Zak Brown to drive iconic Williams car at the British Grand Prix: 'Fans are going to love this'

During the Formula 1 weekend at Silverstone, the American will swap sides for just a brief moment, driving in front of the hundreds of thousands of British fans in his own Williams FW11B from 1987, once driven by Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet, who won the 1987 world championship with that car.

The demonstration run is scheduled as part of the festivities surrounding the British Grand Prix, with Brown announcing his participation during a tour of his impressive collection of historic racing cars with ESPN F1.

"I think the fans are going to love this," Brown enthusiastically stated. "I'll be driving it myself, but I'll first test the car in Spain since I've never driven it before!

"We've just completely restored it, it's been tested and is ready to use. Fans might be a little confused why the McLaren guy is in a Williams," he laughs.

The 1987 FW11B that Brown owns is a hugely special car, as it has the specific chassis that was driven by Nigel Mansell, with the infamous overtake on teammate Piquet during that year's British Grand Prix occurring in that very car. Mansell drove on the edge for 17 laps after a puncture and eventually won the race.

The FW11B became part of Brown's impressive collection a few years ago, with the purchase stemming from a collaboration with the Williams team.

"When we entered into a sponsorship deal, they asked what they could do for me," Brown explains. "I said: ‘Sell me a car!’ Not just getting me a car, of course, that wouldn't be right, but selling me a car. They were like: ‘Which one would you like?’ And I said: ‘That one.’"

Brown then spoke with admiration about Mansell, whom he has come to know well. "I have become good friends with Nigel, and he spends a lot of time with Lando [Norris]. He said this was his favourite car to drive."