Mansell: Watch out for McLaren duo
Nigel Mansell is confident McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button will both challenge for the World Championship in 2011.
The two Brits finished behind World Champion Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber in the standings this year, but Mansell is convinced they will be a force to be reckoned with next year.
"It's easy to explain why they will be contenders next year, both Jenson and Lewis are already World Champions, and they are both hungry and young," he said.
"They are with one of the best teams in the business and they have an incredible power plant behind them with Mercedes."
Although both Hamilton and Button were still in contention for the 2010 Drivers' title until the penultimate race of the season, McLaren struggled to match Red Bull and Ferrari for most of the year.
Mansell, though, believes the Woking-based team will bounce back next year.
"McLaren will come back stronger," he said. "There wasn't a team that didn't make mistakes this year. Teams and drivers will have learned the lessons from 2010 when they start next year.
"There will be fewer mistakes and hopefully there will be another titanic battle for the Championship."
Mansell also claims it's too early to judge whether or not Michael Schumacher made a mistake coming out of retirement, saying Mercedes GP could be the "joker in the pack next year".
The seven-times World Champion finished ninth in the standings and was comfortably beaten by team-mate Nico Rosberg.
"I think we'll know for sure at the end of the 2011 season," he said.
"If the team don't give him the car for him to show to the world how good he is then he might see it as a bad decision. But now he will be back with all the same feelings he had before he left.
"Ross Brawn (team principal) will energise the team, and they did have a couple of showings where they showed their full potential.
"They could be the joker in the pack next year. They could do something special."
Credit: PlanetF1.com (www.planetf1.com)
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