Mclaren Drops Mansell

The career of former Formula One driving champion Nigel Mansell, which took a drastic downturn last year, reached an even lower point when he was fired by McLaren.

Less than four months after signing him, the team ran out of patience after a series of misadventures and disappointing performances by Mansell. The 41-year-old driver ran just two races in a McLaren Mercedes.

“The relationship has been short, and has obviously not achieved the results anticipated by either party,” Ron Dennis, McLaren’s managing director, said in a statement.

The announcement followed speculation that Mansell would quit the team after parking his car on the 18th lap of the Spanish Grand Prix nine days ago. Now he may quit the sport for good.

“I am obviously disappointed that the relationship with McLaren and Mercedes, which could have achieved so much, has been concluded early,” Mansell said. “At this stage of my career, I had expected, on joining McLaren, that the total package would have given me the possibility to be competitive with the other top teams.”