Born in São Paulo on 6 October 1944, Pace grew up in a racing environment shaped by the emerging Brazilian motorsport scene of the 1960s. His early karting career overlapped closely with Wilson and Emerson Fittipaldi, and the three formed a trio in the old Dacon team, driving a 1967 Karmann-Ghia. This shared origin story cemented Pace's identity as part of a generation of Brazilian drivers who would together reshape Formula One's geographic diversity during the 1970s.
Pace travelled to Europe in 1970, where he competed in British Formula 3, winning the Forward Trust Championship with a Lotus car. He moved up to Formula Two in 1971 with Frank Williams, then graduated to Formula One in 1972 driving a Williams-entered March. His early seasons saw him earn points but no sustained front-running results, progressing through drives with Williams and Surtees.
A pivotal move came in mid-1974 when Pace joined the Brabham works team alongside Carlos Reutemann. He immediately showed pace, finishing fifth with fastest lap at Monza and second at Watkins Glen. The 1975 season proved to be the summit of his career: driving the competitive Brabham BT44B, he took pole position in South Africa and won his home race, the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, in front of a jubilant crowd. That result, along with podiums at Monaco and Silverstone, placed him sixth in the Drivers' Championship. Brabham finished second in the Constructors' standings.
The 1976 season was hampered by Brabham's switch from the Ford-Cosworth V8 to the heavier Alfa Romeo flat-12 engine, which proved less reliable and powerful than expected. Pace could manage only fourteenth in the championship. By 1977, the Alfa engine had improved, and Pace opened the season with second place in Argentina, showing genuine competitiveness once more alongside new teammate John Watson.
On 18 March 1977, just days after fellow Formula One driver Tom Pryce was killed in the South African Grand Prix, Pace died in a light aircraft accident near Mairiporã, close to São Paulo. He was 32 years old.
The impact on Brazilian motorsport was immediate and lasting. The Interlagos circuit in São Paulo, the venue for Pace's only Formula One victory and long the home of the Brazilian Grand Prix, was renamed the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in his honour. The circuit has since become one of the most beloved venues on the Formula One calendar.
In August 2024, Pace's remains were transferred from a vandalized mausoleum in the Araçá cemetery to the circuit itself, making him the first racing driver ever to be buried at a race track. A ceremony attended by his family, fellow drivers, and fans saw his son Rodrigo drive the same 1967 Karmann-Ghia his father had once raced, carrying the urn around the track for a final lap.
Pace's legacy in Brazilian racing sits alongside those of the Fittipaldi brothers, Ayrton Senna, and Nelson Piquet as part of the country's extraordinary contribution to Formula One during the second half of the twentieth century. He is remembered both for the talent he demonstrated at Brabham and for the sense of community he brought to the paddock — described by those who knew him as someone who made friends easily and was genuinely moved by the human cost of the sport.