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Alan Jones, the Australian driver who won the 1980 Formula 1 World Championship with Williams, has died aged 80 after a short illness, his family announced on Thursday.
"We are extremely saddened to announce the passing of our beloved Alan, who passed away on November 5 following a short illness," his wife, Amanda Butler-Davis, said in a statement released through Motorsport Australia. Jones had turned 80 on Monday, just three days before his death. Australian media reported he had been diagnosed with cancer only weeks earlier.
Jones raced in Formula 1 between 1975 and 1986, making his debut at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix with Hesketh and taking his first victory at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix with Shadow. He joined Williams in 1978, and after four wins in five races late in 1979, he dominated the 1980 season, winning five of the 14 grands prix — in Argentina, France, Britain, Canada and the United States — to clinch the drivers' title with a round to spare, 13 points ahead of Brazil's Nelson Piquet.
He was the first driver to win a world championship for Williams, the first of the team's seven drivers' champions, and he helped Williams to its first constructors' championship in the same season. Across his career he won 12 grands prix, stood on the podium 24 times and took six pole positions in 117 grands prix. He remains the second and last Australian to win the Formula 1 drivers' title, after triple champion Sir Jack Brabham, and the last Australian to win his home grand prix, at Calder Park in 1980. His father, Stan Jones, won the 1959 Australian Grand Prix. Jones left Formula 1 after the 1981 season, returned for a one-off drive with Arrows in 1983 and a final stint with the Haas team in 1985 and 1986, and retired for good at the end of 1986.
After racing, Jones built a second career as a broadcaster in Australia. He was inducted into the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
Tributes poured in on Thursday. "Everyone at Williams is deeply saddened to learn of Alan Jones' passing," the team said in a statement. "Alan was instrumental in making Williams what it is today, forming an extraordinary bond with Frank Williams and Patrick Head to become our first drivers' world champion in just our fourth season in Formula 1." The team added: "He set the standard for Williams champions: a fast, uncompromising racer with a challenger mentality who loved motor racing and dedicated his life to it. He is a true Australian icon and a Williams legend, and he will be dearly missed."
The Australian Grand Prix Corporation said Jones "holds a special place in the history of our sport," adding that his 1980 championship "inspired a generation of Australian motorsport fans." Motorsport Australia president Andrew Fraser called him "one of the most significant figures in Australian motorsport history."
He is survived by his wife Amanda and his six children, Christian, Amber, Zara, Jack, Camilla and Emma.