Just because you had a bad experience doesn't mean Italian fans are the worst. I wasn't at Tosa nor Imola but was at Monza wearing a McLaren cap and an Alonso shirt and had no problems. There were several Brits wearing Hamilton shirts and they had no problems either.

I didn't say it was a bad experience did I? It was funny more than anything. However you'd get nothing like that at Silverstone, the fans are dull anoraks not hooligans (I'm not saying the Italians are by the way). I've been to Imola 5 times and Silverstone 4 times. I've also been to Monza 3 times, which doesn't compare to Imola when it comes to atmosphere at Tosa, at least nowhere i've sat.

Anyway weren't you a JPM fan who hated Alonso when you went to Monza, or was it after you'd changed your mind when JPM was sacked?

Mansell was brave at a time when brave still had a meaning. I am not so sure you can call any of today's drivers brave in the same sense, though I am sure some of them are.

As far as driving goes, it's hard to say, I feel that Hamilton will go on to eclipse Mansell's achievements eventually, as he has hit his stride at a much earlier age.

But I am still puzzled how people think that Mansell was not as talented as some of his contemporaries. I would even argue that that was the one area that he did measure up in, definitely other aspects were not his strengths such as looking after the car, setup, and mind management. He tended to self destruct, but his raw pace was almost always in evidence, the guy was amazingly skilled, a pure talent really, he didn't seem to work at it much. Mind games is where he came up short, and his paranoia often got the better of him.
Frank Williams and Patrick Head often remark how talented Mansell was, and how some seem not to rate him when in their experience he was exceptional.


Cooper

I wouldn't describe Mansell as brave, just totally lacking in imagination. Comments such as "that shouldn't be the penalty for hitting the barrier", sum up his mindset. Just what is the penalty for going off and crashing, it can even be fatal.

Mansell might have been up the top for the latter part of his career, but would always be overshadowed by Senna and Prost. Now is that a bad thing, to be 3rd to two of the best F1 drivers ever?

Btw, I am absolutely no Mansell fan and in no way should my comments be viewed as any form of hero worship or even having any time for the man.

The best ever press release on Mansell was from the hospital after the Donnington saloon crash, for which Tiff Needell was unfairly blamed.

"Nigel arrived at the hospital and was laughing and joking with the nurses and doctors, but was soon back to normal" Recalled from teletext.

No no, Alonso is not 'Senna' on track - Alonso is 'Prost' on track....'reading a race' and 'race mind management' (apart from a few off-his-head moments in 2007...but Prost had those too) are phrases we've often heard referring to Alonso. If Prost is the 'professor' then Alonso is something of an academic state...

So, love him or hate him, Alonso is Prost on track, Senna off track...but thats not to say he's some genius combination of two of the best drivers in history. Who knows what Alonso goes on to achieve (actually get the feeling it will be close to Prost...not Schumacher though), but he's got both good and bad things that you'd get if you combined Senna and Prost.




Oh hey, I'm completely on the same boat...and I think Lewis has a lot to prove to be like Schumacher - both in personality (the good bits) as well as on track. I have also grudgingly, in sheer pain, brought and still do bring myself to say what you just did. 2005 did it for me (much like Alonso this year tbh) in my respect for Schumi in his ability. Up until then his motivation hadn't been tested, where he had to exceed his car to get some special results. So in that respoect, Lewis doesn't even come close yet...but some aspects of how he comes across when apparently whiter than white, and the less savoury behaviour on track is what resembles early signs of Schumacher.

At least in my humble opinion.

Bearing in mind, Schumacher become a lot more likeable nearer the end....

I only wish I could hear Nige's response to Hamilton being compared with him!..............
"What? I was a lot more likeable back then, than Lewis is now. Everyone loved me!"

The most obvious difference between the two is that when Nige talked rubbish and made excuses for failures, every word came from his heart and he honestly believed what he was saying, even though it may sometimes have been said out of ignorance. When Lewis speaks, his words seem carefully scripted and patently not coming from the heart, while he gives the impression his true feelings are concealed.
Mansell eventually made himself a star; third-parties are trying hard to manufacture Hamilton into one - If they succeed, it'll never be a comparable effort.