Alan Jones, Australian F1 Champion and Broadcaster, Dies at 80
Alan Jones, the Australian driver who won the Formula 1 world championship with Williams in 1980, has died at 80 after a short illness. He was the second…
Alan Jones, the Australian F1 world champion, has died at 80 after a short battle with illness, three days after his birthday. He won the Formula 1 title with Williams in 1980, becoming only the second Australian to claim the championship.
Jones’s death removes a leading figure from Australian motorsport, where he was known both for his racing career and his work as a broadcaster. His wife, Amanda, and their twins, Zara and Jack, survive him, along with daughter Camilla and adopted son Christian.
Jones was born in Melbourne and began racing Minis and Coopers while working for his father, Stan, who owned a Holden dealership and had raced himself. He moved to Europe in 1970 and made his Formula 1 debut at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix.
His championship came five years later. Driving for Williams, Jones won five races and secured four other podium finishes in 1980, beating Brazilian Nelson Piquet by 13 points. He followed Sir Jack Brabham as Australia’s second Formula 1 world champion.
That record gives his death particular weight in Australian racing. Jones remains the last Australian to win the Formula 1 world championship, while his career also connected the sport with television audiences through his commentary work.
Jones first took an F1 victory in the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix. His path to Williams followed a missed opportunity with Ferrari: Enzo Ferrari told him he would be the team’s second choice if it could not sign Mario Andretti for 1978. After Andretti recommitted to Lotus, Ferrari signed Gilles Villeneuve instead, and Jones joined Williams.
He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and received legend status in the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2019. Motorsport journalist Matt Bishop described him as “the most underrated world champion in the history of Formula 1” in a tribute published on Jones’s birthday.
“He was a straight shooter (who) said exactly what he thought,” broadcaster Eddie McGuire said during a television tribute. McGuire also recalled Jones as a longtime colleague on the Wide World of Sports team and praised his work as a commentator.
Jones won the 1980 championship over Piquet by 13 points.
