Jack Brabham

Jack Brabham was an Australian racing driver and motorsport pioneer who competed in Formula One from 1955 to 1970. Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles in 1959, 1960, and 1966, becoming one of the sport’s all-time greats. Uniquely, he co-founded the Brabham racing team in 1960 and remains the only driver to win a World Championship in a car bearing his own name.

Nationality	Australian
Born	John Arthur Brabham 2 April 1926 Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia
Died	19 May 2014 (age 88 years) Gold Coast, Australia

Before his Formula One career, Brabham was a Royal Australian Air Force flight mechanic and owned a small engineering workshop. His journey to F1 began in 1948 with midget cars in Australia and New Zealand. His success on local circuits earned him a move to Britain to further his career. Brabham joined the Cooper Car Company, where he not only drove but also contributed to designing mid-engined cars that revolutionised the sport.

Brabham raced for Cooper in Formula One from 1955 to 1961. His breakthrough came in 1959 when he won his first Formula One World Championship, driving the Cooper T51, which featured a groundbreaking mid-engine layout. Brabham repeated the feat in 1960, securing back-to-back World Championships. His success with Cooper marked a turning point for Formula One car design, as the mid-engine layout became the new standard.

In 1962, Brabham co-founded his own racing team, Brabham, with fellow Australian engineer Ron Tauranac. The team became one of the most successful manufacturers of racing cars in the 1960s, supplying vehicles to teams across various motorsport categories. Brabham himself continued to race for his team until his retirement in 1970.

Brabham’s most notable achievement came in 1966 when he won his third World Championship driving a car of his own design, the Brabham-Repco BT19. This made him the only driver in Formula One history to win a title in a car bearing his own name, a record that still stands today. Under his leadership, the Brabham team also won two Constructors’ Championships, cementing their place in Formula One history.

After retiring at the end of the 1970 season, Brabham returned to Australia, where he purchased a farm and pursued various business interests. These included the Engine Developments racing engine company and several automotive businesses.

At the time of his death in 2014, aged 88, Brabham was the last surviving Formula One World Champion from the 1950s.

Jack Brabham Formula One World Championship career

F1 Career	1955–1970
Teams	Cooper, Rob Walker Racing Team, Brabham
Entries	128 (126 starts)
Championships	3 (1959, 1960, 1966)
Wins	14
Podiums	31
Career points	253 (261)1
Pole positions	13
Fastest laps	12
First entry	1955 British Grand Prix
First win	1959 Monaco Grand Prix
Last win	1970 South African Grand Prix
Last entry	1970 Mexican Grand Prix

Jack Brabham Teammates

15 Teammates	Involvement	First Year	Last Year
Les Leston	1	1957
Mike MacDowel	1	1957
Roy Salvadori	8	1957	1958
Ian Burgess	1	1958
Masten Gregory	6	1959
Bruce McLaren	23	1959	1961
Giorgio Scarlatti	1	1959
Chuck Daigh	1	1960
Ron Flockhart	1	1960
Dan Gurney	27	1963	1968
Denny Hulme	23	1965	1967
Chris Irwin	1	1966
Jochen Rindt	12	1968
Jacky Ickx	9	1969
Tim Schenken	1	1970

Race Wins

Win Number	Grand Prix
1	1959 Monaco Grand Prix
2	1959 British Grand Prix
3	1960 Dutch Grand Prix
4	1960 Belgian Grand Prix
5	1960 French Grand Prix
6	1960 British Grand Prix
7	1960 Portuguese Grand Prix
8	1966 French Grand Prix
9	1966 British Grand Prix
10	1966 Dutch Grand Prix
11	1966 German Grand Prix
12	1967 French Grand Prix
13	1967 Canadian Grand Prix
14	1970 South African Grand Prix

Complete Formula One results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	WDC	Points1
1955	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T40	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	ARG	MON	500	BEL	NED	GBR Ret	ITA							NC	0
	Jack Brabham	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	ARG	MON	500	BEL	FRA	GBR Ret	GER	ITA						NC	0
1957	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T43	Climax FPF 2.0 L4	ARG	MON 6	500	FRA 7 *			PES 7	ITA						NC	0
	Rob Walker Racing Team	Cooper T43	Climax FPF 2.0 L4					GBR Ret									NC	0
		Cooper T43	Climax FPF 1.5 L4						GER Ret †								NC	0
1958	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T45	Climax FPF 2.0 L4	ARG	MON 4	NED 8	500	BEL Ret	FRA 6	GBR 6		POR 7	ITA Ret				18th	3
		Cooper T45	Climax FPF 1.5 L4								GER Ret †			MOR 11 †			18th	3
1959	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T51	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	MON 1	500	NED 2	FRA 3	GBR 1	GER Ret	POR Ret	ITA 3	USA 4					1st	31 (34)
1960	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T51	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	ARG Ret													1st	43
		Cooper T53	Climax FPF 2.5 L4		MON DSQ	500	NED 1	BEL 1	FRA 1	GBR 1	POR 1	ITA	USA 4				1st	43
1961	Cooper Car Company	Cooper T55	Climax FPF 1.5 L4	MON Ret	NED 6	BEL Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 4									11th	4
		Cooper T58	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8						GER Ret	ITA Ret	USA Ret						11th	4
1962	Brabham Racing Organisation	Lotus 24	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	NED Ret	MON 8	BEL 6	FRA Ret	GBR 5									9th	9
		Brabham BT3	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8						GER Ret	ITA	USA 4	RSA 4					9th	9
1963	Brabham Racing Organisation	Lotus 25	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	MON 9													7th	14
		Brabham BT3	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8		BEL Ret					ITA 5							7th	14
		Brabham BT7	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8			NED Ret	FRA 4	GBR Ret	GER 7		USA 4	MEX 2	RSA 13				7th	14
1964	Brabham Racing Organisation	Brabham BT7	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	MON Ret	NED Ret	BEL 3	FRA 3	GBR 4	GER 12								8th	11
		Brabham BT11	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8							AUT 9	ITA 14	USA Ret	MEX Ret				8th	11
1965	Brabham Racing Organisation	Brabham BT11	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	RSA 8	MON Ret	BEL 4	FRA	GBR DNS	NED	GER 5	ITA	USA 3	MEX Ret				10th	9
1966	Brabham Racing Organisation	Brabham BT19	Repco 620 3.0 V8	MON Ret	BEL 4	FRA 1	GBR 1	NED 1	GER 1	ITA Ret							1st	42 (45)
		Brabham BT20	Repco 620 3.0 V8								USA Ret	MEX 2					1st	42 (45)
1967	Brabham Racing Organisation	Brabham BT20	Repco 620 3.0 V8	RSA 6													2nd	46 (48)
		Brabham BT19	Repco 740 3.0 V8		MON Ret	NED 2											2nd	46 (48)
		Brabham BT24	Repco 740 3.0 V8				BEL Ret	FRA 1	GBR 4	GER 2	CAN 1	ITA 2	USA 5	MEX 2			2nd	46 (48)
1968	Brabham Racing Organisation	Brabham BT24	Repco 740 3.0 V8	RSA Ret													23rd	2
		Brabham BT26	Repco 860 3.0 V8		ESP DNS	MON Ret	BEL Ret	NED Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 5	ITA Ret	CAN Ret	USA Ret	MEX 10		23rd	2
1969	Motor Racing Developments Ltd	Brabham BT26A	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA Ret	ESP Ret	MON Ret	NED 6	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA Ret	CAN 2	USA 4	MEX 3			10th	14
1970	Motor Racing Developments Ltd	Brabham BT33	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	RSA 1	ESP Ret	MON 2	BEL Ret	NED 11	FRA 3	GBR 2	GER Ret	AUT 13	ITA Ret	CAN Ret	USA 10	MEX Ret	6th	25

Sources:

1. Jack Brabham. Wikipedia.com