Alan Jones, the last Australian to become Formula 1 world champion and the first Williams driver, has died at the age of 80.
Jones raced in F1 between 1975 and 1986 and won the title in 1980, becoming the first of Williams’ seven world championships.
Jones, who turns 80 on Monday, won 12 career grands prix and raced competitively in other formats until 2002.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Alan, who passed away on November 5 after a short illness,” his wife Amanda Butler-Davis said in a statement released on his behalf by Motorsport Australia.
“He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by those closest to him, as well as by his many fans for whose support he is forever grateful.”
Jones started his first of 116 F1 races at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix at Hesketh.
He won his first race for the Shadow team in Austria in 1977 before joining Williams the following year.
After finishing third in the drivers’ championship in 1979, he won five races in 1980 and finished on the podium in all but one of the grands prix he completed, ahead of Nelson Piquet.
Jones became the second Australian to win the F1 championship after Jack Brabham in 1959, 1960 and 1966.
Jones remains the most recent Australian to win the Australian Grand Prix, winning in 1980 at Melbourne’s Calder Park Raceway when the race was not part of the world championship.
He finished third in the drivers’ standings in 1981, winning at Las Vegas in what proved to be his last race win. He retired at the end of the season.
Jones, who appeared in one race for Arrows in 1983, made a full-time comeback with the new Haas team in 1985 and raced largely unsuccessfully the following year.
He continued to compete in stock car and endurance events, mainly in Australia, and became a popular motorsport pundit on television in his home country.
“Alan has dedicated his life to motorsport, building a legacy that will live on through the countless people he touched along the way,” said Butler-Davis.
“Through his achievements, passion and impeccable character both on and off the track, Alan has left a lasting mark on the sport both nationally and around the world.”