Sculpture honour for F1 ace and UK Youth president Nigel Mansell ahead of charity evening

Legendary racing driver Nigel Mansell is set to be immortalised in bronze.

The Formula 1 ace is the latest person to sit for acclaimed royal sculptor Frances Segelman, also known as Lady Petchey.

The 1992 F1 world champion will sit for the artist – known for her bronze busts of the Royal Family – at the headquarters of Williams Racing, for whom he had such success in the 1990s.

Nigel, president of UK Youth, is set to pose for Frances ahead of a sold-out fundraising event for the charity at Williams on May 22.

He is the latest famous face to sit for Frances, who has already sculpted more than 200 people, including royalty such as Queen Elizabeth II, the late Prince Philip, King Charles III, UK Youth patron The Princess Royal, and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, as well as such famous faces as Joanna Lumley, Bruce Forsyth and Joan Collins.

Frances said: “I have been fortunate to sculpt many famous faces, including our late Queen, which was a real honour. I just love sculpting people who have led amazing lives and I am looking forward to sculpting Nigel and particularly his iconic moustache.”

Frances is famed for completing her sculptures in just two hours in front of a live audience – with Nigel set to sit for her in an afternoon, before she completes the clay sculpture in front of the watching fans at UK Youth’s fundraising Audience with Nigel Mansell at the Williams Racing Experience Centre, in Grove, Oxfordshire. 

“For some reason some of my best sculpting work is done in front of a crowd. I love a buzzing atmosphere and enter a sort of tunnel vision,” Frances said. “Nobody talks to me or the sitter, and by the end of the second hour viewers are always amazed to see the clay sculpture coming to life.”

The idea for this latest bust came after Nigel was present at the unveiling of Frances’s Princess Anne piece, at UK Youth’s Avon Tyrrell outdoor learning centre in the New Forest, last year.

Nigel said: “Frances’ sculpture of Princess Anne is absolutely beautiful and I was honoured to be asked to pose for her as well – although I am a bit nervous about having to sit still for so long.

“But I am really excited to be returning to Williams and sharing stories of F1, my racing career and beyond, all in aid of UK Youth, a great cause which is close to my heart.”

It is hoped the bust of Nigel – set to be officially unveiled at UK Youth’s gala dinner in October after it is cast in bronze – will stand alongside that of the Princess Royal at the entrance of UK Youth’s planned new learning centre at Avon Tyrrell.

An Audience with Nigel Mansell takes place at the Williams Racing Experience Centre, home to one of the largest private collections of F1 cars in the world, at the Williams HQ, in Grove, Oxfordshire, on Wednesday, May 22.

UK Youth is a leading charity with a vision that all young people are equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives. With an open network of more than 8,000 youth organisations and nation partners; UK Youth reaches more than four million young people across the UK and is focused on unlocking youth work as the catalyst of change that is needed now more than ever. To find out more, visit ukyouth.org 

UK Youth is involved in a range of programmes designed to help young people thrive, such as outdoor learning, physical literacy, social action and employability, including Hatch, a youth employability programme run in partnership with KFC. For more on UK Youth’s programmes, see ukyouth.org/what-we-do/programmes