National Random Acts of Kindness Day: Mansell gives Senna a ride

We all know how the championship ended in 1989 and 1990, with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost colliding two consecutive years running at the Suzuka Circuit.

However, Ferrari produced a relatively uncompetitive car for the 1991 season, and so Ayrton Senna went on to handily take the 1991 title in his McLaren, winning the first four races.

Instead, when all was said and done, it was Nigel Mansell who finished second in the 1991 standings, 24 points back of the legendary Brazilian. Mansell then went on to win the title in 1992 in the historic Williams FW14B.

Senna and Mansell certainly had their fair share of disagreements – with collisions in the 1987 Belgian and 1992 Australian Grands Prix – while at the same time shared some exciting racing memories, such as going wheel-to-wheel at the 1991 Spanish Grand Prix and racing to the line just inches apart at the 1986 Spanish and 1992 Monaco Grands Prix (Senna just edging Mansell both times).

Perhaps that’s why then, the ride that Nigel Mansell gave Ayrton Senna at Silverstone after the Brazilian ran out of fuel on the final lap of the 1991 British Grand Prix has became so iconic.

It’s not the only time that it’s been done in Formula One history, yet it is the best remembered. Mansell had led every lap in front of his home fans, while being hotly pursued by Senna, until the McLaren’s engine sputtered on the last lap, causing Senna to pull off to the side and fall to fourth.

When Mansell came by the Brazilian and his stricken McLaren on the final lap, he stopped his Williams and offered Senna a ride back to the pits. The marshals at the scene weren’t exactly keen on the idea, but Senna pushed them away. It remains one of the most famous cool down laps in F1 history – though it does make us wonder if Senna was taking notes on the Williams FW14 on the ride back.