1989-03-26 F89 640 (27) Nigel Mansell BRA - Interlagos 1
On March 26th, 1989, Nigel Mansell won the first race of the season in Interlagos for the Brazilian GP, driving the F89 640 .
In preparation for the 1989 season, Mansell became the last Ferrari driver to be personally selected by Enzo Ferrari before his death in August 1988, an honour Mansell described as "one of the greatest in my entire career". In Italy he became known as "il leone" ("the lion") by the tifosi because of his fearless driving style. The season was one of change in the sport, with the banning of turbo engines by the FIA and the introduction of the electronically controlled semi-automatic transmission by Ferrari. Mansell believed that 1989 would be a development year and that he would be able to challenge for the championship the following season. In his first appearance with the team he scored a very unlikely win in the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix in Rio de Janeiro; his least favourite track, and the home race of his bitter rival Nelson Piquet. He later joked that he had booked an early flight home for halfway through the race as he predicted the car's new electronic gearbox would last only a few laps (as it had done throughout pre-season testing and in qualifying for the race). Mansell became the first driver to win a race in a car with a semi-automatic gearbox. The race saw him as the first driver to win in their debut race for the Scuderia since Mario Andretti had won the 1971 South African Grand Prix and he would remain the last man to win on his Ferrari debut until Kimi Räikkönen won the 2007 Australian Grand Prix.
