Gilles Villeneuve

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Gilles Villeneuve
Formula One Career
Nationality	Canadian
Active years	1977 - 1982
Team(s)	McLaren, Ferrari
Grands Prix	68
Championships	0 (2nd in 1979)
Wins	6
Podium finishes	14
Pole positions	2
Fastest laps	8
First Grand Prix	1977 British Grand Prix
First win	1978 Canadian Grand Prix
Last win	1981 Spanish Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix	1982 Belgian Grand Prix

Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve (Gilles Villeneuve pronounced [ʒil vilnœv]) ( January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982) was a Canadian Formula One racing driver. An enthusiast of cars and fast driving from an early age, he started his professional career in snowmobile racing in his native province of Quebec. He moved into single seaters - winning the US and Canadian Formula Atlantic championships in 1976 before being offered a one-off drive with McLaren at the 1977 British Grand Prix. He was taken on by reigning world champions Ferrari for the end of the season - in only his fifth season racing cars - and from 1978 to his death in 1982 drove for the Italian team. He won six Grand Prix races in a short career at the highest level. In 1979 he finished second by four points in the championship to teammate Jody Scheckter.

Villeneuve died in a 140 mph crash with the March of Jochen Mass during practice for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder (see more below). The accident came only two weeks after an intense argument with his team-mate, Didier Pironi, over Pironi's move to pass Villeneuve at Imola. At the time of his death, Villeneuve was extremely popular with fans and with many journalists, on whom his death had a profound effect. Since 1982 he has become an iconic figure in the history of the sport, renowned for his car control, aggressive driving style, and a 'never give up' attitude. His son, Jacques Villeneuve, became Formula One world champion in 1997.

Personal and early life

Villeneuve was born in Richelieu, a small town in the French-speaking province of Quebec in Canada and grew up in the nearby town of Berthierville. He married Joann Barthe in 1970, with whom he had two children, Jacques and Melanie. During his early career Villeneuve took his family on the road with him in a motorhome during the racing season, a habit which he continued to some extent during his Formula One career. He often claimed to have been born in 1952. By the time he got his break in Formula One, he was already 27 years old and took two years off his age to avoid being considered too old to make it at the highest level of motorsports.

Like certain other great drivers, including Clark and Senna, Villeneuve was a curious mixture of seemingly disparate personality types. Lauda wrote of him, "He was the craziest devil I ever came across in Formula 1... The fact that, for all this, he was a sensitive and lovable character rather than an out-and-out hell-raiser made him such a unique human being". Flying, snowmobiling or driving, he was a risk-taker of classic proportions. Yet his fellow drivers said that on the track he was scrupulously fair and did not put anyone's safety other than his own in jeopardy and those who worked with him usually referred to him as introverted. This combination of traits made him exceptionally popular not only with fans but with teammates and opponents as well.

His younger brother Jacques, known as "uncle Jacques", also had a successful racing career in Formula Atlantic, Can Am and CART. Gilles' son, also named Jacques, won the Indianapolis 500 and CART championships in 1995 and became Formula One World Champion in 1997.

Racing career

Pre-Formula One

Villeneuve started competitive driving in local drag-racing events, entering his road car, a modified 1967 Ford Mustang. He was soon bored by this and entered the Jim Russell Racing School at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant to gain a racing license. He then had a very successful season in Quebec regional Formula Ford, running his own two year old car and winning seven of the ten races he entered. The next year he progressed to Formula Atlantic, competing there for four years, running his own car again for one of those seasons. He won his first Atlantic race in 1975 at Gimli Motosport Park in heavy rain. In 1976, teamed with Chris Harrison's Ecurie Canada and factory March race engineer Ray Wardell, he dominated the season by winning all but one of the races and taking the US and Canadian titles. He won the Canadian championship again in 1977.

Money was very tight in Villeneuve's early career. He was a professional racing driver from his late teens, with no other income. In the first few years the bulk of his income actually came from snowmobile racing, where he was extremely successful and could demand appearance money as well as race money. His second season in Formula Atlantic was part-sponsored by his snowmobile manufacturer, Skiroule. He credited some of his success to his snowmobiling days: "Every winter, you would reckon on three or four big spills - and I'm talking about being thrown on to the ice at 100 mph. Those things used to slide a lot, which taught me a great deal about control. And the visibility was terrible! Unless you were leading, you could see nothing, with all the snow blowing about. Good for the reactions - and it stopped me having any worries about racing in the rain."

Formula One

After Villeneuve impressed McLaren driver James Hunt by beating him, and several other Grand Prix stars, in a non-championship Formula Atlantic race at Trois Rivieres, McLaren offered Villeneuve a deal for five races in a third car during 1977 and the young Canadian made his debut at the 1977 British Grand Prix. Villeneuve qualified an impressive 9th in McLaren's old M23, splitting the regular drivers Hunt and Jochen Mass. Delayed for two laps by a faulty temperature gauge he ran competitively, setting fifth fastest lap and finishing 11th. Despite this the team decided not to opt for Villeneuve's services again. Then in August 1977, Villeneuve met with Enzo Ferrari. Ferrari was immediately reminded by Villeneuve of the legendary Tazio Nuvolari. The obvious interest shown by Ferrari towards Villeneuve prompted Niki Lauda to leave at that years Canadian Grand Prix, having already clinched his second championship. In the race, Gilles retired, after going off on another competitor's oil. He also raced in Japan, but also retired. On lap five of the race, Gilles tried to outbrake the Tyrrell P34 of Ronnie Peterson, but the pair banged wheels. Gilles' Ferrari went airborne and crashed down onto two spectators watching the race from a prohibited area. Both were killed.

After making his debut for Ferrari, he would later remark that: "If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari..."

The 1978 season saw a succession of retirements for Villeneuve, often after problems with the new Michelin radial tyres, but also due to his own inexperience - this was his fifth season of car racing. Despite calls in the Italian press for him to be replaced, Ferrari persisted with him and Villeneuve scored his first Grand Prix victory at his home race at the end of the season in front of an ecstatic crowd.

Villeneuve was joined by Jody Scheckter for 1979 after Carlos Reutemann moved to Lotus. The pair finished first and second in the championship, with Scheckter beating Villeneuve by just four points. Villeneuve won three races during the year. The 1980 season was a complete disaster. Villeneuve had been considered favourite for the drivers championship by UK bookmakers, but would only score six points in the whole campaign in the unwieldy 312T5 which had only partial ground effects. His world champion team-mate could manage only a single point and retired at the end of the season.

In 1981 Ferrari's first turbo engined car, the 126C1, was hardly an improvement. Although it produced tremendous power its handling was poor. Villeneuve, partnered by Didier Pironi, won two races against the odds during the season, at Monaco and in Spain. For 1982 Villeneuve's first few races were blighted by mechanical failures and accidents. At Imola he was overtaken by his team-mate near the finish, while leading. Gilles Villeneuve died in an accident in qualifying for the next race at Zolder.

Notable races

Dijon 1979: Remembered for his frenetic style which seemed more like that of a rally driver, Villeneuve's wheel-banging duel with René Arnoux in the last laps of the 1979 French Grand Prix at the Dijon circuit, when he stubbornly refused to accept his 312T4 was slower than Arnoux's faster Renault was one of the most intense moments in Formula One racing. Arnoux passed Villeneuve for second place with three laps to go, but Villeneuve re-passed him on the next lap. On the final lap Arnoux attempted to pass Villeneuve again, and the pair ran side-by-side through the first several corners of the lap, making contact several times. Arnoux took the position, but Villeneuve attempted an outside pass one corner later. The cars bumped hard, and Villenevue slid wide. Villeneuve then tried and inside pass at a hairpin turn and managed to make it stick. He then held off Arnoux for the last half of the lap to secure 2nd place.

Zandvoort 1979: Remembered for Villeneuve's determination, as he had gone off the track and his rear-left wheel had come off; instead of retiring on the spot, he continued racing on three wheels, and in some moments on two wheels. He retired later on during the race.

Watkins Glen 1979: During an extremely wet practice session for this race, Villeneuve set a time 11 seconds faster than any other driver. His team-mate Jody Scheckter, who was second fastest, recalled that "I scared myself rigid that day. I thought I had to be quickest. Then I saw Gilles's time and - I still don't really understand how it was possible. Eleven seconds!"

Jarama 1981: Perhaps Villeneuve's greatest achievements came in 1981 at Jarama, where he wrestled an unwieldy turbo Ferrari 126C1 to victory in a classic of defensive driving at the 1981 Spanish Grand Prix, keeping 5 quicker cars behind him using his tactical acumen and the superior straightline speed of his car. After an hour and 46 minutes of racing, Villeneuve led second-placed Jacques Laffite by only 0.22 seconds. Fifth-placed Elio de Angelis was only just over a second further back.

Montreal 1981: Another example of Villeneuve's battling spirit was this drive in torrential rain. After severely damaging the front wing of his Ferrari, Villeneuve drove for most of the race with the wing obscuring his view ahead. There was a risk of being black flagged, but eventually the wing became detached and Villeneuve drove on to finish third with the nose section of his car missing.

Argument with Pironi

Villeneuve went into 1982 a clear favourite for the crown. He was widely regarded as the best Formula One driver in the field, and Ferrari, with new designer Harvey Postlethwaite, produced an excellent design. After glimpses of promise in the opening races, Villeneuve was back at the front for the San Marino Grand Prix, (which was boycotted by some teams due to the FISA-FOCA war) and it was agreed that Villeneuve and his team-mate Didier Pironi would not contest for the lead past the final corner. However Pironi disobeyed this agreement and beat him to the line. It is Villeneuve's widely believed claim that he was merely coasting at that point, in the knowledge that victory was in the bag and trusted Pironi to do likewise under orders. Feeling betrayed and angry, Villeneuve vowed never to speak to Pironi again.

Death

On May 8, 1982, on his final qualifying lap for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, the front left wheel of his car came into contact with the right rear wheel of Jochen Mass's car, who moved aside to let Villeneuve through. Villeneuve moved the same way to pass Mass's car and was launched into the air before nose-diving into the soft earthen embankment just outside the armco and somersaulting along the side of the track. The violence of the accident reduced the car to its cockpit, and ripped Villeneuve's seat from the back of the monocoque. Villeneuve, still strapped to his seat, was thrown across the track and into the catch fencing just outside the corner. When the medical team arrived, he was not breathing. Villeneuve was resuscitated at the scene, but his injuries were fatal. He died in a local hospital that evening, his fatal injuries were likely caused by the force of his car landing for the first time after the initial impact. If his death was not greeted with great shock and surprise (everyone knew his style), that was more than offset by the profound sadness it produced. Even René Arnoux, his adversary in the Dijon epic, confessed that he cried after discovering that Gilles had died.

Legacy

Villeneuve had already become an iconic figure before his death. His determination to win was obvious from outside the cockpit in the frequent oversteer and wheel-banging with his competitors. This endeared him to the crowd, and combined with his unusually open and honest approach, to many of the press as well. After the tragic death of Ronnie Peterson, Villeneuve was seen as his natural successor as the fastest natural driver on the grid.

At the funeral in Berthierville, former team-mate, Jody Scheckter, delivered a simple eulogy: “I will miss Gilles for two reasons. First, he was the fastest driver in the history of motor racing. Second, he was the most genuine man I have ever known. But he has not gone. The memory of what he has done, what he achieved, will always be there.”

Villeneuve's spectacular driving is still considered an art form among Formula One fans. He is still remembered at Grand Prix races, especially those in Italy. There is a bronze bust of him at the entrance to the Ferrari test track; a challenging corner at the Imola Track, site of the San Marino Grand Prix, is named Curva Gilles Villeneuve; a Canadian flag is painted on the spot where he started his last race.

The racetrack on Île Notre-Dame, Montreal, used for the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix and Champ Car Grand Prix of Montreal, was renamed in his honour at the Canadian Grand Prix of 1982 after his death. His homeland has continued to honour him. In Berthierville, a museum was opened in 1992 and a lifelike statue stands in a nearby park named in his honour. Villeneuve was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame at their inaugaural induction ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto, Ontario, August 19, 1993. In June 1997, Canada issued a postage stamp in honour of its favorite racing son.

There is still a huge demand for Villeneuve memorabilia at the race-track shops, and several books have been written about him. The number 27, the number of his Ferrari for several years, is still closely associated with him by fans. A film based on the biography by Gerald Donaldson was announced in 2005, intended for release in 2007.

Helmet

Villeneuve's helmet carried a stylised 'V' in red on either side - an effect he devised with his wife Joann. The base colour was black. His son, Jacques, uses the same basic design, but like his contemporary, Christian Fittipaldi, has changed the colours.

Complete Formula One results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)