Alan Jones, Australia's 1980 F1 Champion, Passes Away at 80
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MENAFNHis wife, Amanda Butler-Davis, confirmed his death in a statement issued through Motorsport Australia's official channels.
"He will be dearly missed and fondly remembered by those closest to him," she said, adding that his legacy would endure through the people whose lives he touched.
Born in Melbourne on Nov. 2, 1946, Jones had marked his 80th birthday just three days before his death.
The son of Australian racing driver Stan Jones, he moved to Europe to pursue an international racing career. He made his Formula 1 debut with Hesketh at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix.
His breakthrough victory came with Shadow at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix, before he moved to Williams the following year.
After securing four race wins and finishing third in the 1979 championship, Jones delivered a remarkable 1980 season, winning five Grands Prix to defeat Brazil's Nelson Piquet and capture the drivers' championship.
The achievement established him as Australia's second Formula 1 world champion, following three-time titleholder Jack Brabham. It also secured Williams its first drivers' championship, with the team simultaneously claiming its maiden constructors' title.
Jones added two more victories in 1981, ending the season third in the standings. His triumph at the Caesars Palace Grand Prix in Las Vegas that year became his final Formula 1 race victory.
He initially stepped away from the sport at the end of 1981 but returned briefly with Arrows in 1983. He subsequently joined the newly established Haas team in 1985, remaining in competition through 1986.
Beyond Formula 1, Jones won the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne's Calder Park Raceway in 1980, five years before the event joined the world championship calendar.
He continued racing in touring cars and endurance competitions after leaving Formula 1, capturing the 1982 Australian Sports Sedan and GT Championship and the 1993 Bathurst 12 Hour. He also secured second place in the 1995 Bathurst 1000.
Following his retirement from competitive racing in 2002, Jones transitioned into television commentary, becoming a motorsport broadcaster before later taking on an advisory role with Formula 1 stewards.
His contributions to motorsport were recognized with his appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1980. He was subsequently inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame in 2016.
Jones is survived by his wife and six children: Christian, Amber, Zara, Jack, Camilla and Emma.
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