Paul Newman, the driver
Dear Nigel,
I’ve been an avid reader of your ‘Ask Nigel’ columns since the Autosport days, so it’s great to see you going strong with Motor Sport. Keep it up. My question is this: following the sad news of the passing of movie and motor sport legend Paul Newman, just how good a driver was he?
It’s obvious he had more than a little natural talent, but do you think he could have become a top-line driver in either F1, CART or sports cars had he decided to hang up the acting shoes in favour of a full-time racing helmet? What did drivers who worked with him, the likes of Mario Andretti, Alan Jones and Dick Barbour make of his wheel skills?
Neil Briscoe
Filed under: Ask Nigel, Exclusive content, NASCAR, Personalities
It’s been Formula 1 all the way for Nigel – he started covering the sport in 1971. In the mid-1970s he worked for Graham Hill’s Embassy F1 team, before joining Autosport for whom he has written over 400 Grand Prix reports. Nigel joined Motor Sport full-time on Januray 1 2008. As well as reporting on F1 for national newspapers, he has written 19 books on motor racing. His insightful writing and candid interviews with the great names in racing have made him one of the recognised authorities on F1.
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