Keke Rosberg vs Nigel Mansell

1985·

Keke Rosberg out-qualified Nigel Mansell 8–7 at Williams in 1985, but Nigel Mansell won the races 10–5. Grid slots, finishes, points and retirements compared.

Keke RosbergNigel Mansell

8Qualifying7

15 shared races

5Race day10

15 shared races

34Points31

in shared races, as awarded at the time

111Points (today’s rules)118

in shared races, rescored 25-18-15…

Wins: 2/2
Podiums: 4/3
Poles: 1/1
Retirements: 7/5
Best finish: P1/P1
Avg. grid: 4/5.4

Race by race

Round-by-round comparison of Keke Rosberg and Nigel Mansell
R	Grand Prix	Grid	Keke Rosberg	Nigel Mansell	Points
1	1Brazilian Grand Prix	2/5	Turbo	Exhaust	0 / 0
2	2Portuguese Grand Prix	3/9	Spun off	P5	0 / 2
3	3San Marino Grand Prix	2/7	Brakes	P5	0 / 2
4	4Monaco Grand Prix	7/2	P8	P7	0 / 0
5	5Canadian Grand Prix	8/16	P4	P6	3 / 1
6	6Detroit Grand Prix	5/2	P1	Accident	9 / 0
8	8British Grand Prix	1/5	Exhaust	Clutch	0 / 0
9	9German Grand Prix	4/10	P12▼	P6	0 / 1
10	10Austrian Grand Prix	4/2	Oil pressure	Engine	0 / 0
11	11Dutch Grand Prix	2/7	Engine	P6	0 / 1
12	12Italian Grand Prix	2/3	Engine	P11▼	0 / 0
13	13Belgian Grand Prix	10/7	P4	P2	3 / 6
14	14European Grand Prix	4/3	P3	P1▲	4 / 9
15	15South African Grand Prix	3/1	P2	P1▲	6 / 9
16	16Australian Grand Prix	3/2	P1	Transmission	9 / 0
	Average finish		P4.4	P5.0

How to read this table

The driver ahead in a round is shown in bold, the other in grey. Grid shows Keke Rosberg / Nigel Mansell.
P1 a win,P3 a podium,DNF a retirement.
▲ a finish at least 4 places better than that driver’s own average finish this season (see the average row), ▼ at least 4places worse. Retirements are not counted in the average.

Keke Rosberg’s career Nigel Mansell’s career Williams 1985 season All teammate battles

How these numbers are calculated

Only races both drivers started are counted. Entries that did not qualify, did not pre-qualify or were withdrawn are excluded, as are cars that never left the grid or the garage, and the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960.
Until the mid-1960s drivers could share a car during a race. Each driver is compared from the car they started (which sets their grid position), with the best result of any car they drove and the points from all of them, as officially credited.
Qualifying is compared on grid position rather than session times. Session-by-session qualifying data only exists from 1994, while grid position is recorded for over 99% of entries right back to 1950 — including every race of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
On race day the driver classified ahead takes the round. If neither was classified, the one who completed more laps is credited; if both retired on the same lap it is scored as a tie and excluded from the tally.
Points are those awarded at the time and include sprint races from 2021. Where the season used an older system, a second points row rescores every round under the current system so seasons from different eras can be compared.
These are points scored in the races both drivers started, not their season totals: races either missed, or contested alongside a different teammate, are left out. Up to 1990 even full-season totals differ from the championship standings, because only a driver’s best results counted towards the title. In 1988 Alain Prost outscored Ayrton Senna 105 to 94 and still lost the championship. Theseason page has the final standings.