Nigel Mansell is supremely confident in Lewis Hamilton following in his footsteps by ending Britain’s long wait for glory at Ferrari.
The 71-year-old is the last British driver to win a Formula 1 race while driving for the sport’s most famous team.
However, the last of his three Grand Prix victories with the Scuderia came in 1990, with Hamilton tasked with ending a 35-year drought.
The seven-time world champion already has the challenge of stopping Ferrari‘s barren run of no titles with any driver since 2008.
During an exclusive interview with talkSPORT ahead of the F1 75 event, Mansell was in doubt Hamilton has what it takes to do both.
Asked what he makes of the latter’s move to Ferrari, ‘Il Leone’ said: “Well, having been there and done it, I think it’s absolutely fantastic!
“I mean, Ferrari’s a dream come true and Lewis is doing everything right.
“Lewis is a complete class act, he’s going to surprise a lot of people this year.
“[He’s] not surprised me, but I think he’s going to get the job done and Ferrari between him and Charles Leclerc, Ferrari is overdue for winning a championship or both championships.
“So, the timing I think of coming together with Ferrari is monumental. I think it’s so exciting!”
Mansell is right to state that Hamilton has not surprised him, having previously predicted to talkSPORT that his fellow Brit would break Michael Schumacher’s all-time record.
The motorsport legend told us after Hamilton’s fourth championship triumph in 2017: “I think he deserves everything he gets.
“Lewis, for me, is a breath of fresh air. He crosses so many boundaries, he’s a nice lad and he’s misunderstood at times.
“I think now he should be revered in every way he can be.
“Lewis is one of the greats. I forecasted it a few years ago, that I think Lewis can beat all the records, he’s that good. He can be the best of the best of the best.
“I think he can go on to win eight world titles.”
Mansell, who remains the second most successful British F1 driver ever behind Hamilton, ironically had to leave Ferrari to win his world title.
The 1992 champion claimed glory with Williams, who have cause for optimism after landing Hamilton’s Prancing Horse predecessor Carlos Sainz.
During his preview this week for the 2025 season, Mansell assessed the rest of the manufacturers on the grid, including his old team Williams.
He added to talkSPORT: “They’re long, long overdue to have [some] success, so let’s hope they can get some wins this year!
“I think just as important as that is McLaren have done an incredible job winning that constructors’ championship and they’ve got two great drivers who can go for both championships.
“Max [Verstappen], what can you say about Max? What a superb champion he is and winning the four titles on the bounce.
“He’ll be wanting to defend and go for a fifth, there’s no question about that.
“And they’ve got a point to prove as well having lost Adrian Newey now. Hopefully, their car’s going to be good and spectacular.
“Let’s be fair to Mercedes, what a fantastic team Mercedes is with Toto Wolff and George Russell is leading the team there and they’ll want to bounce back and win races and go for the championship too.
“All the regulations have closed down now, everyone’s caught up, so you’ve got four really mega teams that can go for the world championship and a lot of other teams trying to win as well.
“I think [it will be] the most exciting year for Formula 1 is to come in 2025.”
