Born on April 2, 1926 in Hurtsville, Australia, John Arthur Brabham is a former Formula One racecar driver. With a career that spanned 15 years, “Jack” Brabham managed to keep his name in Formula One racing for a total of 5 decades.

Brabham was always involved with cars, working as a mechanic from a young age, and learning to drive at the age of 12. He left school to work at a local garage at only 15-years-old, while taking courses in mechanical engineering. Throughout his F1 career, Brabham secured 3 Championships, 14 wins, 31 podium finishes, 13 Pole Positions, and 12 fastest laps.

Brabham was always interested in cars due to his family's involvement, but being a racecar driver wasn't the only driving force in Jack's life. Instead, he served in the Air Force during WWII and then opened a small repair business in 1946.

He started to race midget cars and won the NSW Championship in his first season. He continued to tinker around in the racing world for the next few years, until he made his Grand Prix debut in 1955.

Jack would soon join the Cooper Car Company team, where he experienced some success. But it wasn't until 1959 that Jack finally broke through and put together a solid season. He won the World Championship that year with a Coventry Climax Cooper.

This signified to the racing world the emergence of Jack Brabham. They would not only take notice, but keep it when he repeated as World Champion the following year - again with his Cooper.

Brabham is considered to be single handedly responsible for F1's switch to rear engines. After his impressive 1960 season with the Cooper, Jack took the car to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a test run. He then decided to enter the famous 500-mile race in a modified version of the car in 1961.

Other teams mocked the car and were convinced that the Cooper couldn't perform with the “big boys.” However, Jack ran as high as third during the race and finished in 9th place. The racing world took notice that front-engine roadsters were becoming a thing of the past.

After the race, Brabham formed his own team with Ron Tauranac. The racing establishment had changed and put restrictions on the engine size of the F1 cars. Brabham's performance suffered tremendously with the new 1500cc engines. He didn't win a single race, and barely contended for the first year.

In 1966, a new 3000cc formula was created, and Brabham - driving a Repco-Brabham - won the Championship again. The following year, the Championship went to teammate Denny Hulme.

Brabham wanted to retire in 1970 due to injuries taking their toll, but a lack of qualified drivers enticed Jack to stick around for another year of racing. He retired after the Mexican Grand Prix that year, and later sold his interest in the team to Tauranac.

Jack Brabham was knighted in 1979. His three sons, Geoff, Gary and David, carry on the family's name with their own racing careers.