And we haven’t even yet outlined all of the reasons why this car is iconic. The Williams-Renault FW14B, designed by the revered Adrian Newey, is even now one of the most advanced cars in F1 ever, as well as one of the furthest ahead of its nearest contemporary challenger. It perfected plenty of mod cons such as such as active suspension, a semi-automatic paddle shift gearbox and traction control, and many of these were banned shortly afterwards meaning that most F1 cars since are dumbed down by comparison.
Given Mansell was involved there was plenty of drama too. It looked for a time that part of the ‘Red Five’ legend was going to include repeated near-misses of the world drivers’ championship, as he finished runner up on three occasions–1986, ’87 and ’91, all at Williams. But then with Mansell’s title in ‘92 it was like he was making up for all the disappointment. He won the opening five races of the year on the way to bagging a then-record nine wins in a season, and clinched the crown with five races to spare. His challengers included the likes of Ayrton Senna–who’d just taken three championships from the previous four–and Michael Schumacher…
Mansell drove this very chassis ’08’ in seven of that season’s 16 grands prix, with an extraordinary strike rate in it of five wins and a second place. The car was then passed onto his team-mate Riccardo Patrese to complete six rounds with it, helping him to second in the table. In total the chassis claimed seven pole positions as well as the five Mansell wins mentioned. Furthermore the car has been meticulously preserved since, first by Williams then by a private owner, and it remains in running order.
“As a young man, and along with a nation, I was in patriotic awe of the brilliance of the British Williams cars, and of Red Five in particular,” noted global director of motorsport at Bonhams Mark Osborne. “We at Bonhams are honored to have been entrusted with such a motor racing legend.” Images courtesy ofBonhams
