One of the greatest names in Australian motorsport, Alan Jones, has died aged 80 after reportedly being diagnosed with cancer just weeks ago. The second Aussie to win the F1 world championship after Sir Jack Brabham, Jones passed away after celebrating his birthday on Monday.

Born in Melbourne in 1946, the icon is just one of five Australians to have won an F1 grand prix, alongside Brabham, Mark Webber, Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri. Jones followed his father Stan into the racing world and had the talent to reach its pinnacle. 

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According to Nine, Jones – who was well known for his no-holds-barred racing and equally uncompromising opinions on the sport – was only just diagnosed with the killer disease. 

He had to move to Britain to make his ambitions a reality and made his F1 debut with the Hesketh team in 1975 before moving on to Surtees and Shadow, scoring his maiden grand prix win with the latter team in Austria in 1977. According to racing legend, organisers didn’t have the Australian anthem on hand and played ‘Happy Birthday’ while he was on the podium instead.

Jones’ F1 fortunes took a huge turn for the better when he joined Williams in 1978. He came third in the driver’s standings the following year after winning four GPs that season. 

In 1980 Jones (pictured below with late team founder Frank Williams) raced to victory in Great Britain, Canada, the USA, France and Argentina to be crowned king and give Williams its first driver’s title, 14 years after Brabham last wore the crown.

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The Aussie left F1 after the 1981 season, but raced in one GP for Arrows in 1983 and came back with Haas in 1985 and 1986. He also excelled in racing down under, winning the Sports Sedan and GT Championship in 1983, the Bathurst 12 Hour in 1993 and finishing second in the 1995 Bathurst 1000. A full retirement from motorsport followed in 2002.

“I was a pretty aggressive driver. If someone passed me, I took it personally,” Jones told WhichCar by Wheels in an interview last December. 

“If they touched me up, that was fine. I’d just tell them ‘I’ve got you in my book for next time’. If somebody asked how I’d slept I’d tell them like a baby, even if I’d been awake all night worrying about something. Never show weakness, that was my mantra.

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“If you’re a real racer you just want to put your arse in a car and race. All the rest is justification. I hated doing the PR stuff. If had to go to a dinner, and I was sat next to the MD’s wife, she might ask if I’d had any bad accidents. So I would say ‘There was that time when my left arm was ripped off, but it’s amazing what they can do with micro-surgery.’ I would just have some fun, to get through the meal.

“I couldn’t stand being in F1 now. I would love the money and the private jets. But not the rest of it, like turning up to the interview pen after the race.”

Paul Gover, who conducted that interview, branded Jones a true, but underappreciated hero.

“He was a tough nut who never suffered fools. But if he rated you, and let you inside his world, he was an amazing guy,” Gover said.

“Nobody wanted to win more than AJ. His personal life was less successful than his on-track efforts, but he seemed to have been in a happy place when I last spoke to him.

“Sadly, he was never a sentimental bloke and I don’t think he got the recognition he deserved. He was a true hero and maybe now, people will get to know that.”

Jones is survived by his wife Amanda and their children Zara and Jack, and his other children Camilla and Christian.