Jack Brabham F1 Profile & Career Stats

Jack Brabham Biography

Jack Brabham was a legendary racing driver from Australia. Brabham was a technical genius and the only driver in history that won a Formula 1 championship with a car he built himself.

Born on the 2nd of April of 1926 in Hurtsville, Australia, the legendary John Arthur Brabham grew up around cars and learned to love both driving and working on the machines. His abilities to drive and to build cars gave him a truly historical place when he made his way into Formula 1 in 1955.

After working in the engineering area and several garages, Jack entered the Royal Australian Air Force in Adelaide with the mindset of becoming a pilot, but instead, he found himself working as a mechanic.

After he ended his service with the Air Force, Jack was able to open his own engineering shop in Sidney. His American friend, Johnny Schonberg, talked Jack into motorsport after he invited him to a Speedcars (midgets) race and to built him a car for the competition. Brabham built the car but was not interested in competing.

Schonberg stopped racing in 1948 and Brabham took over and started an era of impressive domination on dirt-ovals around Australia. He won multiple Speedcars championships and in 1953 he was interested in participating in road racing competitions. After buying various cars from British Constructor Cooper, Brabham swept across Australia and in 1955 was already thinking of making the trip to Europe to reach his destiny.

Jack Brabham at the 1966 Dutch Grand Prix

Then known as “Black Jack” for his dark hair and his silent presence, he started a friendship with the Cooper bosses, John and Charles Cooper. The union with the Cooper company helped him find his way into Formula 1, making his debut in the 1955 British Grand Prix in a Cooper-Bristol T40 which he helped develop.

Brabham and Cooper became the first union to consistently develop rear-engined cars, which proved to be successful. In the 1958 Argentine Grand Prix, Stirling Moss drove a Rob Walker-owned Cooper with the engine positioned in the back, which was the first time such car won a Grand Prix. The next race, at Monaco, was won by Maurice Trintignant in another Walker-owned Cooper with a rear engine.

Between his debut in 1955 and the 1958 season, Brabham’s best result was a fourth place in the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix. In 1959, Brabham took his first F1 victory in the inaugural GP of the year at Monaco. Then, he finished on the podium four other times, including his victory in the 1958 British Grand Prix. His fourth place in the final race of the calendar at Sebring gave him the first title for an Australian driver and the first championship won by a rear-engined car. Brabham beat Tony Brooks and Moss in the title fight.

The following year, Brabham dominated the field like he used to do in his early years in Australia. He could not finish the first race at Argentina due to a gearbox problem and was disqualified from the following race, at Monaco. After a bad start to his season, Brabham swept the grid with five straight wins. The last win of the streak, at Portugal, gave him his second World Championship with two races to spare.

After a bad 1961 season with Cooper, Brabham created Motor Racing Developments with designer Ron Tauranac. Brabham participated in the first five of 1962 at the wheel of a Lotus 24. Then, the Brabham BT3 was ready to compete and he drove the car to two fourth places in the last three races of the year. The 1963 Mexican Grand Prix saw Brabham’s first podium in his own car, the Brabham BT7. Two more podiums came in 1964, in Belgium and France, but World Championship glory remained far away from the Australian. However, 1964 saw the first victories of the Brabham car, driven by Dan Gurney at France and Mexico.

Brabham BT33 driven by Jack Brabham driving in Monaco (1970)

The 1965 F1 season was not very productive for Brabham and his cars, with the champion only achieving one podium. In 1966 and with the change from the Climax engines to Repco, Brabham returned to his World Championship ways after winning four of the nine Grands Prix of the year. He sealed his third title in the 1966 Italian Grand Prix, becoming the first (and only) driver to win the championship in a car built by himself. Also, the Brabham team secured the Constructors’ championship and Jack himself dominated the Formula Two season, enhancing the glorious year for the Brabham name.

The 40-year-old driver during the 1966 F1 season took time to address media-published articles about his age with a joke previous to the 1966 Dutch Grand Prix. He entered the grid with a fake beard and using a walking stick to reach his car.

In 1967, Brabham lost the drivers’ title to his teammate Denny Hulme. Both drivers won two races in 1967, but Hulme finished on the podium more than Brabham and beat him by just five points. Again, the Brabham team won the Constructors’ Championship.

The last three years of Brabham’s Formula 1 career were full of retirements, however, he added six more podiums to his tally. At 43 years and 339 days of age, he won the 1970 South African Grand Prix and is still the fifth oldest driver to win a Grand Prix.

He retired from the Formula 1 World Championship with fifth place in the 1970 standings and with 44 years of age. After his retirement and with the Brabham team sold to Bernie Ecclestone, Brabham moved back to his home country, where he helped the racing careers of his sons Geoff, Gary and David.

Brabham was knighted and became Sir Jack Brabham due to his contribution to British motorsport.

He died on the 19th of May of 1994 at his home in Australia.

“Winning the world championship in '66 was really the pinnacle of the whole thing because to win a championship with an Australian made engine was a fantastic feather in our cap”, Sir Jack Brabham.

Jack Brabham Championship Results

3× World Championships1959–1966 · Cooper-Climax, Brabham

Three titles in eight seasons, two of them with Cooper-Climax, and seven years between the first and the last.

• 1959Cooper-Climax31 pts4 clear of Tony Brookssealed at 1959 USA F1 GP
• 1960Cooper-Climax43 pts9 clear of Bruce McLarensealed at 1960 Italian F1 GP
• 1966Brabham42 pts14 clear of John Surteessealed at 1966 Italian F1 GP

Jack Brabham F1 Seasons Summary

Year	Team	Engine	GP	1st	2nd	3rd	Pod	Pole	Laps	FL	Avg Pts	Points
1970	Brabham	Ford	13	1	2	1	4	1	739	3	1.92	25
1969	Brabham	Ford	8	0	1	1	2	2	449	0	1.75	14
1968	Brabham	Repco	11	0	0	0	0	0	303	0	0.18	2
1967	Brabham	Repco	11	2	4	0	6	2	683	0	4.36	48
1966 🏆	Brabham	Repco	9	4	1	0	5	3	403	1	5.00	45
1965	Brabham	Climax	6	0	0	1	1	0	318	0	1.50	9
1964	Brabham	Climax	10	0	0	2	2	0	445	1	1.10	11
1963	Brabham Team Lotus	Climax Climax	10	0	1	0	1	0	578	0	1.40	14
1962	Brabham Team Lotus	Climax Climax	8	0	0	0	0	0	386	0	1.13	9
1961	Cooper-Climax	Climax	8	0	0	0	0	1	279	1	0.50	4
1960 🏆	Cooper-Climax	Climax	8	5	0	0	5	3	449	3	5.38	43
1959 🏆	Cooper-Climax	Climax	8	2	1	2	5	1	452	1	4.25	34
1958	Cooper-Climax	Climax	9	0	0	0	0	0	408	0	0.33	3
1957	Cooper-Climax	Climax	6	0	0	0	0	0	267	0	0.00	0
1956	Maserati	Maserati	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0.00	0
1955	Cooper-Climax	Bristol	1	0	0	0	0	0	30	0	0.00	0