Top ten F1 drivers: Jack Brabham.

With half of the drivers in the latest Crash.net poll now discussed, the focus switches onto the golden era of years gone by.

First up, a triple World Champion from the 50s and 60s, Jack Brabham...

Jack Brabham is a special case in the world of Formula One, the only person in history to win the world championship in a car bearing his own name.

After debuting in the British Grand Prix for Cooper in 1955, Brabham returned a year later with Maserati, although, on both occasions, he failed to finish. After four races in 1957, Brabham had a full season of racing, scoring the first points of his F1 career in the opening round of the season in Monte Carlo - although he wouldn't score again over the course of the season.

But 1959 was a different case entirely. Not only did Brabham pick up his first win, also in the Monaco GP, he also picked up his first world title, which he then defended successfully in 1960.

There then followed some barren years for the Australian although, in that time, he teamed up with Ron Tauranac to form the Brabham team. Ironically, however, it was Dan Gurney who took the team's first win, in the 1964 French Grand Prix.

In 1966, with three-litre engines brought into Formula One, Brabham won four times - his first wins since his title-winning year of 1960 - to clinch his third and final crown.

The following season, he had to settle for second in the title race, behind fellow Brabham driver Denny Hulme, but he went on to compete until 1970, when he finally retired after 16 seasons in the sport.

Brabham then became Sir Jack in 1979, the first F1 driver to be given a knighthood.

Fact File:
129 races
14 victories
3 world titles (1959, 1960, 1966)