Alan Jones, Williams’ First Formula 1 Champion, Dies at 80

Alan Jones, the Australian who won the 1980 Formula 1 drivers’ championship with Williams, died Thursday at 80 after a short illness, Motorsport Australia announced.

Jones became Williams’ first drivers’ world champion and the second Australian to win the title, following Jack Brabham. He won five races during his championship season and finished his Formula 1 career with 12 grand prix victories.

Jones made his Formula 1 debut in 1975 and took his first victory with Shadow at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix before joining Williams in 1978. He made his final grand prix appearance in Adelaide in 1986, continued racing in Australia and later became a television commentator.

Photo: Jerry Lewis-Evans / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source; license). Alan Jones during practice for the European Grand Prix on Oct. 4, 1985. File photograph.