F1 great sells gift from Lewis Hamilton to raise £82K after wife’s health battle | F1 | Sport

Formula 1 icon Nigel Mansell has opened up on why he decided to sell his collection of memorabilia from his prestigious career behind the wheel. Mansell won the 1992 World Drivers’ Championship and retired from the sport three years later.

At the age of 72, Mansell has collected a lifetime of memorabilia, which the F1 legend has now decided to sell and donate the money to charity.

Mansell had a car dealership and museum in St Helier, Jersey, which was forced to close because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This went on to prompt Mansell to sell his collection, with the vast majority of his memorabilia, which took 61 years to put together, selling at BUDDS for £82,000 this week.

“The best thing I can do is let fans around the world look after my collection for the future,” Mansell said in an interview with The Observer.

Not long after Mansell was forced to close his museum and care dealership, his wife, Roseanne, underwent heart surgery after complications, which the F1 legend puts down to the Covid-19 booster vaccine.

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“It was a Covid tragedy; the booster, as with many people, caused problems with one of the heart valves,” Mansell claimed.

“Unfortunately, she had to have major surgery to try and fix it. Covid was criminal. Everyone should’ve been left to their own. All this vaccine caused a lot of people to have a lot of problems.”

The money raised will go to the charity Youth UK, which Mansell has spent 27 years as its president. One of the items sold at auction included a 1:2 scale Ferrari helmet, which was signed and gifted by Hamilton, and fetched £1,800, according to The Telegraph.

The report also states that the auction from Mandell sold worn gloves from F1 legend Michael Schumacher, which sold for £2,200.

Mansell went on to give his verdict on Hamilton’s first year at Ferrari, with the 41-year-old finishing sixth in the World Drivers’ Championship standings and 267 points behind winner Lando Norris.

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Despite an underwhelming first season at Ferrari, Hamilton has been backed by Mansell to have a much more successful second year.

“I don’t want to put any pressure on him but I think Lewis is going to have a fantastic year,” Mansell said.

“He’s a young 41. He’s strong as an ox and super fit. If Ferrari put the car underneath him that he deserves he can do the business still and get that magical eighth world title. I don’t think it’s over yet.”