Alan Jones is a retired Australian racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1975 to 1986. Jones is best known for winning the 1980 Drivers’ Championship with Williams, becoming the first driver to secure a championship for the team and only the second Australian to win the title, following Jack Brabham.
| Nationality | Australian |
|---|---|
| Born | Alan Stanley Jones 2 November 1946 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
Jones began his Formula One career in 1975, racing for teams like Hesketh, Hill, Surtees, and Shadow. His breakthrough came with Shadow in 1977 when he won his first Grand Prix in Austria. In 1978, he joined Williams and quickly became the driver to beat, winning four races in 1979 and clinching the World Drivers’ Championship in 1980.
Jones briefly retired in 1981 but returned in 1983 for Arrows and later raced for Haas Lola from 1985 to 1986 before retiring for good. Over his Formula 1 career, Jones took part in 117 Grand Prix, achieving 12 race victories and 24 podium finishes. In addition to his Formula One success, he also won the 1978 Can-Am Championship, driving a Lola.
Jones holds the distinction of being the last Australian driver to win the Australian Grand Prix, a feat he accomplished in 1980 at Calder Park Raceway. In that race, driving his championship-winning Williams FW07B, he dominated the field—mostly made up of Formula 5000 cars—by lapping every other driver. By winning the 1980 Australian Grand Prix, Alan Jones made history by joining his father, Stan Jones, as the first father and son duo to win the race. Stan Jones had claimed victory in the 1959 Australian Grand Prix at the Longford Circuit in Tasmania, driving a Maserati 250F.
Outside of Formula One, Alan Jones had a varied motorsports career. He competed in sports and touring car racing, winning the 1982 Australian GT Championship driving a Porsche 935. Jones also participated in events like the Bathurst 1000 and had a notable run at the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing in the top six with Kremer Racing.
After retiring from Formula One in 1986, Alan Jones moved into TV commentary. In 1987, he became a commentator for Channel Nine, providing coverage of Formula 1 in Australia. He held this role until 2002.
Alan Jones Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 1975–1981, 1983, 1985–1986 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Hesketh (privateer) Hill, Surtees, Shadow, Williams, Arrows, Haas Lola |
| Entries | 117 (116 starts) |
| Championships | 1 (1980) |
| Wins | 12 |
| Podiums | 24 |
| Career points | 199 (206) |
| Pole positions | 6 |
| Fastest laps | 13 |
| First entry | 1975 Spanish Grand Prix |
| First win | 1977 Austrian Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1986 Australian Grand Prix |
Alan Jones Teammates
| 14 Teammates | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Brise | 4 | 1975 | |
| Brett Lunger | 11 | 1976 | |
| Conny Andersson | 1 | 1976 | |
| Noritake Takahara | 1 | 1976 | |
| Renzo Zorzi | 2 | 1977 | |
| Riccardo Patrese | 9 | 1977 | |
| Jackie Oliver | 1 | 1977 | |
| Arturo Merzario | 1 | 1977 | |
| Jean-Pierre Jarier | 1 | 1977 | |
| Clay Regazzoni | 15 | 1979 | |
| Carlos Reutemann | 29 | 1980 | 1981 |
| Marc Surer | 1 | 1983 | |
| Patrick Tambay | 15 | 1986 | |
| Eddie Cheever | 1 | 1986 |
Formula One Record
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Custom Made Harry Stiller Racing | Hesketh-Ford Cosworth | 2 | 17th | Report |
| Embassy Racing with Graham Hill | Hill-Ford Cosworth | ||||
| 1976 | Durex Team Surtees | Surtees-Ford Cosworth | 7 | 15th | Report |
| 1977 | Shadow Racing Team | Shadow-Ford Cosworth | 22 | 7th | Report |
| 1978 | Williams Grand Prix Engineering | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 11 | 11th | Report |
| 1979 | Albilad-Saudia Racing Team | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 40 (43) | 3rd | Report |
| 1980 | Albilad-Williams Racing Team | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 67 (71) | 1st | Report |
| 1981 | TAG Williams Racing Team | Williams-Ford Cosworth | 46 | 3rd | Report |
| 1982 | Retired | ||||
| 1983 | Arrows Racing Team | Arrows-Ford Cosworth | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1984 | Did not compete | ||||
| 1985 | Team Haas (USA) Ltd | Lola-Hart | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1986 | Team Haas (USA) Ltd | Lola-Hart Lola-Ford Cosworth | 4 | 12th | Report |
Race Wins
| Win Number | Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1977 Austrian Grand Prix |
| 2 | 1979 German Grand Prix |
| 3 | 1979 Austrian Grand Prix |
| 4 | 1979 Dutch Grand Prix |
| 5 | 1979 Canadian Grand Prix |
| 6 | 1980 Argentine Grand Prix |
| 7 | 1980 French Grand Prix |
| 8 | 1980 British Grand Prix |
| 9 | 1980 Canadian Grand Prix |
| 10 | 1980 United States Grand Prix |
| 11 | 1981 United States Grand Prix West |
| 12 | 1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix |
Complete Formula One Results
Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | WDC | Pts1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Custom Made Harry Stiller Racing | Hesketh 308B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | ESP Ret | MON Ret | BEL Ret | SWE 11 | 17th | 2 | ||||||||||
| Embassy Racing with Graham Hill | Hill GH1 | NED 13 | FRA 16 | GBR 10 | GER 5 | AUT | ITA | USA | ||||||||||||||
| 1976 | Durex Team Surtees | Surtees TS19 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | BRA | RSA | USW NC | ESP 9 | BEL 5 | MON Ret | SWE 13 | FRA Ret | GBR 5 | GER 10 | AUT Ret | NED 8 | ITA 12 | CAN 16 | USA 8 | JPN 4 | 15th | 7 | |
| 1977 | Shadow Racing Team | Shadow DN8 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW Ret | ESP Ret | MON 6 | BEL 5 | SWE 17 | FRA Ret | GBR 7 | GER Ret | AUT 1 | NED Ret | ITA 3 | USA Ret | CAN 4 | JPN 4 | 7th | 22 |
| 1978 | Williams Grand Prix Engineering | Williams FW06 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG Ret | BRA 11 | RSA 4 | USW 7 | MON Ret | BEL 10 | ESP 8 | SWE Ret | FRA 5 | GBR Ret | GER Ret | AUT Ret | NED Ret | ITA 13 | USA 2 | CAN 9 | 11th | 11 | |
| 1979 | Albilad-Saudia Racing Team | Williams FW06 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG 9 | BRA Ret | RSA Ret | USW 3 | 3rd | 40 (43) | |||||||||||||
| Williams FW07 | ESP Ret | BEL Ret | MON Ret | FRA 4 | GBR Ret | GER 1 | AUT 1 | NED 1 | ITA 9 | CAN 1 | USA Ret | |||||||||||
| 1980 | Albilad-Williams Racing Team | Williams FW07B | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG 1 | BRA 3 | RSA Ret | USW Ret | BEL 2 | MON Ret | FRA 1 | GBR 1 | GER 3 | AUT 2 | NED 11 | ITA 2 | CAN 1 | USA 1 | 1st | 67 (71) | |||
| 1981 | Albilad-Williams Racing Team | Williams FW07C | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | USW 1 | BRA 2 | ARG 4 | SMR 12 | BEL Ret | MON 2 | 3rd | 46 | |||||||||||
| TAG Williams Team | ESP 7 | FRA 17 | GBR Ret | GER 11 | AUT 4 | NED 3 | ITA 2 | CAN Ret | CPL 1 | |||||||||||||
| 1983 | Arrows Racing Team | Arrows A6 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | BRA | USW Ret | FRA | SMR | MON | BEL | DET | CAN | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | EUR | RSA | NC | 0 | ||
| 1985 | Team Haas (USA) Ltd | Lola THL1 | Hart 415T 1.5 L4 t | BRA | POR | SMR | MON | CAN | DET | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA Ret | BEL | EUR Ret | RSA DNS | AUS Ret | NC | 0 | |
| 1986 | Team Haas (USA) Ltd | Lola THL1 | Hart 415T 1.5 L4 t | BRA Ret | ESP Ret | 12th | 4 | |||||||||||||||
| Lola THL2 | Ford Cosworth GBA 1.5 V6 t | SMR Ret | MON Ret | BEL 11 | CAN 10 | DET Ret | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | GER 9 | HUN Ret | AUT 4 | ITA 6 | POR Ret | MEX Ret | AUS Ret |
Sources:
- Alan Jones. Wikipedia.com
- fandom.com
- statsf1.com
