“Ayrton could block like a double-decker bus at Monaco,” said Nigel Mansell.

Giles Richards is told by the former world champion how he could have won the famous 1992 Senna race through the streets of Monte Carlo.

While many Formula One drivers aspire to win the Monaco Grand Prix, Nigel Mansell always felt that it was the race that got away. Though maybe he didn’t go far enough in his epic battle with Ayrton Senna on the streets of Monte Carlo in 1992, the former world champion has no regrets.

Mansell remembers, “We got so close, and he blocked so well, and badly.” “After all these years, I wonder whether I should have simply given him a little shove in the back at one of the corners. It was still an amazing race, but I’m sure Ayrton would have knocked me down at one of the corners if we had switched sides and he had been after me.

Mansell won the championship that year, but in addition to his successes as an F1 and IndyCar champion, the 70-year-old still holds the record for most grand prix victories (31) without having won at Monaco.

He was unstoppable when he was at his best, but not many people may be aware that these days he enjoys using magic to improve the lives of young people. Mansell is the president of UK Youth, a charity that supports underprivileged youth. When he meets the children involved in the organization, he connects with them through deception rather than by drawing on his background. He claims, “I take a pack of cards and perform tricks, making cards appear and everything else.”

“You have to engage young people because they all have stories to tell. You can engage them by performing a little magic for them.” “You used to drive cars didn’t you?” someone may ask. When I say, “Sometimes, it’s kind of like a taxi, it’s just like a fast taxi,” they laugh and treat you like you’re one of their friends.

The driver known by Ferrari fans as Il Leone, or the Lion, joyously relives one of the greatest finales in Monaco history, despite the fact that he was able to tell them some impressive tales.

1992 saw Mansell dominate in the Adrian Newey-designed FW14B Williams, winning five races in a row and hoping for a sixth to break his curse at Monaco.

Senna in the McLaren finished third in qualifying, but lacked the pace to challenge him. He was a full second faster in qualifying than his colleague Riccardo Patrese. It appeared to be finished, even with Senna ruling Monaco. Before his tragic death at Imola thirty years ago, he had won four out of five races by 1992 and had set a record six victories in the principality.

Senna sprinted ahead of Patrese at the beginning, searching for any advantage that might allow him to take advantage should Mansell fall. However, it looked like his efforts were in useless because by lap 71, the British driver had a 30-second lead. Then it crumbled. Mansell had to pit as he was going through the tunnel because he felt something go in the back. It might have been a puncture, but it might also have been a loose wheel nut.

Mansell trailed Senna like a man possessed as he took the lead. He claims, “I could catch him with the fresh rubber, but I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.” With three laps remaining, he had caught Senna and was climbing all over the McLaren’s rear wing, closing the margin to 5.1 seconds.

The scene that unfolded was magnificent. Mansell attempted to pass or force an error by charging, diving, and using every tactic in the book, but to no effect. As is often the case at Monaco, Senna drove an excellent defensive line and there was no way past. Afterwards Mansell congratulated Senna but he believes nowadays it would be a different story, while taking nothing away from the fight they enjoyed.

“Ayrton could block like a double-decker bus with the rules as they were,” he claims. However, he would not have been able to accomplish it today if he had received ten stop-go penalties.

The most noteworthy aspect of it is how two amazing champions were able to race side by side on a circuit like Monaco without colliding. We still avoided collisions despite the blocking and brake testing, and during the final few circuits, we put on an incredible display.

The last moments of that incredible display featured shots of a worn-out Mansell who needed help getting up to the podium. Nevertheless, he refuses to accept the notion that it was a theatrical performance, stating that he drove that season with three broken toes and maintaining that Monaco was harsh.

“I gave it everything I had,” he declares. “It was the greatest pain I had experienced in any race that year in my leg and foot following that one. Yes, fatigue was the cause. It’s astounding how much nervous energy there under those rigors. I kept my pain from everyone hidden. I was really relieved that it was over and all I wanted to do was fall.

Although there had been a fierce battle, Mansell still finds it difficult to accept Senna’s passing in light of the circumstances. “I have a part of me that still believes he is here; everyone believed Ayrton to be invincible,” he admits. For a part of me, it still feels a little shocking even after 30 years.

“I’m glad to have known and competed so hard with Ayrton; he was a true icon of the sport, capable of amazing feats both inside and outside the car.”

Mansell went on to win the championship in Hungary and four more grand prix that season. Although Il Leone was unstoppable, Monaco remained unattainable, and Senna acknowledged the magnitude of his success by stating, “It felt good to tame the lion.”