Psyche is different for modern drivers, says Nigel Mansell

Former F1 world champion Nigel Mansell has been discussing the difference between driving from his day compared to now, and reckons that the safety standards these days are 'a zillion times better' than what he and his colleagues faced a few decades ago.

Mansell, who competed from 1980 until 1995, winning the title in 1992, has been speaking at an Autosport event about the problems that he faced in his day.

The death of Ayrton Senna in 1994 prompted a number of significant safety changes, which have been enhanced once more ahead of next season with the introduction of the halo.

Mansell feels that drivers of his generation were often faced with a difficult choice in light of the danger they faced on the track - something that is much less of an issue to the current crop.

He said: "We had a flat out career where we had to look in the mirror some mornings and say are we willing to put it on the line, to get that extra half a second in order to win a race.

"The downside for us back then was that if we got it wrong, we could kill ourselves.

"The psyche is different in the present day race car driver because the run-off areas and the safety standards are immesurably, a zillion times, better."