Nigel Mansell’s only victory, on August 16, 1992

At the wheel of his Williams-Renault, veteran British driver Nigel Mansell made his mark on the 1992 Formula 1 season. At 39 years of age, he won the world title before the end of the season, literally crushing the competition.

Thirty-one years ago today, Nigel Mansell won his only Formula 1 world championship title at the Hungarian Grand Prix. During the 1992 season, the Brit dominated like few others before him, securing 14 pole positions. Only his Williams teammate Riccardo Patrese and Ayrton Senna managed to beat him in the remaining 16 races. By comparison, Sebastian Vettel's record of 15 pole positions in 2011 was set over a 20-race calendar, highlighting just how remarkable Mansell's achievement was.

In 1992, Mansell also set a new record for the number of wins in a single season, with nine victories. At the wheel of the FW14B-Renault, he left rivals such as Michael Schumacher, Gerhard Berger, and Senna behind.

The season got off to an explosive start for the Upton-upon-Severn native. He won the first five Grand Prix races—Kyalami, Mexico City, Interlagos, Barcelona, and Imola—each from pole position. He then broke the Monaco circuit record to take pole position in Monte Carlo, before being overtaken by Senna ten laps from the finish after leading most of the race. A sixth consecutive pole position later in the year set a new record, which would be surpassed by Alain Prost in 1993 and Lewis Hamilton in 2015 with seven pole positions. Canada marked Mansell's first mistake. Starting in third position, he went off the track on lap 15 while battling with Senna and blamed the Brazilian for the incident. However, he quickly recovered and continued to dominate at Magny-Cours, Silverstone, and Hockenheim, adding three pole positions and three wins to his record. At his home race in Great Britain, he was two seconds ahead of Patrese in qualifying and led every one of the 59 laps, thrilling the crowd: Formula 1 had a king, and it was Nigel Mansell.

Going into Hungary, Mansell was 46 points ahead of Patrese (86 to 40) and could become the fastest champion in history by beating his teammate by four points. “Please don't mention it,” he told reporters, trying to defuse the pressure and recalling the disappointment of 1986, when he lost the title to Alain Prost in the final race.

Patrese qualified ahead of him on the front row, and a poor start left Mansell stuck in traffic. He fought his way back up the field while Patrese led until lap 38, when a spin dropped him back. Patrese's engine failed on lap 56, leaving Mansell needing only a podium finish, which he achieved by finishing second behind Senna. At 39, he became world champion.

Mansell added another second place at Spa, where Schumacher took his first win, then suffered retirements in Italy, Japan, and Australia, punctuated by a final victory at Estoril. He also set two new fastest laps in qualifying over those last four weekends. His eight fastest laps that year, half of the races, highlighted his individual dominance, even though the superiority of the Williams FW14B was evident. Mansell's teammate scored only 52 points. Long considered a second-tier driver, Mansell saw his fortunes change after joining Williams in 1985. He achieved only one pole position and no victories in his first five seasons, but finished runner-up in the championship three times (1986, 1987, and 1991). In 1992, however, he racked up 108 points, the highest total ever recorded in the 19-year history of the 16-race format.