Alan Jones, the 1980 Formula 1 world champion, has died aged 80 following a short illness. The Alan Jones dies news was confirmed on Thursday, November 5, 2026, three days after his 80th birthday, in a family statement issued through Motorsport Australia and reported by Sky Sports.
Jones remains the last Australian to win the Formula 1 drivers’ championship and only the second Australian to win it at all, after Sir Jack Brabham. He won 12 grands prix in his career and gave Williams the first world title in the team’s history, a breakthrough that still frames how Australian motorsport measures itself 46 years later.
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Alan Jones Dies: The Family Statement
His wife, Amanda Butler-Davis, announced the death in a statement released through Motorsport Australia. “We are extremely saddened to announce the passing of our beloved Alan, who passed away on November 5 following a short illness,” she said.
He will be dearly missed and fondly remembered by those closest to him, as well as the many fans whose support he was always grateful for. Alan dedicated his life to motorsport, building a legacy that will live on through the countless people he touched along the way.
The statement closed by thanking the people who were part of his journey for their friendship, love and support, and noted that through his achievements, passion and unmistakable character, on and off the track, he left an enduring mark on the sport in Australia and across the globe. Jones, who was born in Melbourne on November 2, 1946, is survived by Amanda and his six children, Christian, Amber, Zara, Jack, Camilla and Emma.
The 1980 Title That Made Williams Champions
The championship season remains the centre of the record. Jones won five races in 1980, in Argentina, France, Great Britain, Canada and the United States, as listed in Formula 1’s official 1980 race results, added five further podium finishes, and secured the title with a round to spare ahead of Nelson Piquet. He was the first of seven drivers to win the championship for Williams, and the title put Australia back on top of the standings for the first time since Brabham’s third championship in 1966.
Sir Frank Williams, whose team was still short of money and short of history when Jones arrived, summed up the driver he had signed. “‘AJ’ was a man’s man and he was great fun to be with,” Williams said, in quotes carried by AAP’s obituary. “He never needed propping up mentally, because he was a very determined and bullish character. He didn’t need any babysitting or hand-holding and that’s the way it should be.”
Jones finished third in the championship in 1979, won it in 1980 and finished third again in 1981, taking his final grand prix win at Caesars Palace that year. No Australian has won the title since. Mark Webber, Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri have each finished third in the standings in the years since, and the wait Jones started in 1980 is now in its fifth decade.
From Melbourne With 50 Pounds
Jones was born into the sport. He and his father Stan are one of only three father and son combinations to win the Australian Grand Prix. He left for London in 1970 with 50 pounds in his pocket, one of a group of Australian expats trying to build a career in Europe the hard way, and a breakthrough Formula 3 win in 1973 came only weeks after his father’s sudden death.
He made his Formula 1 debut in 1975 and scored the first of his 12 wins two years later, at the Austrian Grand Prix for Shadow. By late 1977 both Williams and Enzo Ferrari wanted him. Ferrari chose Gilles Villeneuve, Jones chose Williams, and a team that had yet to make its name got the driver who would make it. After stepping away at the end of 1981, he returned for final spells that included the landmark Adelaide races of 1985 and 1986, raced on to podiums twice at the Bathurst 1000, and did not retire from competition until 2002. He was made an MBE and inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, then settled into a second career as a television commentator whose bluntness travelled intact from the cockpit to the broadcast booth.
Mark Webber Leads The Tributes
Mark Webber, who ended a 28 year gap between Australian grand prix winners when he won in Germany in 2009, was among the first to pay tribute. “It’s a sad day for Australian motorsport,” Webber told Speedcafe. “He’s a good character gone. A warrior I’d say. A warrior and a character gone, and he made his presence felt for our country. He flew the flag really hard, which is what you want. You can’t ask for any more than that. Didn’t leave anything on the table.”
The Australian Grand Prix Corporation made the same point from the record book: his 1980 world championship inspired a generation of Australian fans, and his Australian Grand Prix win that same year remains the last time an Australian driver has won the home race. That is the size of the figure Formula 1 lost on November 5. Champions are counted in titles, and Jones has one. Legacies are counted in how long the mark stands, and his has stood, unmatched by any Australian, for 46 years.
