Mario Andretti has described Nigel Mansell as the worst teammate he ever had.

Andretti, the 1978 world champion, was briefly partnered with Mansell when the Briton broke into Formula 1 with Lotus in 1980.

The pair were reunited in 1993 after Mansell sensationally quit F1 as the reigning world champion and switched to the US-based Champ Car series.

Mansell arrived in a blaze of publicity and the veteran Andretti – then in the twilight of his illustrious career – was effectively marginalized in the Newman/Haas team which he had been a key part of for over a decade.

Mansell won the Champ Car title first time out, but the love affair turned sour the following year when his car was uncompetitive. That led to increased friction within the team and more than one on-track clash with Andretti, putting a dampener on the Italian-American’s “arrivederci” testimonial year.

“I guess if Ronnie Peterson was the best team-mate I ever had, Nigel Mansell was the worst,” Andretti told F1 Racing magazine.

“He was a manipulator.

“He always got what he wanted – undivided attention and better equipment.

“I can’t blame him for pulling the team around him – and him only – but whenever things went wrong for him, he would instantly start trashing the team.

“That was so wrong. He was so ungracious.

“I had a lot of respect for him as a driver, but not as a man.”

ITV/F1