Australian F1 world champion Alan Jones dies aged 80

Jones, one of just two Australians to win an F1 title after his triumph for Williams in 1980, died after a short illness Jones one of just two Australians to win F1 title after triumph in 1980 Alan Jones, the 1980 Formula One world champion, has died aged 80. Jones won 12 F1 grands prix across his career and became just the second Australian, after Sir Jack Brabham, to be crowned world champion when he claimed the title with Williams in 1980. Born in Melbourne, Jones moved to Europe in 1970 to chase his motor racing dream and joined Formula 3 outfit GRD in 1973 before finally breaking through for a F1 debut with Hesketh in 1975.

He claimed his first F1 win in the Austrian GP in 1977 when driving for the Shadow team before he joined Williams in 1978 and found greater success behind the wheel. Jones won five grands prix in 1980 – in Argentina, France, Britain, Canada and the United States – and finished on the podium five more times to claim the world title with one race remaining. He retired from racing in 1986 and remains the last Australian to