Formula 1

About the season

Williams claimed both its first ever Drivers' and Constructors' World Championships in 1980, with Alan Jones driving the Patrick Head-designed FW07B, a refinement of the Lotus 79's ground-effect concept. The FISA-FOCA war disrupted the calendar so badly that the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama was run and won by Alan Jones, but was later stripped of its World Championship status by FISA. Defending champion Jody Scheckter endured a disastrous title defence at Ferrari, scoring just two points all season before retiring from Formula 1 at year's end. At the United States Grand Prix West in Long Beach, Clay Regazzoni suffered a horrific crash that left him paralysed from the waist down and ended his career. That same Long Beach weekend also marked the arrival of a new star, as young Nelson Piquet scored his maiden Grand Prix win. Alan Jones won the 1980 Drivers' Championship with 67 points (Williams), 13 points ahead of the runner-up. Williams won the Constructors' Championship with 120 points, 54 points ahead of the runner-up. Across 14 completed races this season, there were 173 retirements. 7 different drivers won a race this season. Alan Jones took the most race wins, 5 in total. Jones won the season-opening race, the Argentine Grand Prix. The Argentine Grand Prix saw the most retirements of the season, with 17 drivers failing to finish. The season's biggest upset win came from Arnoux at the Brazilian Grand Prix, starting from grid position 6. Fittipaldi made the biggest gain of the season at the United States Grand Prix West, from grid position 24 to finishing 3 (up 21 places). The most dominant win of the season came at the Monaco Grand Prix, with a margin of 73.6 seconds. The closest finish of the season came at the Austrian Grand Prix, with a gap of just 0.820 seconds. Jones won the United States Grand Prix, the final race of the season.