Button: F1 has not evolved as much as you think from Mansell era

Jenson Button does not feel F1 has evolved as much as perhaps appears since Nigel Mansell won his title in 1992.

Ahead of last Sunday’s British Grand Prix, and as part of Williams’ 800th grands prix celebrations that will take place in earnest over the Hungarian race weekend, Button took to the wheel of Mansell’s iconic FW14B.

The 2009 champion was only able to conduct an out- and in-lap but found the experience a thrill as he savoured the car for the first time.

Asked by Speedcafe whether he was amazed at how much F1 had evolved over three decades, Button replied: “It has and it hasn’t.

“It has in terms of safety and the way the cars look, how safe you feel in the cockpit, the driver comforts.

“But the amount of grip I had, I was surprised. It’s obviously not as quick as a modern F1 car but, I tell you what, it was still bloody quick. Very impressive.

“It would be up there. I feel it would be quicker than an F2 car around here.”

One of the major differences noticed by Button was how agile the car was given the weight discrepancy between then and now.

The current drivers have recently complained about the weight of the current cars, set at a minimum of 790kg, expressing hope of a reduction when new regulations are introduced in 2026.

“It’s 200 kilos lighter,” said Button on the FW14B. “It’s 600 kilos with a driver. That’s what it was like when I started in F1.

“You definitely feel it’s more nimble. I like that nimbleness, I think everyone does. We don’t like heavy cars, but that’s the way it’s gone.

“We’ve been able to add more power and more downforce, which kind of covers the issues of the weight, but that car was very impressive.

“I don’t know how Nigel went side by side with Ayrton (Senna) on the straights though, one centimetre between their tyres.

“It doesn’t go in a straight line very well. It just dances the whole way down the straight, all over the track. Those boys were brave.”

The main differentiator for Button was the sound of a roaring V10 in the back of Mansell’s car compared to the noise of the 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrids of today’s machinery.

Again, there are hopes the cars in 2026 may possess a ‘meaner’ sound as the development of the power units takes place over the next couple of years ahead of their introduction.

“I can’t talk about ’26, but I can definitely talk about the sound, hearing those engines, starting my career with the V10s, such a wonderful sound,” enthused Button. “It really is so crisp and clear, a little bit aggressive, very special.

“Even if the car is slower, when I started in F1, the cars were much slower than now, but it just seems quicker because of the sound. It definitely adds something to it. I love sound.

“I guess for young kids watching Formula 1, they’ve not known anything else so it doesn’t really matter.

“But it really means a lot when you hear a V10 screaming behind you.”