Formula 2 driver Christian Mansell has stunned the paddock by announcing he will pause his racing career on the eve of the new season.
The Rodin Motorsport driver announced his decision in a social media post today. “Just to let you know for personal reasons I have decided to step away from racing for a little while,” he wrote.“Will keep you updated as to future plans,” added the 20-year-old.
Mansell was due to start his first full season at his home round in Melbourne next week. Rodin said it will “share further details on our line-up soon” as it is now in need of a new team mate for Alex Dunne.
He gave no reason for the sudden decision to put his racing career on hold. Mansell has type one diabetes and has previously been given a special dispensation to carry a mobile phone in his car so that his blood glucose levels can be monitored remotely during races.
He previously said he wants to be seen as a positive example to others with the condition. “It sounds very cliche, but it is true – if you do put your mind towards it, you genuinely can do anything,” he said.
“That’s why I’m such a big advocate for mental health, and that’s why I’m such a big advocate for sports people living with diabetes. Because at the end of the day, we can do it.
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“I think the more and more that I put myself on the world stage and show kids… I’ve gotten messages from parents saying that their kids would have never done anything sport related. I actually recently had a mother text me on my Instagram saying that their child is now doing karting. So it’s very, very sweet.”
Mansell arrived in the United Kingdom from Australia in 2020. He finished third in the GB3 series the following year, then graduated to Formula 3 the year after. He placed fifth in the championship last season, without a win.
He has started six Formula 2 races to date, all with Trident at the end of last year, peaking with sixth place in the feature race at Losail.
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Patrick
4th March 2025, 10:27
As partner in T1D I can only say that yes, you can achieve anything if you set your mind to it, but diabetes can make it incredibly hard sometimes. So if it has anything to do with his withdrawal it’s well understood. Hopefully diabetes doesn’t ruin his dream!
Ian McDonald (@imcdnzl)
4th March 2025, 10:45
I wonder if this is related to Abbi Pulling news?
El Pollo Loco
4th March 2025, 17:00
“Stunned”? He was incredibly uncompetitive. So, I doubt anyone considers this a “stunning” announcement.
El Pollo Loco
4th March 2025, 17:04
“Shock”* / “shocking”*
ps – he’s a good communicator just like his older brother and has a beloved name. If he doesn’t race, hopefully he can make his way as a driver coach, pundit, etc. (also like his older brother who failed to crack F1).
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
4th March 2025, 17:19
Are you sure Christian is a beloved name?
El Pollo Loco
6th March 2025, 4:16
In Christendom? Very! They don’t call him the “savior of speed” for nothing.
Dex
4th March 2025, 19:57
Wow, you really have high standards. You must be really, really successful at whatever it is you’re doing.
El Pollo Loco
6th March 2025, 4:14
Not even sure what you’re referring to. Are you suggesting that he’s been competitive enough to have a prayer of making it into F1? And, not that it’s relevant, but I’m far better at what I do than Mansell and most of the F2, F3, etc. drivers are relative to the bar we judge them by.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
7th March 2025, 0:42
Yes. He’s managed to come 6th in an F2 race already, which is a good sign – especially considering he would have been concentrating on his F3 campaign. He might have needed 2 seasons to take the F2 title, but F1 has certainly seen worse drivers take to the grid recently.
El Pollo Loco
8th March 2025, 7:09
35 F4 races: 0 poles – 1 win
38 F3 races: 0 poles – 1 win
9 Euroformula races: 0 poles – wins
24 GB3 races: 0 poles – 2 wins
43 F3 races: 1 poles – 0 wins
6 F2 races: 0 poles- wins
In no universe is this the CV of someone w/a chance of cracking F1. I’ll assume you weren’t aware of his pre-F2 CV and assumed he’d had his share of success to get to F2. Unfortunately, he hasn’t.
El Pollo Loco
8th March 2025, 7:16
corrected table (a typo + EF race count error)
35 F4 races: 0 poles – 1 win
35 Euroformula races: 1 poles – 3 wins
24 GB3 races: 0 poles – 2 wins
43 F3 races: 1 poles – 0 wins
6 F2 races: 0 poles- wins
AlanD
7th March 2025, 13:39
If a team had said they’d decided to drop a driver, just ten days before the first race, as a result of poor performance, I think many of us would find that very surprising. Perhaps not “stunned”, but we’d certainly be asking questions. When it is the driver who is putting their whole career on hold at such short notice, I think that is even more surprising. Regardless of whether or not you think he was up to the mark, the team clearly did, and drivers will always believe they are good enough, so yes, this is very surprising news. He is diabetic, and that is a very serious illness which can have complications throughout the body. If that is the reason behind this announceent, I wish him well and do hope he is able to resume his career at a later date.
El Pollo Loco
8th March 2025, 7:24
I wish and wished him well. And, of course, type 1 diabetes is a big deal. However, I don’t think it’s controversial to say that someone stopping or pausing their race career with a record of 1 win + 0 poles in 35 F4 races and 1 pole + 0 wins in 43 F3 races is stunning.
This would have never been reported if his last name was Mansell. As I said, I like the young man and wish him well, but we’re not talking about someone with any prospects in the world of F1 racing as a driver.
El Pollo Loco
8th March 2025, 7:26
wasn’t Mansell*
Mr Squiggle
5th March 2025, 7:43
Christian doesn’t appear to be part of any of the major racing academies.
Perhaps there is a money/funding problem….
I’ve been following his progress, he’s been really exciting to watch in F3. I hope he makes it back to the grid