Australian Formula One world champion Alan Jones has died aged 80, just three days after celebrating his birthday.
The Melbourne-born racing great, who drove Williams to its first drivers’ world championship in 1980 before becoming a familiar face on Australian television, died following a short illness.
Nine reported Jones had been diagnosed with cancer only weeks earlier.
His death brings to an end a remarkable motorsport life that took him from working at his father’s Holden dealership to beating the world’s best on grand prix circuits.
Jones won 12 Formula One races and remains one of only two Australians to have claimed the drivers’ world title, alongside Sir Jack Brabham.
For generations of Australian viewers, he was also the straight-talking former champion who helped bring the sport into their living rooms alongside Darrell Eastlake on Nine.
Aussie Formula 1 world champion Alan Jones has died, aged 80
Jones won a total of 12 grands prix in his F1 career
Alongside Sir Jack Brabham, Jones was the only other Australian to have earned the world champion title
Born on November 2, 1946, Jones grew up with racing in his blood.
His father Stan won the 1959 Australian Grand Prix, giving the younger Jones a formidable example to follow as he began competing in Minis and Coopers.
But his path to the top was anything but straightforward.
An initial trip to Europe in 1967 ended with Jones unable to afford the drive he needed. He returned to Britain in 1970 and worked towards another opportunity, buying and selling used cars with fellow Australian Brian McGuire to help finance his ambitions.
A testing crash at Brands Hatch left him with a broken leg and a wrecked car, delivering another setback before his Formula One career had even begun.
His fortunes improved in Formula Three, where he finished runner-up in the 1973 British championship.
Two years later, he finally reached Formula One, making his debut in a privately entered Hesketh at the Spanish Grand Prix.
It was a devastating introduction to the sport’s biggest stage. The race at Barcelona’s Montjuïc circuit was stopped after a crash killed five spectators.
Jones won the 1980 world championship, delivering Williams its first drivers’ title
The Melbourne-born champion was diagnosed with cancer just weeks before his death
After leaving Formula One, Jones became a familiar face on Nine’s coverage alongside Darrell Eastlake
Jones subsequently drove for Graham Hill’s team before securing a full-time seat with Surtees in 1976.
His breakthrough came the following year with Shadow, which signed him after the death of driver Tom Pryce at the South African Grand Prix.
Jones seized his chance with victory in Austria, establishing himself as a grand prix winner and attracting attention from Ferrari.
The Italian team ultimately chose Gilles Villeneuve, with Jones to join Frank Williams for the 1978 season.
It proved the defining move of his career.
Four victories in 1979 established Jones as a championship contender. The following year, he won in Argentina, France, Britain, Canada and the United States to secure the world title.
He clinched the championship in Canada with a race to spare, eventually finishing 13 points clear of Brazilian rival Nelson Piquet.
Jones had delivered the first drivers’ crown for Williams and restored Australia to the top of Formula One for the first time since Brabham’s final championship in 1966.
He also won that year’s non-championship Australian Grand Prix at Calder Park, joining his father on the event’s winners’ list.
Jones initially retired after the 1981 season, signing off with victory in Las Vegas.
But he could not stay away completely, making a brief return with Arrows in 1983 before another comeback with Haas in 1985 and 1986.
His final Formula One appearance came at the 1986 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide.
Even then, his racing career continued across other categories.
Already the 1978 Can-Am champion, Jones later competed extensively in Australian touring cars and won the 1993 Bathurst 12 Hour alongside Garry Waldon.
Away from the cockpit, he built a second career in broadcasting.
Jones joined Nine’s Formula One coverage in 1987, bringing a world champion’s perspective to a sport that was developing an increasingly devoted Australian following.
His partnership with Eastlake became a fixture of the network’s coverage, with Jones continuing at Nine until 2002. He later joined Ten’s Formula One team in 2013.
Awarded an MBE for services to motor racing in 1980, Jones was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1989.
He is survived by his wife Amanda Butler-Davis, and his family.
