Jack Brabham

Jack Brabham remains the only man to have won a Formula One World Championship in a car bearing his own name, a feat he accomplished in 1966, when he was 40. Brabham first made his name as a driver for the Cooper team in the 1950s and won two world titles there in 1959 and 1960. Always a highly technical driver, Brabham decided to set up on his own in 1962. He chose an engineer named Ron Tauranac to design the Brabham cars, and together the two men enjoyed much success but there was never any undue fuss – Brabham was renowned as a man who would never use two words when one would do. At the end of the 1970 season, he decided to sell up and return home to Australia. The man who ended up owning the team was Bernie Ecclestone, the future Mr Big of the whole sport.