Eddie’s emotional live TV tribute after death of Aussie F1 legend
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Alan Jones, the last Australian to win the Formula 1 world championship has died just three days after his 80th birthday after a short battle with illness.
Jones became just the second Australian, after Sir Jack Brabham, to win the title when he triumphed for Williams in 1980.
Australian F1 champion Alan Jones in 2019. Sutton Images via Getty
Nine.com.au understands he was diagnosed with cancer only weeks ago. He is survived by wife Amanda, with whom he shares twins Zara and Jack. He also has a daughter, Camilla, from a previous relationship, and an adopted son Christian.
Autocourse magazine, which in its heyday was regarded as the source of all F1 and other leading motorsport news, ranked Jones as the best driver in the world between 1979-1981, beating out the likes of Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Gilles Villeneuve.
On Jones’ birthday on Monday, renowned F1 journalist Matt Bishop wrote for Motor Sport Magazine Jones was “the most underrated world champion in the history of Formula 1”.
“He was a race driver in the most elemental sense: powerful, unsentimental, and fiercely competitive,” Bishop wrote.
“Villeneuve was more incandescent, (Carlos) Reutemann was more dextrous, Piquet was more calculating, and (Jacques) Laffite, (Didier) Pironi, and (John) Watson could all produce drives of extraordinary quality, too. But Jones had the lot: the strength to fuel the effort, the stamina to maintain it, the bellicosity to impose himself, and a hefty dollop of sheer white-knuckle speed.”
On Nine's Oaks Day coverage, Eddie McGuire led an emotional TV tribute to Jones.
"He was a straight shooter (who) said exactly what he thought," McGuire said.
"A long-time member of the Wide World of Sports team … to me, he was one of the greatest commentators and special comments people that I've ever worked alongside, and he was a great bloke.
“(His wife) Amanda told me this morning that on his 80th birthday on Monday he had his favourite caviar, but he stayed off the Grey Goose for once in his life.
"Vale, a superstar of the track, of world sport, and of broadcasting."
He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985, and granted ‘legend’ status in the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2019.
Jones interviewed by Sir Jackie Stewart after winning the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix, the race he sealed the championship. LAT Images via Getty
Born in Melbourne, Jones caught the racing bug while working for his father, Stan – himself a former racer – who owned a Holden dealership. He spent his early days racing Minis and Coopers.
Having moved to Europe in 1970, Jones made his F1 debut at the tragic 1975 Spanish Grand Prix at Montjuic, when five spectators were killed after one of the cars crashed through a poorly installed barrier and into the crowd.
He made his full-time debut the following season, driving for 1964 world champion John Surtees’ eponymous team. The BBC famously refused to broadcast several races of the 1976 season due to the sponsorship of condom brand Durex emblazoned across the Surtees cars.
Jones claimed his maiden victory in the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix, and the story goes that race organisers were ill-equipped for an Australian victory, and instead of the anthem, Happy Birthday to You was instead played on the podium. That story is disputed to this day.
Australians had only months earlier voted in a referendum for Advance Australia Fair to become the new anthem, but it was not formally adopted until 1984, and God Save the Queen was still officially the Australian national anthem.
The victory sparked interest from Ferrari, and he was told in a meeting with Enzo Ferrari himself he would be the team’s second choice if it could not sign Mario Andretti for 1978. When Andretti recommitted with Lotus – he would go on to win the title with them that year – he assumed he was in, only to be told they had instead signed Gilles Villeneuve.
Jones instead joined Williams, and would become a regular race winner in 1979. He claimed five victories and four other podiums to win the 1980 championship over Brazilian Nelson Piquet by 13 points. He wrapped up the championship with one race remaining at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Jones in action during the 1980 season-ending US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Getty
Jones retired for the first time following the 1981 season, but was lured back to the sport in late 1985 ahead of the first world championship race in Australia in Adelaide. He retired for good at the end of 1986.
Following his retirement, he turned to broadcasting, and became the face of F1 in Australia as an anchor alongside the late Darryl Eastlake for Nine's broadcasts.
He also raced in the Australian Touring Car Championship, and twice finished on the podium of the Bathurst 1000, including a second place in 1995 with Allan Grice.
