Vettel purchases Mansell’s iconic championship-winning Williams

Sebastian Vettel loves his Formula 1 history, so perhaps it should be of no surprise that the German has chosen to spend some of his salary on a Williams FW14B, the machine that Nigel Mansell used to win the 1992 F1 world title…

Mansell enjoyed supreme success in that car, winning nine out of 16 Grands Prix during that campaign to win the drivers’ title, while Williams triumphed in the constructors’ championship, too.

Regarded as one of the most sophisticated F1 cars in history, it was penned by design guru Adrian Newey, who also designed Vettel's four title-winning cars. It featured active suspension, a semi-automatic gearbox, traction control and a class-leading Renault engine, and proved to be the dominant machine during the 1992 campaign, giving Mansell his only world title triumph.

Vettel now owns a FW14B, the price he paid unknown, with the famous red 5 on its nose. This is a number Vettel is known to have an affinity with, and was the one he chose to race with when drivers could choose their own digits.

It is understood his private collection of cars includes at least one of his four title-winning Red Bulls. He is also believed to have bought a Ferrari F40 previously owned by opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, alongside a collection of motorbikes.