Australian Formula 1 champion Alan Jones dies — The Guardian

Australian 1980 Formula 1 world champion Alan Jones has died. He was 80, The Guardian reports. Jones celebrated his 80th birthday on Monday.

Title with Williams

Jones became the second Australian after Sir Jack Brabham to win the Formula 1 world championship title. He won the 1980 championship with Williams, securing the title with one race remaining in the season.

That year, Jones won the Argentine, British, French, Canadian and United States Grands Prix, and also finished on the podium four more times. He remains the last Australian to have become Formula 1 world champion.

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Formula 1 career

Jones was born in Melbourne and moved to Europe in 1970 to continue his motorsport career. In 1973, he joined the Formula 3 team GRD, and made his Formula 1 debut for Hesketh in 1975.

He took his first Formula 1 victory at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix while driving for Shadow. In 1978, Jones moved to Williams. Over 10 Formula 1 seasons, he won 12 Grands Prix and ended his career in 1986.