Alan Jones (racing driver)

Alan Stanley JonesMBE (born 2 November 1946 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian former Formula One driver. He was the first driver to win a Formula One World Championship with the Williams team, becoming the 1980 World Drivers' Champion and the second Australian to do so following triple World Champion Sir Jack Brabham. He competed in a total of 117 Grands Prix, winning 12 and achieving 24 podium finishes. In 1978 Jones won the Can-Am championship driving a Lola.

Jones is also the last Australian driver to win the Australian Grand Prix, winning the 1980 event at Calder Park Raceway, having lapped the field consisting mostly of Formula 5000 cars while he was driving his Formula One Championship winning Williams FW07B.

Early life and career

Jones attended Xavier College and is the son of Stan Jones, an Australian racing driver and winner of the 1959 Australian Grand Prix, and wanted to follow in his footsteps. Jones initially worked in his father's Holden dealership while racing a Mini and a Cooper. The younger Jones left for Europe in 1967 to make a name for himself, but found that he could not afford even a Formula Ford drive. He therefore returned home but was back in 1970 and set about building his career in company with compatriot Brian McGuire. The two men bought and sold second-hand cars and Jones was eventually able to afford a Formula Three Lotus 41 which he intended to adapt to Formula Two specification and take back to Australia to sell, in order to finance a season of Formula Three. However the machine was written off in a testing accident at Brands Hatch in which Jones suffered a broken leg.