The 1980 Formula One season was the 34th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1980 World Championship of Drivers and the 1980 International Cup for F1 Constructors,[1] which were contested concurrently from 13 January to 5 October over a fourteen-race series.[2] The season also included one non-championship race, the Spanish Grand Prix.[3]
Alan Jones, driving a Williams-Ford, became the first Australian to win the World Championship since Jack Brabham in 1966. The season saw a major change of guard in Formula One with the Williams team's first Drivers' and Constructors' titles, the emergence of Nelson Piquet as a championship contender and the debut of future World Champions Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell, while reigning champions Jody Scheckter and Ferrari suffered a terrible season that resulted in Scheckter retiring from the sport at the end of the year. In addition, Frenchman Patrick Depailler lost his life while testing at Hockenheim.