Mansell: I could still qualify on the front row in F1

The 1992 World Champion, who bowed out of F1 in 1994, made the claim at the Coys International Historic Festival, where he is taking part in the Autosport 50th Anniversary driver parade.

"It wouldn't be a problem," he said. "I could definitely be on the front row in the right car. It would all depend on the machinery."

Mansell was joined in the historic parade at Coys by Stirling Moss, John Surtees and John Watson.

Watson was similarly bullish about his chances of qualifying in a modern Grand Prix: "Yes, no problems. But if I was in a Jordan, for instance, I think I would be 11th or 12th on the grid, no higher."

Moss was less optimistic. "No, I couldn't do it in a modern car," he admitted. "But I reckon I could take on most of the drivers here today in a historic car on treads in the wet.

"I never raced competitively on slicks, apart from a brief spell in touring cars, so I'm not much good on them. I wouldn't even think about getting onto a modern F1 grid."

Elder statesman Surtees was similarly humble: "I think you drive a car automatically, and when you get behind the wheel of a car with which you are familiar you get back into the groove very quickly.

"I think I'd still be up front in period machinery, but it was very different in my day, and there's no way I could be competitive in a modern F1 car."

The quartet will take part in the Autosport 50th F1 celebration on both Saturday and Sunday at Coys.