Jack Brabham is the only driver to win the Formula One World Championship in a car bearing his own name.
Brabham achieved this unusual feat in 1966, driving a Brabham BT19 powered by a Repco V8 engine. He won four Grands Prix that season and secured his third Drivers’ Championship. The Brabham team had been founded in 1960 by Brabham and designer Ron Tauranac, but the 1966 title was the first championship won by a driver in a car carrying his own surname.
Brabham’s earlier titles came with Cooper, in 1959 and 1960, so the achievement was not simply a result of owning a successful team. He also remains the only Formula One World Drivers’ Champion to win in an eponymous car. A common mix-up is confusing this with the Brabham team’s Constructors’ Championships: the team won those in 1966 and 1967, while Denny Hulme won the 1967 Drivers’ title.