Motor Racing: Mansell speaks of Formula One's void

NIGEL MANSELL yesterday spoke of his sense of loss following the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the San Marino Grand Prix, writes Toni Toomey from Indianapolis.

The 1992 Formula One champion, who has been in Indianapolis since Monday practising for the Indianapolis 500 at the end of this month, said: 'I'm sitting here talking to you this morning and I don't really want to believe it has happened. There is a tremendous void in Formula One. The last week or so has been one of the saddest in my career.

'There's a very big element of luck involved, and when the luck runs out then it's down to the engineering of the car, so if you have a very bad accident the engineering really comes into play. While luck is on your side you can have a mediocre car and get away with a lot, but when that luck runs out then you pay a high price. In Phoenix we were very lucky; the gods were all shining on us that day.'

Mansell praised the recent move by motor sport's governing body (FIA) in investigating whether some of the IndyCar safety regulations might be applicable to Formula One. 'There's no reason that we shouldn't look for more things in other formulas that are safer for us,' Mansell said.