it didn't happen, and also being so greatly surprised when he was announced at Mercedes for 2010 anyways.
@@gauravrudramalik5869Pity about his injuries. He was never the same after his testing crash at Monza after the Italian Gp in 04. Add his serious spinal injury from the motorcycle accident likely compounding the issues from his 1991 neck injury likely affected his eventual Mercedes return.
Prost with McLaren between 1994 and 1996 almost returned two times because of Hakkinen's injuries. A pity it never happened. Also, Barrichello with Caterham in 2014, since Rubens has always been my favourite driver!
I had a lot of hope when Kubica came back, he was pretty damn fast the first time around, technically hes not an 'almost returned' because he did come back but when he did he wasnt the same racer, so im going to count it.
@@gauravrudramalik5869 i didnt like schumacher at all until probably half way through his mercedes run when he realised he wasnt going to win again, he turned into this guy who was just really enjoying himself and wasnt a pr*ck any more and someone i would have greatly respected if that had been how he was all along. certainly didnt deserve what hes got now mind.
@@thegridgab He had no moustache when he went BTCC at Donington in 1998 in the rain and blitzed the field from the back. One of the best races I've eer seen
The 97 Jordan was a competitive car compared to what went before. Having two young drivers had its advantages, but Mansell knew how to win. There’s a lot more to winning in F1 than outright speed, especially with variables like refueling and reading a race.
He was entitled to his £5m. He won Adelaide94 after 4 races with the williams. He was very much still able. Jordan would of won Argentina 97 had Mansell been in the team.
As someone old enough to have been around when Mansell STARTED in F1, I can say honestly that he was totally washed up by 1996 and there was never a chance of him competing at that level.
Interesting question I think Mansell would have not been quick enough to keep Ralf behind him in 1997 had he signed on the dolted line and probably left after the British Grand Prix but the telling thing would he would leaving a car capable of winning a Grand Prix on merit as the Jordan could have won in Argentina, Canada and Germany that year possibly also at Spa and Monza if i'm remembering correctly they didn't win in Argentina because Ralf drove into Giancarlo, in Canada due to the Goodyear's Super Soft tyres kept going off and Germany when Giancarlo's tyre blowout while he was chasing Berger for the lead. In the case Spa Michael was the difference there and at Monza they were only five seconds off the lead so if Nigel did still have the speed he definitely would had the opportunity to add to his F1 Grand Prix wins tally.
Umm 5 million pounds for Nigel Mansell in 1997 was hardly insane. That works out to be around $6.5m USD. At the time Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger were both on $7.5m and in 1995 Berger was paid somewhere between $13m and $15m and Schumacher was on $30m at Ferrari. In terms of market value and brand value for sponsors while behind Schumacher he would at that point still be ahead of Berger and Alesi. So effectively he was asking for $1m or so less than Berger and Alesi to allow for some ring rust and time to get up to speed. Modern F1 salaries while astronomical are still not at the same level as they were in the late 80's and 90's in real terms. Indeed even Lewis Hamilton is still not as rich as Michael Schumacher in outright dollars let alone in adjusted dollars.
@@kekepiket9153 He managed himself so he kept all the money. The thing to remember with Berger was he was a very good driver, his issue at McLaren was the size difference with Senna so he did not fit comfortably in the car and his helmet affected aerodynamic performance because he sat higher in the cockpit. With a team mate as good as Senna McLaren were not going to change the car for him so he suffered. He brought a lot to Ferrari when he returned there the second time. He had a long relationship with Marlboro, he was at that point the most popular driver in Japan and it was his relationship with Niki Lauda that convinced him to rejoin Ferrari as an advisor. So in return for his salary Ferrari got more Marlboro sponsorship, they got Niki Lauda as an advisor, they got a number of ex Honda engine technicians who came with him and Ferrari got massive publicity in Japan. In 1993 when he joined Ferrari, along with Senna he was the only great 80's driver left in F1, meaning his arrival with Lauda created publicity and attention that Alesi or Capelli (the 1992 drivers) could not create for the brand or for sponsors. Remember when Schumacher joined Ferrari, they were happy to sign Berger up to a new contract for another two years on improved commercial terms so they were comfortable that he represented great value at that salary. Berger left because firstly he did not get along with Schumacher and the lesson he learned from 3 years with Senna was do not sign a contract that makes you No. 2 particularly as cars in that era were not reliable and access to the spare car went to the No. 1 driver and with cars breaking down a lot this was a huge advantage. Also worth remembering that if Frank Williams had gotten his way it would have Berger not Mansell in the dominant early 90's Williams. However, Berger would not consider Williams due to their much lower salary payment than Ferrari or McLaren. Berger in the dominant Williams with Patrese as his team mate would have won the championship and would have done it with far less moaning than Mansell :)
@MrCarrera28 You mentioned a fine detail. I was always amazed how much time Mclaren took in adjusting their chassis for Berger upon his arrival. Berger was a fine driver, his background before F1 was quite obscure, but he was like a fish in the water once there. Although, regarding Niki Lauda in Ferrari advisor role has much more to do with Luca di Montezemolo arriving again in the 90s. Regarding Berger and Alesi partnership, I think they were a bad mix . Both too immature for number one drivers. Something which later in Benneton was Ross Brawn' s conclusion as well. Salaries really spiked in the 90's and I agree Berger was one of rare 80's stars there yet. However , I dont think his matchup versus Patrese would be a one way street . Berger sometimes flattered to deceive, and I see Patrese as a serious driver with good technical feedback and speed , when comfortable and confident. There is no guarantee that Berger would be any better in active car than Patrese.
our nige was my boyhood hero and to this day i still have my baby spew yellow full Benson and Hedges jordan mechanics shirt with the original wearers name unstitched. i think even after the Melbourne GP in 97 they werent going to do too well! So nige in a Jordan after the McLaren issue was exciting to me, was sad it never happened. Interesting thing no one brings up - Senna was a McLaren man, went to Williams, and that... ended his career. Mansell was a Williams man, went to McLaren, ended his career.
He was a global star and F1 and Indy car champion. £5m is not ridiculous at all. You should maybe think about your videos a bit more before talking rubbish son.
What's your favourite "Almost Returned" driver Story?
Definitely, Michael to Ferrari in place of the injured Felipe Massa. Such was the aura of MSC that I remember anticipating the 2009 Ferrari to suddenly change and maybe overhaul Brawn for the Constructors Championship, just if the great Schumacher was in the cockpit again!
I remember being disappointed when it didn't happen, and also being so greatly surprised when he was announced at Mercedes for 2010 anyways.
@@gauravrudramalik5869Pity about his injuries. He was never the same after his testing crash at Monza after the Italian Gp in 04. Add his serious spinal injury from the motorcycle accident likely compounding the issues from his 1991 neck injury likely affected his eventual Mercedes return.
Prost with McLaren between 1994 and 1996 almost returned two times because of Hakkinen's injuries. A pity it never happened.
Also, Barrichello with Caterham in 2014, since Rubens has always been my favourite driver!
I had a lot of hope when Kubica came back, he was pretty damn fast the first time around, technically hes not an 'almost returned' because he did come back but when he did he wasnt the same racer, so im going to count it.
@@gauravrudramalik5869 i didnt like schumacher at all until probably half way through his mercedes run when he realised he wasnt going to win again, he turned into this guy who was just really enjoying himself and wasnt a pr*ck any more and someone i would have greatly respected if that had been how he was all along. certainly didnt deserve what hes got now mind.
The absence of moustache cost him at least 3 tenths
At least!
with great moustache comes great responsibility…
oh wait….
@@thegridgab He had no moustache when he went BTCC at Donington in 1998 in the rain and blitzed the field from the back. One of the best races I've eer seen
@RaceDayReplay oh definitely
The 97 Jordan was a competitive car compared to what went before. Having two young drivers had its advantages, but Mansell knew how to win. There’s a lot more to winning in F1 than outright speed, especially with variables like refueling and reading a race.
The 196 was gorgeous.
He was entitled to his £5m. He won Adelaide94 after 4 races with the williams. He was very much still able. Jordan would of won Argentina 97 had Mansell been in the team.
Probably would have won 2 races
Still my idol
AMAZING ❤
Wouldn't have worked out long. Nigel was banged up and jaded and Eddie was......EDDIE.
Should have left Brundle in the car for 97
Might have been interesting
Prost to Ligier in 1992 or to McLaren in 1995
As someone old enough to have been around when Mansell STARTED in F1, I can say honestly that he was totally washed up by 1996 and there was never a chance of him competing at that level.
Eddie: ever the crafty businessman!
9:21 Hülkenberg to Mercedes 2013. Reportedly he was one (of two?) backup option to Hamilton.
See learn something new every day. I didn't know that he drove in the test for Jordan in 96
Glad to be of service
3:03 John Player Special is censored?
Interesting question I think Mansell would have not been quick enough to keep Ralf behind him in 1997 had he signed on the dolted line and probably left after the British Grand Prix but the telling thing would he would leaving a car capable of winning a Grand Prix on merit as the Jordan could have won in Argentina, Canada and Germany that year possibly also at Spa and Monza if i'm remembering correctly they didn't win in Argentina because Ralf drove into Giancarlo, in Canada due to the Goodyear's Super Soft tyres kept going off and Germany when Giancarlo's tyre blowout while he was chasing Berger for the lead. In the case Spa Michael was the difference there and at Monza they were only five seconds off the lead so if Nigel did still have the speed he definitely would had the opportunity to add to his F1 Grand Prix wins tally.
Umm 5 million pounds for Nigel Mansell in 1997 was hardly insane. That works out to be around $6.5m USD.
At the time Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger were both on $7.5m and in 1995 Berger was paid somewhere between $13m and $15m and Schumacher was on $30m at Ferrari.
In terms of market value and brand value for sponsors while behind Schumacher he would at that point still be ahead of Berger and Alesi. So effectively he was asking for $1m or so less than Berger and Alesi to allow for some ring rust and time to get up to speed.
Modern F1 salaries while astronomical are still not at the same level as they were in the late 80's and 90's in real terms. Indeed even Lewis Hamilton is still not as rich as Michael Schumacher in outright dollars let alone in adjusted dollars.
I still dont understand Berger's salary. Who was his manager ? Great guy
@@kekepiket9153 He managed himself so he kept all the money.
The thing to remember with Berger was he was a very good driver, his issue at McLaren was the size difference with Senna so he did not fit comfortably in the car and his helmet affected aerodynamic performance because he sat higher in the cockpit. With a team mate as good as Senna McLaren were not going to change the car for him so he suffered.
He brought a lot to Ferrari when he returned there the second time. He had a long relationship with Marlboro, he was at that point the most popular driver in Japan and it was his relationship with Niki Lauda that convinced him to rejoin Ferrari as an advisor.
So in return for his salary Ferrari got more Marlboro sponsorship, they got Niki Lauda as an advisor, they got a number of ex Honda engine technicians who came with him and Ferrari got massive publicity in Japan.
In 1993 when he joined Ferrari, along with Senna he was the only great 80's driver left in F1, meaning his arrival with Lauda created publicity and attention that Alesi or Capelli (the 1992 drivers) could not create for the brand or for sponsors.
Remember when Schumacher joined Ferrari, they were happy to sign Berger up to a new contract for another two years on improved commercial terms so they were comfortable that he represented great value at that salary.
Berger left because firstly he did not get along with Schumacher and the lesson he learned from 3 years with Senna was do not sign a contract that makes you No. 2 particularly as cars in that era were not reliable and access to the spare car went to the No. 1 driver and with cars breaking down a lot this was a huge advantage.
Also worth remembering that if Frank Williams had gotten his way it would have Berger not Mansell in the dominant early 90's Williams. However, Berger would not consider Williams due to their much lower salary payment than Ferrari or McLaren.
Berger in the dominant Williams with Patrese as his team mate would have won the championship and would have done it with far less moaning than Mansell :)
@MrCarrera28 You mentioned a fine detail. I was always amazed how much time Mclaren took in adjusting their chassis for Berger upon his arrival. Berger was a fine driver, his background before F1 was quite obscure, but he was like a fish in the water once there. Although, regarding Niki Lauda in Ferrari advisor role has much more to do with Luca di Montezemolo arriving again in the 90s. Regarding Berger and Alesi partnership, I think they were a bad mix . Both too immature for number one drivers. Something which later in Benneton was Ross Brawn' s conclusion as well. Salaries really spiked in the 90's and I agree Berger was one of rare 80's stars there yet. However , I dont think his matchup versus Patrese would be a one way street . Berger sometimes flattered to deceive, and I see Patrese as a serious driver with good technical feedback and speed , when comfortable and confident. There is no guarantee that Berger would be any better in active car than Patrese.
0.300 behind Ralf means about 4 seconds off the pace.
our nige was my boyhood hero and to this day i still have my baby spew yellow full Benson and Hedges jordan mechanics shirt with the original wearers name unstitched. i think even after the Melbourne GP in 97 they werent going to do too well!
So nige in a Jordan after the McLaren issue was exciting to me, was sad it never happened.
Interesting thing no one brings up - Senna was a McLaren man, went to Williams, and that... ended his career.
Mansell was a Williams man, went to McLaren, ended his career.
He was a global star and F1 and Indy car champion. £5m is not ridiculous at all. You should maybe think about your videos a bit more before talking rubbish son.
Brundle would have been good in the 97 car
A self-centred arrogant driver and even more self-centred arrogant boss
Marriage made in heaven
FIRSSST
Nice work!
Verstappen
GoM4X 2025!!!!!@@ML-mm2th