Formula One has lost Alan Jones. The Australian World Champion of 1980 passed away on 5 November 2026, just three days after his 80th birthday.
Jones was known as a fiercely competitive, uncompromising driver who was never afraid to speak his mind. With twelve Grand Prix victories and the 1980 World Championship, he played a crucial role in Williams' rise to become one of Formula One's leading teams.
One of the most remarkable moments of his career came at the 1981 Brazilian Grand Prix. On the rain-soaked Jacarepaguá circuit, the two Williams drivers were comfortably leading the race. But when the team ordered Carlos Reutemann to surrender the lead to reigning World Champion Jones, the Argentine refused. Reutemann took the victory, Jones finished second, and the relationship between the two teammates was never quite the same again.
The incident marked the beginning of a difficult season, with Jones and Reutemann increasingly treating each other as rivals rather than teammates. Ultimately, the World Championship went to Nelson Piquet.
With the passing of Alan Jones, Formula One has lost not only a World Champion, but also one of the most distinctive personalities of an era when drivers were often just as uncompromising outside the cockpit as they were on the track.