Gilles Villeneuve

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You may be looking for Gilles's son, Formula One racing driver Jacques Villeneuve, or Gilles's brother, Formula One racing driver of the same name as his son, Jacques Villeneuve. For other meanings, see Villeneuve.

Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve (January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982) was a world-renowned Formula One racing driver.

Villeneuve was born in the small town of Berthierville, Quebec, Canada. His first Formula One win came in his native province in the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix, held in Montreal. All told in his short career, he won six Grand Prix races. In 1979 he finished second by four points in the championship to teammate Jody Scheckter.

Remembered for his frenetic style which seemed more like that of a rally driver, his wheel-banging duel with René Arnoux in the last laps of the 1979 French Grand Prix at the Dijon circuit was one of the most intense moments in Formula One racing. Despite this, his six Grand Prix wins represent some of the most tactically astute and mechanically sensitive in the history of the sport. Perhaps his greatest achievements came in 1981, where he wrestled an unwieldy turbo Ferrari to victory at Monaco, followed by a classic of defensive driving at the Spanish Grand Prix, keeping 5 quicker cars behind him using his tactical acumen and the superior straightline speed of his car.

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, after two years of mediocre cars, produced an excellent design. After glimpses of promise in the opening races, Villeneuve was back at the front for the San Marino Grand Prix, only for his team-mate Didier Pironi to disobey team orders 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. Betrayed and angry, Villeneuve vowed never to speak to Pironi again.

Tragedy struck at the next race on the calendar. 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, which was on a slow 'in' lap. Villeneuve's car was launched into the air before nose-diving into the soft earthen enbankment just outside the armco and cartwheeling 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. He died shortly thereafter in hospital. Mercifully, his fatal injuries were likely caused by the force of his car landing for the first time after the initial impact.

His spectacular driving is still considered an art form among Formula One fans. He is still remembered at Grand Prix races, especially those in Italy.

The racetrack on Île Notre-Dame, Montreal, used for the Molson Indy and Grand Prix du Canada, was renamed in his honour at the Canadian Grand Prix of 1982 after his death. Sadly, at the start of that race Riccardo Paletti died after crashing with the stalled Ferrari of Didier Pironi.

Near the race track there is also a museum in his honour.

At the funeral in Berthierville, former teammate, Jody Scheckter, delivered a simple but moving eulogy and prophecy. “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.”

More than a decade later, Scheckter’s prophecy remains true. There is still a huge demand for Villeneuve memorabilia at the race-track shops, and several books have been written about him. 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. In Berthierville, a museum was opened in 1992 and a lifelike statue stands in a nearby park named in his honour.

"Gilles was the perfect racing driver ... with the best talent of all of us.” This was the assessment of Niki Lauda whom Gilles replaced in 1977 as a member of the Ferrari team of Formula One drivers. It is an opinion shared by many other Grand Prix drivers and veteran journalists who covered the sport.

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. This combination of traits made him exceptionally popular not only with fans but with teammates and opponents as well. He still remains even today a fan favorite in Canada, Italy and in the rest of the F1 world.

Some Words About Gilles

"I know no human being can do miracles but Gilles could really surprise us sometimes." - Jacques Laffite, 1982 -

"He was a totally uncomplicated non-political guy with no hangups whatsoever. He was totally and completely honest. If he were testing, and the car was rubbish, he'd come in and say 'Look, it's rubbish; I don't mind, don't get me wrong, I'll drive it all day and love every minute of it, but I thought that you ought to know the car's rubbish.' The Old Man (Enzo Ferrari) loved him for this."

-- Harvey Postlewaithe

"I think Gilles was the perfect racing driver. He had the best talent of all of us."

-- Niki Lauda (multiple world driving champion)

"Niki Lauda always said that Villneuve was the best of their era. ... Behind the wheel of a racing car he was fearfully quick, never stopped trying, and could extracticate himself from the most precarious situations with deft brilliance."

-- Alan Henry

"His car control was extraordinary, ever compared with the many talented drivers I have had the opportunity to drive against over the years. He drove a Grand Prix car to the absolute limit of its ability."

-- Jackie Stewart (multiple world champion)

"He also never drove anywhere at anything less than an absolutely flat-out pace, be it on the road or the track..."

-- Harvey Postlewaithe

"In a situation like that I know I would have been scared stiff. But I am sure that when Gilles felt his Ferrari take off, his last thought was anger, plain and simple, because he knew that he has spoiled that one perfect lap."

-- Eddie Cheever

"His death has deprived us of a great champion - one that I loved very much. My past is scarred with grief; parents, brother, son. My life is full of sad memories. I look back and see the faces of my loved ones, and among them I see him."

-- Enzo Ferrari

"His death signifed the passing of a certain approach. He was the last person who had the totally un-inhibited joy of driving a racing car."

-- Alan Henry

"Quite seriously, I've never felt anything like the same about racing ever since. I nearly packed it up."

-- Nigel Roebuck

"I was at home in Monaco that Sunday. A friend of mine called from Zolder and said 'Gilles has had a big accident, and it doesn't look good at all.' So I phoned Joann, and shot up to her place very quickly. From then on it was chaos and disaster. You don't want to think about it."

-- Jody Scheckter

"The kids were just 8 and 10 years old and seemed to be doing much better than I expected. That first night they both went upstairs to bed, and later I went up to check on them. They were asleep. When I saw Melanie I started crying. She had a picture of her dad with her. She was holding it in her arms."

-- John Lane

"I will drive flat out all the time. I love racing."

-- Gilles Villeneuve

"Gilles was the fastest driver in the history of motor racing. But more important for me is that he was the most genuine person I have ever known."

-- Jody Scheckter

Gilles was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame at their inaugaural induction ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto, Ontario, August 19, 1993.

His brother Jacques Villeneuve (elder), known as "uncle Jacques", also had a successful racing career winning championships in the Formula Atlantic and Can Am series as well as becoming the first Canadian to win a race in the CART series. "Uncle" Jacques was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2001.

In June 1997, Canada issued a postage stamp in honor of its favorite racing son.

His son, Jacques, also had a successful racing career winning the Indianapolis 500 and CART championships in 1995. He then followed in his father's footsteps and join the Formula One circuit in 1996 where he had pole position in his first race, winning the World Championship in 1997.

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