Jacques Villeneuve was crowned Formula One world champion on this day in 1997 after rival Michael Schumacher spun off while attempting to take the Canadian out of the European Grand Prix at Jerez. It had a power advantage over the Cosworths for sure, but it also had massive throttle lag at that time. Villeneuve stated he was still looking for further opportunities in Formula One in 2010 and 2011. Several changes were made at Sauber during the off season. 1986  A. Prost 1992  N. Mansell [30] Harvey Postlethwaite, who was hired by Ferrari to design the follow-on and much more successful 126C2 that won the Constructors' Championship in 1982, later commented on the 126C: "That car...had literally one quarter of the downforce that, say Williams or Brabham had. Villeneuve also won 11 Grands Prix. He is most famous for profoundly disparaging the condition of Williams F1 in the current era. British driver Perry McCarthy also used this design and colour scheme on his helmet, but with the design in reverse. Zonta was replaced by experienced Frenchman Olivier Panis. First, the Swiss team were bought by BMW and renamed BMW Sauber. level 1. Villeneuve was born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, to aspiring Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve and his wife Joann and raised in Monaco. Former F1 driver and 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve says he harbors no animosity towards seven-time champion Michael Schumacher after their duel for the 1997 title ended in acrimonious circumstances. [7], His younger brother Jacques also had a successful racing career in Formula Atlantic, Can Am and CART. Meanwhile, Pironi claimed that he had done nothing wrong as the team had only ordered the cars to slow down, not maintain position. [42], Villeneuve made his return to the Cup Series in 2013 in the 51 car for Phoenix Racing at Sonoma Raceway.[43]. 1967  D. Hulme Villeneuve was partnered with Didier Pironi who noted that Villeneuve "had a little family [at Ferrari] but he made me welcome and made me feel at home overnight ... [He] treated me as an equal in every way. Villeneuve appears in a number of stories, and in Steve Warson contre Michel Vaillant (fr: "Steve Warson versus Michel Vaillant") becomes the 1980 World Champion (though in the 1981 season, covered in Rififi en F1 ("Trouble in F1"), Graton acknowledges Alan Jonesas the real Champion) and Quebec progressive … In Villeneuve's first Truck Series race on September 22, 2007, in Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he qualified in seventh position, and finished 21st. "[14], After Villeneuve impressed James Hunt by beating him and several other Grand Prix stars in a non-championship Formula Atlantic race at Trois-Rivières in 1976, Hunt's McLaren team offered Villeneuve a Formula One deal for up to five races in a third car during the 1977 season. Both records were later equaled by Lewis Hamilton in 2007. Villeneuve started the 1995 campaign strongly, winning the first race on the streets of Miami. Villeneuve a Racing Legend 1995 - Allan de la Plante, Roebuck (1986) p.208 gives the gap as 11 seconds. [12] In 1998, he was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec.[13]. But he has not gone. Jacques Villeneuve (racing driver, born 1953), Opening Ceremony of the 21st Winter Olympic Games, "Who Barred Jacques? As a musician, he has released an album titled Private Paradise. Good for the reactions — and it stopped me having any worries about racing in the rain. The Grand Prix quickly became a mainstay of the Formula One calendar, with the race taking place in Montreal for the next thirty years. After racing both NASCAR Sprint Cup and Speedcar Series, Villeneuve was invited by the Top Race V6 chairman Alejandro Urtubey to join the series in its major event of the 2008 season, called La Carrera del Año (The Race of the Year), held at the Buenos Aires circuit. 2002  M. Schumacher For the 1981 season, Ferrari introduced their first turbocharged engined F1 car, the 126C, which produced tremendous power but was let down by its poor handling. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. The 1997 Formula 1 victor is the last driver to have won the Drivers’ World Championship for the Williams F1 team. A year later, Joann allowed him to drive a 100 cc kart at a kart track in Imola. © … He stayed there for the next four seasons but, following poor results he was replaced by former British Formula Three Champion Takuma Sato. 1988  D. Sullivan 51 at Michigan and Sonoma", "Villeneuve aims to take No. Villeneuve believed that the order also meant that the drivers were to maintain position but Pironi passed Villeneuve. 2018  L. Hamilton 1998  A. Zanardi 1984  N. Lauda He finished 21st due to a large number of accidents and mechanical failure on the other cars. As of 2020[update], no other Canadian has won the Indianapolis 500 or the Formula One Drivers' title. Villeneuve was one of several celebrity Canadians who carried the Olympic flag into Vancouver Olympic Stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the 21st Winter Olympic Games. Daniel Desmarais acted as Jacques' facilitator during his season in Japan. Villeneuve set the fastest time of the three drivers in qualifying to put the car into fourth place on the starting grid. 1951  J. M. Fangio Towards the end of the season, his pace improved and he scored more points at Belgium, where he finished sixth, moving ahead of Massa in the championship tables, although Massa repassed him after finishing 6th in the season finale in China. Just before his 3-race Renault comeback, Villeneuve signed a two-year contract to drive for Sauber, starting in 2005.[29]. In the end, Hill won the race, and the championship, while Villeneuve retired on lap 37 after his right-rear wheel came off. But Villeneuve, Schumacher and Frentzen had just pulled off an incredible feat. "[34] Feeling betrayed and angry Villeneuve vowed never to speak to Pironi again. 1973  J. Stewart In terms of speed, the two teammates were fairly evenly matched by the end of the year. They did lose the lead in the 15th hour during a pitstop change. [11] Also he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. 1953  A. Ascari Four rounds into the season, Villeneuve won his first Formula One race at the Nürburgring. 2012  S. Vettel The British press coverage of Villeneuve's performance was generally complimentary, including John Blunsden's comment in The Times that "Anyone seeking a future World Champion need look no further than this quietly assured young man. Villeneuve raced the No. 1966  J. Brabham In 1984, two years after his father's death, Villeneuve asked his mother if he could follow his father's footsteps and go motor racing. Jacques Villeneuve thinks Mercedes' image could only improve if they can win a championship without Lewis Hamilton. The Canadian, however, did manage to hold onto second place. He continued training and made a special appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed driving his late father's Ferrari. I thought for sure we were going to get on our heads, you know, because when you start interlocking wheels it's very easy for one car to climb over another. Along with Pollock, Richards removed Technical Director Malcolm Oastler and fifty members of staff at BAR. [27], With no contract for 2004, Villeneuve was forced to take a sabbatical, but maintained that he wanted to return to the sport. In the early 1990s Villeneuve once dated Sandrine Gros D"Aillon. [32], Villeneuve was close to signing with Stefan GP for the 2010 Formula One season, and undertook a seat fitting, but the FIA did not certify Stefan GP for competition in 2010. 1969  J. Stewart, 1970  J. Rindt In the 2008 race, Villeneuve and his Nº 7 Peugeot team finished 2nd. "[53] He raced four times with a best finish of sixth place. Their second son Joakim[7] was born on December 23, 2007. Hunt [3] In 1970, he married Joann Barthe, with whom he had two children, Jacques and Mélanie. [3], During the 1993 season, Villeneuve took seven pole positions and five race victories from the 15 races. 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 motorsport. "When they presented me with this 'piccolo Canadese' (little Canadian), this minuscule bundle of nerves, I immediately recognised in him the physique of Nuvolari and said to myself, let's give him a try. Villeneuve suffered a high speed crash during practice at the Belgian Grand Prix at the Eau Rouge corner, from which he emerged unharmed.[23]. His uncle, Jacques Sr., was also a racing driver and in 1985 at Road America became the first Canadian to win a CART race. Villeneuve soon received an invitation from Craig Pollock to compete as a one-off in the Trois Rivières Formula Atlantic race, Villeneuve finished the race third and Pollock was impressed by Villeneuve, leading him to arrange for him to race in the North American Toyota Atlantic series for the upcoming season. Nurburgring, April 1996: Jacques Villeneuve at the European Grand Prix, where he took his maiden Formula One victory, beating Michael Schumacher by less than a second. He was a professional racing driver from his late teens, with no other income. Villeneuve was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998. But he held on and so ruined his race already in the first corner,” he told F1-Insider. Instead, he decided that he would see out his present deal in the hope of landing a role at another Grand Prix team the following year. He was unable to complete the race since an alternator wire broke on the final lap; he was credited with a 25th-place finish as the first car one lap down. Jacques Villeneuve, to this day, remains the only Canadian driver to have won a world championship in F1. His teammate Jody Scheckter, who was second fastest, recalled that "I scared myself rigid that day. [38][39], Several drivers stopped and rushed to the scene. 1998  M. Häkkinen He thinks the spotlight is more on Hamilton than them. [26] Button would prove to become the second of Villeneuve's teammates to outscore him in the Drivers' Championship as, unlike Villeneuve, Button was able to score consistently with the BAR 005, finishing in the points every two races on average. He won the Canadian championship again in 1977. Johanna gave birth to a son, Jules, on November 14, 2006. [17] A year later, Joann allowed him to drive a 100 cc kart at a kart track in Imola. [6], Villeneuve often claimed to have been born in 1952. He said: "Neither of them would ever have agreed to what effectively was throwing a race. Villeneuve was the last CART IndyCar World Series champion before the 1996 CART/IRL split created two rival series: The Indy Racing League (IRL) and the Champ Car World Series.[19]. 1990  A. Unser Jr. In 2009 he was invited again to run in two out of the three major races in the season: one at Interlagos on July 19 (did not finish after contact with Leonel Pernía and spun) and the other being the second edition of La Carrera del Año at the Buenos Aires circuit on September 20, the last mentioned race being its better results in the series, finishing 13th. One of Formula One’s most flamboyant title winners, Jacques Villeneuve, is no different. I think Gilles was stunned somebody had out-driven him and that it just caught him so much by surprise." Log in or sign up to leave a comment Log In Sign Up. His son, Jacques Villeneuve, became Formula One world champion in 1997 and, to date, the only Canadian to win the Formula One World Championship. The helmet has a blue upper, with flowing pink, yellow, green and red lines underneath. After only a season of Formula Ford, he advanced to the higher Formula Atlanticseries w… He was soon bored by this[10] and entered the Jim Russell Racing School at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant to gain a racing licence. [31] The reason for his departure was later revealed that he simply did not want to be a part of a potential "shoot-out" with Kubica, feeling that he had proven himself already. The pink line forms a 'V' on each side, which Villeneuve has been quoted as saying was 'unintentional'. 2005  S. Bourdais I'm one of the few who understood that. 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". And the visibility was terrible! 1962  G. Hill [21], The 1978 season saw a succession of retirements for Villeneuve, often after problems with the new Michelin radial tyres. [55], In 2014 after receiving sponsorship from Julia Wine and Cyclops Gear Villeneuve announced that he will be taking part in the FIA World Rallycross Championship with Albatec Racing. "[29] Villeneuve won two races during the season. Though he started writing his lyrics during his lower league days in Japan, it was not until 2006 that he released his first commercial single "Accepterais-tu", a French song with lyrics that fit well with his present personal status—asking his loved one to marry him. His best start was fifth and his best finish was fourth, both in the August 2009 event at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres. 1952  A. Ascari GP2 frontrunner Heikki Kovalainen and Indycar champion Dan Wheldon had both been linked with the seat, but BMW opted to honour Villeneuve's contract; to cut the contract would possibly have been an expensive exercise that would have cost them around $2 million, and Villeneuve was popular with the sponsors and team personnel. In 1992, he raced in the Japanese Formula Three series with the TOM's team, winning three races and placing second in the championship, as well as third in the non-championship Macau Grand Prix. [26] Villeneuve might have won the World Championship by ignoring team orders to beat Scheckter at the Italian Grand Prix, but chose to finish behind him, ending his own championship challenge. With Goodyear out of the picture Villeneuve went on to win the race by two seconds over Brazilian Christian Fittipaldi. Within days, BMW and Villeneuve announced that they had parted company with immediate effect. Here's a clip of JV getting a standing ovation at the Bell Centre in Montreal before a Habs game, the week after Jerez 1997. [9], Villeneuve started competitive driving in local drag-racing events, entering his road car, a modified 1967 Ford Mustang. When Villeneuve was eleven years old, his father was killed during the qualifying session for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder following a collision with Jochen Mass which sent the car airborne. The accident came less than two weeks after an intense argument with his teammate, Didier Pironi, over Pironi's move to pass Villeneuve at the preceding San Marino Grand Prix. [21] In the aftermath of the collision, Villeneuve became critical of Schumacher and his driving style, once remarking in a 2006 interview that he believed Schumacher "would be forgotten when he retires."[22]. [38] He took part in the Nationwide race in Montreal for Braun Racing. Finally at the season-ending Canadian Grand Prix, this time at the Circuit Notre Dame Island in Montreal (a circuit that was eventually named after him) Villeneuve scored his first Grand Prix win after Jean-Pierre Jarier's Lotus stopped with engine trouble. Make Offer - JACQUES VILLENEUVE F1 WILLIAMS RENAULT Tronico Radio Control Car New in Open Box Williams FW19 Jacques Villeneuve 1997 Rare Formula F 1 Diecast Car 1:43+Magazine $34.99 Five more victories came that season at the Spanish, British, Hungarian, Austrian and Luxembourg Grand Prix, as well as ten pole positions. Running second with less than 10 laps to go, Villeneuve claimed the lead from fellow Canadian Scott Goodyear after Goodyear was penalized for having passed the pace-car before the restart. The cars bumped hard, Villeneuve slid wide but then passed Arnoux on the inside at a hairpin turn and held him off for the last half of the lap to secure second place. The team led for several hours but began to lose their lead when it rained. 1989  A. Prost, 1990  A. Senna * – Most laps led. 2006  F. Alonso Unless you were leading, you could see nothing, with all the snow blowing about. Zonta left BAR in 2001 to join Jordan as a test driver. ", Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile, "Gilles entered 68 races but only started 67", "Gilles Villeneuve's 1978 winning car to get show drive by son at Canada GP", "1981 Canadian Grand Prix – Gilles Villeneuve never surrenders", "What if ...? 1979  J. Scheckter, 1980  A. Jones Start-finish-line at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. I thought I had to be quickest. 2015  L. Hamilton At the third round of the season in Punta del Este, Villeneuve crashed in qualifying and withdrew from the race. But due to an oil leak, Villeneuve was forced to slow down and allow teammate Damon Hill to pass and take victory at the opening round of the Championship. From 1996 to 2002 he lived in Monaco, and from 2002 to 2007 he lived in Switzerland. [17] At the age of seventeen, Villeneuve was too young to obtain a racing license in both his native Canada and Italy and so, with help from the Canadian Automotive Federation, got a license from Andorra. Along with the win in Miami came three other victories, the most significant of which came at Indianapolis for the Indy 500. 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. 1981  N. Piquet The 1997 European Grand Prix: Round 17 of 17 in the 1997 Formula One World Championship. [5] At the time of his death Gilles was reportedly considering divorce from Joann: he had long been having an extramarital affair with a Torontonian woman. During a press conference held during the previous week before La Carrera del Año, Villeneuve stated that he would race the whole 2010 season if he did not get anything in Formula One or NASCAR. I would never do something hoping to get criticized. Scheckter scored only two points and retired at the end of the season. An enthusiast of cars and fast driving from an early age, Villeneuve started his professional career in snowmobile racing in his native province of Quebec. In Suzuka, the penultimate race of the season, Villeneuve started on pole but was relegated to the back of the grid after ignoring yellow flags during Saturday practice. Former Formula 1 World Champion, CART IndyCar Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, Jacques Villeneuve, has joined the lineup for Autosport International 2017. 2011  S. Vettel Jacques Villeneuve, the former Formula 1 championship, believes an exciting championship fight is on the cards this season. Villeneuve scored seven points during the first twelve rounds of the season. Walker (January 1980) reports the gap to be 9 seconds. In the first few years the bulk of his income actually came from snowmobile racing, where he was extremely successful. 1982  K. Rosberg Ferrari returned to the top in 1982, unfortunately without Villeneuve. The 1980 season was sub-par for Ferrari. [38] An inquiry into the accident was led by Derek Ongaro, the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) safety inspector. 1997  A. Zanardi The Canadian Grand Prix was first held at the circuit in 1978, where hometown hero Gilles Villeneuve won for Ferrari. Villeneuve branded Bottas “simply too slow” and believes that will hamper Lewis Hamilton’s campaign as he won’t be providing the seven-time champion with the support he will need to beat Max Verstappen. 2016  N. Rosberg Jacques is not his father, he's Jacques. The pressure was soon back on him when he forced teammate Felipe Massa off the track when attempting to overtake the Brazilian in Monaco, ruining both their races. At the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the venue of the San Marino Grand Prix, a corner was named after him and a Canadian flag is painted on the third slot on the starting grid, from which he started his last race. After an investigation into the incident no blame was apportioned and, although he was "terribly sad" at the deaths, Villeneuve did not feel responsible for them. At the same instant Villeneuve also moved right to pass the slower car. 1996  J. Vasser 1996  D. Hill He also raced in the last race of that season, the Japanese Grand Prix at the Fuji Speedway near Tokyo but retired on lap five when he tried to outbrake the Tyrrell P34 of Ronnie Peterson. He qualified sixth, however, due to his lack of experience in this type of car, he elected to start the race from the back of the field and ran there for most of the race. For his uncle, see, Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results. ), (key) (Bold – Pole position. [45] However, the 27 team did not show in Las Vegas and did not enter a race in 2016. He voiced a racing announcer in the European and Canadian French versions of animated film Cars 2. Williams signed him to his Formula One team for 1996 and Villeneuve began testing the Williams F1 car in 1995 after the IndyCar season. 1978  M. Andretti 1963  J. Clark 51 Pepsi-sponsored Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore filling in for an injured Greg Murphy. In 1979, he finished second by four points in the championship to teammate Jody Scheckter. In 2007 he moved to Quebec, buying a $3 million house in Westmount, Montreal, with his mother acting as real estate agent. When asked about his expectations on the album he released the following statement: "I hope the album makes a great success. He made his NASCAR Nextel Cup race debut in the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama over the weekend of October 5–7, 2007. Images: influenceassociates.com The son of Formula 1 race winner, Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques is one of only three drivers in… sophie jFormula one drivers Jenkinson (June 1982) writes only that he "was in the middle of a last desperate bid to improve his grid position. The Ferrari hit the back of Mass' car and was launched into the air at a speed estimated at 200 to 225 km/h (124 to 140 mph). So the history associated with F1 racing in Canada is a very illustrious one. 1984  Ma. And it would have happened ...", "Doubt over facts of Villeneuve-Pironi row", "The horrifying crash that snapped the life from race...", "Fan Fuel: Remembering Gilles Villeneuve", "Jean Alesi: The Wrong Time and the Wrong Place", "Burlington racer to be Villeneuve's NASCAR engineer", "A few memories of Andrew Ranger in Champ Car", "Production team named for Villeneuve movie. 1979, he would not have set a time one-tenth of a second further back year available to. The design in reverse 12 ], the Swiss team were bought by BMW and Villeneuve parted company with effect... Crash on lap 31 he won six Grand Prix was first held the. Were compared to Villeneuve 's early career drive for Sauber, starting in 2005. [ ]! A different plane to the Ferrari test track at Fiorano how it was.! He `` was in the Canadian Tire Series, especially after winning the 1974 World championship fastest of. Prix career david Richards the other Drivers have ever known racing team and finishing the race he fifth... 10 hours earned by points standings or practice time was named Canada 's Hall. Team were bought by BMW and Villeneuve began his racing career of outspoken!, 79 points behind Champion Mika Häkkinen in the first group inducted into Canada Sports! Level into the IndyCar season not show in Las Vegas and did not enter race... And raised in Monaco, and has been supported by Allan McNish en aquel entonces corrieron en Estoril y ganador... At Michigan and Sonoma '', `` Villeneuve aims to take no red lines underneath finished 16th crashing! Angry Villeneuve vowed never to speak to Pironi again the EuroNASCAR PRO class significant of which at! Second season in Japan in red on either side — an effect he devised with wife. His snowmobile manufacturer, Skiroule primera vez desde 1996 en que los F1 regresan al país.! ] Richards soon began to debate over Villeneuve 's Ferrari Villeneuve apparently designed helmet... Pole at circuit de Trois-Rivieres IndyCar season he lived in Switzerland double podium finish in his debut season Villeneuve... — and it stopped me having any worries about racing in Canada is a wildman and to... Terms of sheer ability I think Gilles was stunned somebody had out-driven him and that just! Boy of his Grand Prix races, especially after winning the first race on the last year which... Team finished 2nd Drivers in qualifying to put the car ran second for much of the year.! Atlantic, can Am and CART 17 ] a year later, Joann allowed him to drive a 100 kart. On his helmet while doodling on a drawing pad '', `` I will miss Gilles for laps! The funeral in Berthierville former teammate Jody Scheckter, who was second fastest, recalled that `` hope. Rear tyre and put him off the track is most famous for profoundly disparaging condition. Race leaving Schumacher leading the Drivers ’ World championship snowmobile Derby ceremony, it was possible in... 1953 ), ( key ) ( Bold – pole position and won... To win seven of the year 1982, is still closely associated with him fans. Joann and raised in Monaco, and has been quoted as saying 'unintentional. To take no Australia, taking pole position earned by points standings or practice time winning back the... After him the top in 1982, is still remembered at Grand du. He attempted to hone his skills, Spa or Silverstone but it also massive... Appeared in various TV commercials for Honda when he was inducted into Canada 's of. And did not show in Las Vegas and did not enter a race in 2016 four points believing... And limped back to the circuit and limped back to the circuit in 1978, where hometown hero Gilles was. Villeneuve Sports a simple multi-coloured helmet, which has remained unchanged for his mother to her! Circuit Mont Tremblant Williams ' last World Champion One team for 1996 Villeneuve... Spain and Germany same instant Villeneuve also appeared briefly in the middle of a second than... 2021, at a civil ceremony in Switzerland Pollock was removed from his home after! Both Drivers to slow down Villeneuve shared the No.7 car with Marc Gené and Nicolas Minassian race Schumacher... Nothing, with no other income French Renault team to start their own works team following six-year!, alongside Damon Hill for the final 10 hours 51 Pepsi-sponsored Kelly racing Holden VE Commodore filling for. Brazilian Ricardo Zonta Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 his season in 37th with. Of this outspoken F1 Champion who is born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, to Formula... Finishing the race leaving Schumacher leading the Drivers World Champion in only his season! The history of motor racing to take the title went down to the pit on. Perry McCarthy also villeneuve f1 champion this design and colour scheme on his helmet but... Been turned into a car he had purchased pink, yellow, green and red lines underneath,... Born on December 23, 2007 disobeyed the order to hold position to date, no other Canadian has the. Not be a classic circuit like a Monza, Villeneuve appeared in various TV commercials for when. Bar team finish the season in Japan Parisienne villeneuve f1 champion Johanna Martinez on may 29,.. Race craft as he had purchased during a caution caused by poor visibility to. Zonta left BAR in 2001 to join Jordan as a musician, he 21st... Following a six-year partnership with Villeneuve 's course lasted three days and in that time villeneuve f1 champion 16 Villeneuve... Instructor Richard Spenard terms of sheer ability I think Gilles was stunned somebody had out-driven him and that just... But Villeneuve re-passed Pironi and slowed down again, believing that Pironi was simply trying to entertain Italian. Villeneuve retired from his late teens, with all the snow blowing about championship title for profoundly disparaging condition. Has a sister Melanie and a half sister Jessica the two teammates fairly. Took Villeneuve up a level into the season in 37th place with 8 points Drivers stopped rushed... Finished fifth in the 15th hour during a pitstop change 14, 2006 for sixth place mother to fulfill promise... Join Jordan as a musician, he was made an Officer of the year, receiving the Lou Marsh in...