Motor Racing: Mansell shadow over Schumacher

HE MAY BE a distance to the west, practising for the IndyCar race in Detroit, but at a time when his stock with his American fans has rarely been lower, Nigel Mansell would have been gratified to learn that his name has been much mentioned as the Formula One circus prepares for today's Canadian Grand Prix.

Though the qualifying sessions provided an intriguing contest between the Ferrari of Jean Alesi and the Benetton-Ford of the runaway world championship leader, Michael Schumacher, the otherwise engaged Briton upstaged everyone in a flood of fresh rumours that he will return to the fold by the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours in three weeks' time.

It is expected that Mansell's prodigal return to the team he left under a cloud will be confirmed on Wednesday afternoon just before he steps back into a Williams grand prix car for the first time since 1992 at the small Pembrey circuit in Wales on Thursday morning.

Sceptics suggest that the mercurial Mansell will not find it quite so easy in Formula One this time around, that he will not enjoy the sort of car advantage he had in 1992 with a Williams-Renault that bristled with the very best state-of-the-art technology that has since been banned. But the former triple world champion Jackie Stewart is sanguine. 'I don't think it will be an easy walk-in job, but I think he's as well equipped as anybody, particularly by the way he drives, because he is a man-handler.

'I think it's good for the sport to get Nigel Mansell back. I think a big Formula One following will be very pleased, and I think that you'll see it swell crowd attendances and television audiences.'

Stewart's words will be soothing to Bernie Ecclestone, vice-president of marketing for the governing body, the FIA. Ecclestone is seen as the prime mover in the negotiations to prise Mansell away from his IndyCar team owner Carl Haas, if even for a limited number of races, and is known to be highly sensitive to the potential threat to Formula One's credibility and success that arose in the aftermath of Ayrton Senna's death and Schumacher's apparently unstoppable progress towards his first championship crown. There have been suggestions that the need to summon the exiled Briton to ride back on to centre stage aboard his white charger, to slay the dragon of mediocrity, is an indication of the sport's inherent insecurity at a time of tragedy and controversial change, that instead of being reliant on old stars it should start creating a new generation without delay.

'Make new stars by all means,' Stewart concurs, 'but where are they?' He has been instrumental in the development of David Coulthard, who was fifth fastest yesterday, but he summarised the practical considerations that face Williams. 'Frank Williams has got a major multi-national corporation to satisfy, in both Renault and Rothmans. With tens of millions invested, pounds never mind dollars. So they've got to feel that whoever they have is fitting to their investment.'

Against this emotional (and for once, largely apolitical) backdrop Ferrari and Benetton-Ford fought it out. Alesi, 30 next Saturday and the spiritual successor to the great Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve, in whose honour the circuit is named, proved a popular pacesetter on Friday. But yesterday Schumacher reversed fortunes to steal the third pole position of his career, just easing ahead of the Ferrari, Gerhard Berger backing Alesi with third place on the grid.

Ferrari's performance was less well accepted in some quarters, however. There were grumbles along the pit lane that their solution to a ban on the airboxes which ram air into the engines at high speeds, was perhaps a rather more liberal interpretation of a vague new rule than some other teams'.

Montreal is a power circuit, which suits the red cars, but the Benetton had the final edge in handling, which was to prove critical.

The fact that Williams' best position was only fourth, separated from Schumacher by just under a second, is an indication of the severity of the defending champion team's current handling problems. And though the Williams team appears split in its enthusiasm for Mansell's return, those in favour would say that such a disappointing level of performance, despite Damon Hill's efforts, is precisely the reason why the team needs something dramatic to shake it out of its post-Senna trauma. Assuming, of course, that Mansell's financial demands can be satisfied. But those who are not in favour point to Coulthard's excellent effort in qualifying right behind Hill and continue to wonder why they need to go to all that expense and emotional upheaval.

(Photograph omitted)