Jack Brabham is the only Formula 1 driver to win World Championships in both the 1950s and 1960s.
Brabham won his first title in 1959 for Cooper, repeating the success in 1960. He then won a third championship in 1966 while driving for Brabham, the team he co-founded with designer Ron Tauranac. That made him the first and only driver to win the Formula 1 title in a car carrying his own name.
His 1966 championship was especially notable because the Brabham BT19 used a Repco V8 engine and proved highly reliable under the era’s three-litre regulations. Brabham won four races that season and finished well clear of John Surtees in the standings.
The wording matters: several drivers won championships in two different decades, but Brabham’s titles uniquely span the 1950s and 1960s. Juan Manuel Fangio won titles in the 1950s only, while Graham Hill’s championships came in 1962 and 1968.