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Archive photo · 12 July 2009Alan Jones Dies Aged 80 After Short Illness, 1980 F1 World Champion
13 Other6 Western Mainstream2 Local Western1 AsianPhoto: John Chapman ( User:Pyrope ), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped for layout
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Alan Jones dies aged 80 after brief illness, 1980 F1 World Champion with Williams. He was the second Australian to win the F1 title and Williams' first.
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Alan Jones dies at 80
Alan Jones, the 1980 Formula 1 world champion, died at the age of 80 after a short illness, according to ABC and BBC reporting. Jones turned 80 on Monday, and his wife, Amanda Butler-Davis, released a statement saying, "We are extremely saddened to announce the passing of our beloved Alan, who passed away on 5 November following a short illness,". Jones became world champion in 1980, joining Jack Brabham as the only Australians to achieve that feat, and Jones raced in F1 between 1975 and 1986.
Jones won 12 grands prix in his career and took the title in 1980 ahead of Nelson Piquet. The Australian Grand Prix stated that Alan Jones "holds a special place in the history of our sport."
Career milestones and teams
Jones started his first of 116 F1 races in a Hesketh at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, and he won his first race for the Shadow team in Austria in 1977 before joining Williams the following year, BBC said. Jones won five races in 1980, taking the title ahead of Nelson Piquet, and it said Jones remains the most recent Australian to triumph at the Australian Grand Prix, winning at Melbourne's Calder Park Raceway in 1980 when the race was not part of the world championship. Jones competed in F1 between 1975 and 1986 and won the world championship in 1980, becoming the first Williams driver to do so.
Jones was born in Melbourne in 1946, and it said his father Stan Jones won the 1959 Australian Grand Prix at Longford. Jones continued racing competitively in other formats until 2002 and became a popular motorsports pundit on television in his home country.
Tributes and legacy
Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said, "I am deeply saddened by the passing of Alan Jones, a true great of our sport and an extraordinary racer," and he added that Alan was "a formidable competitor, a natural leader and an icon who inspired generations of fans". Williams said, "Everyone at Williams is deeply saddened to learn of Alan Jones' passing," and it described Jones as instrumental in making Williams what it is today, forming an extraordinary bond with Frank Williams and Patrick Head. Jones is synonymous with the Williams team, having become their first world champion in 1980, and it said he formed a close bond with co-founders Frank Williams and Patrick Head.
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Alan Jones, a true great of our sport and an extraordinary racer.”
Jones retired from the sport in 1986 and turned to broadcasting, and it said he was a commentator with Channel Nine as part of the F1 coverage in Australia from 1987 to 2002. Jones was survived by his wife and six children, and it said his statement thanked everyone who was part of Alan's journey for the many years of friendship, love and support.