SYDNEY: Alan Jones, one of only two Australians to win the Formula One world championship, died on Thursday, days after his 80th birthday.
Jones won 12 Grands Prix across his career and became world title-holder in 1980, joining Jack Brabham as the only Australians to have done so.
Jones whose birthday was on Monday died after a brief illness.
Jones, whose father Stan was a racing driver and winner of the 1959 Australian Grand Prix, moved to Britain in 1970 to pursue his F1 dreams.
Racing for Williams, Jones became world champion a decade later. After retiring from the sport in 1986, he went into broadcasting.
In a tribute, the Australian GP said Jones ‘holds a special place in the history of our sport’.-AFPSYDNEY: Alan Jones, one of only two Australians to win the Formula One world championship, died on Thursday, days after his 80th birthday.
Jones won 12 Grands Prix across his career and became world title-holder in 1980, joining Jack Brabham as the only Australians to have done so.
Jones whose birthday was on Monday died after a brief illness.
Jones, whose father Stan was a racing driver and winner of the 1959 Australian Grand Prix, moved to Britain in 1970 to pursue his F1 dreams.
Racing for Williams, Jones became world champion a decade later. After retiring from the sport in 1986, he went into broadcasting.
In a tribute, the Australian GP said Jones ‘holds a special place in the history of our sport’.-AFP