Motor Racing: Mansell coy on F1 return

AMID speculation that he may return to Formula One to fill the vacancy left by the death of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell went back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the final warm up before the Indy 500, writes Toni Toomey from Indianapolis.

'I haven't made any comment about anything,' Mansell said. 'People are just making things up all the time. We're just about to make a press release and basically the comment is that we're entering the most important event in motor racing history, which is the 500. We're trying to focus and trying to win a race and you can't do that with all the hullabaloo that's going on around you.

'To talk about anything else other than to focus on this weekend is just ludicrous. If people are trying to quote me I haven't even spoken to anyone.'

Sources quote Carl Haas, the owner of Mansell's team, as saying: 'I know he's talking to them about doing non-conflicting races. More than that I can't say.'

Mansell was fourth quickest during the first hour of an uneventful final practice on a track washed clean by thunderstorms that cooled and cleared the hot, humid air. Mario Andretti was quickest.