Nigel Mansell is adamant that four times F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are clear favourites for the 2018 title, believing that the reigning champion will soon pen a new deal with the Silver Arrows while he hopes for the sake of fans that Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren will be in the hunt too.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mansell said, “There is no question that Lewis and Mercedes are the clear favourites again. Lewis has got many more years in him if he has got the appetite, and I can see no reason why he cannot win a few more world championships and set the bar very high for the future.”
“I just hope for the good of Formula One that Ferrari, Red Bull and even McLaren can put a challenge to Mercedes so we can have some exciting racing. You mustn’t underestimate the great job that Ferrari did last year – although they had problems and Sebastian had a few races that went the wrong way – without their tremendous strive to win the championship it wouldn’t have been as exciting as it was.”
“I hope they continued in that vein over the winter, and hopefully Red Bull have found some more power from their Renault engine, too. I would be very surprised if Lewis did not sign a new deal with Mercedes,’ Mansell added. ‘But if Red Bull or Ferrari were to do something special over the winter by making the jump over Mercedes, and then offer Lewis an incredible deal, who knows?”
“At the moment however, Lewis has the world at his feet, he is in the best car and at the best team, so why would you want to change it? Some people in their careers are very privileged to be in a strong position and Lewis is one of those because he can afford to be patient. When the time is right for him, he will sign on the dotted line,” added Mansell who was Formula 1 world champion in 1992.
Big Question: Who is likely to dethrone Lewis in 2018?