Saturday May 8th, 1982. A day exactly 30 years ago that Formula 1 lost one of its greatest ever talents, after Gilles Villeneuve crashed fatally during qualifying when trying to beat the time of his teammate Didier Pironi. Villeneuve was truly one-of-a-kind. He showed incredible skill, determination and tenacity during his all too brief career. Many say he would’ve been a champion if he had the right car and if he survived. There are two infamous moments from the 1979 season that sum up Villeneuve’s career magnificently. The first came in the French Grand Prix, held at Dijon. The final three laps saw one of the most tremendous tussles for a podium place in the history of F1. Whilst the Renault of Jean-Pierre Jabouille had a comfortable lead, behind him was a fierce battle between his teammate, Rene Arnoux, and Villeneuve. The fight really began with three laps to go when Arnoux passed Villeneuve’s Ferrari. Then for the next two-and-a-half laps the pair were almost constantly side-by-side, nudging each other, banging wheels, going off the track, all in a desperate bid to claim second spot. In the end it was Villeneuve who claimed the position by just over two tenths of a second. This moment it is widely regarded as one of the best pieces of wheel-to-wheel Grand Prix racing ever. Just a few races later came another incident involving Villeneuve that has gone down in history. When running second Villeneuve suddenly spun off with a puncture in the Dutch Grand Prix, having literally just passed the pits. But did Villeneuve give up? Of course he didn’t! He completed virtually the whole lap on two wheels, as the dragging rear wheel caused the opposite front tyre to lift into the air. It is an iconic picture, the flat-fronted Ferrari, with Villeneuve’s hand in the air, on two wheels with sparks flying from the wheel dragging behind. He did eventually get back to the pits, but the team forced the Canadian to admit there was too much damage for him to continue, much to his dismay. Some say this display was foolish and incredibly dangerous- which it was. But I think it more significantly shows the burning desire to win Villeneuve possessed. These two incidents sum up 1970s F1 for me, and are some of my favourite Grand Prix moments. And this is despite the fact they happened nearly 20 years before I started watching the sport and before I was born. That they’re still so famous today, shows just how much regard Villeneuve is held in. But there is another side to him that belied these two famous occurrences. He was actually a master at making the tyres last. In fact, Villeneuve should never have won a race at all, especially as his Ferraris had about a quarter of the downforce of the opposition. But he did on six occasions. And perhaps this is why, more than anything else, that Villeneuve is regarded as such a legend. Greatness is an incredibly subjective thing. But whatever your definition, Gilles Villeneuve was surely a true great of F1.
Wow very nice post on GV. I was not alive to see him him race but watching back especially the fights with Arnoux are amazing. Article this up BLS/AG
Sadly F1 has lost so many talented drivers before they ever had a chance to show what they were about, how many WDC's have been decided by a death? 47 F1 drivers have died in their F1 cars, and this list doesn't include the likes of Alberto Ascari, Bruce McLaren, Jim Clarke or Stefan Bellof (a talent to rival the best), who died in other formula whilst F1 drivers. It's sad that their families and motorsport fans were robbed of them, but there is one blessing, if given the choice, what manner of death would you choose for yourself ? I think most of those who died would've chosen the way they went (without the additional carnage of course), Senna even said as much.
Villeneuve was before my time and, though I've watched YouTube videos and read about him, I have no memories of my own. Without following a driver's career I think you can really only have a sense of his importance to the history of F1 defined by the high regard in which he is held by other fans and drivers. His reputation pervades F1 as surely as Senna's and this kind of legacy is never due just to dying while driving but because, in a sport in which the car is king, his talent and skills made the difference. Ferrari are marking the occasion of his anniversary with photos and this piece by Pino Allievi.
and yet it is unlikely he would have won a WDC during the 80's/90's unless he moved to McLaren or Williams and away from his beloved Ferrari, such was the dominance of those two teams from 1984 onwards. A waste of a talent, or did it even matter as he just loved to rag the nuts off anything he drove?
I read earlier that Ron Dennis had offered him £3m to drive for McLaren in 1983. Whether he would have gone or not...
the 82 Ferrari was not to bad, shame GV and Pironi were not about to win the drivers championship that car deserved. Instead Rosberg sneaked it.
