Sports

Australian F1 Champion Alan Jones Dies at 80

By F1

Legendary Australian Formula 1 driver Alan Jones, who won the 1980 World Championship with Williams, has died at the age of 80. Jones was born on 2 November 1946 in Melbourne and made his F1 debut at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix driving a Hesketh 308B. He also raced for Surtees, Beatrice Lola, Hill and Shadow, winning his first race at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix with Shadow. Jones is most closely associated with Williams, where he was a favourite of team boss Sir Frank Williams and technical chief Sir Patrick Head. He helped the team achieve its first podium at Watkins Glen in 1978 and its first pole at Silverstone in 1979. In 1980 he won five of 14 races, securing Australia’s second World Championship after Sir Jack Brabham; 11 of his 12 F1 victories came with Williams. After leaving Formula 1 in 1986, Jones worked as a broadcaster in Australia. Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said he was “deeply saddened” by Jones’s passing, noting his impact on the sport and his role in bringing Williams its first Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships. The Williams team released a statement expressing that Jones was instrumental in the team’s success and that he will be greatly missed. Jones’s death is mourned by the entire Formula 1 community.