The main truth teller of F1, Schumacher's antagonist in the 90s and champion Jacques Villeneuve is 53. Here's what to read about him
On April 9, Jacques Villeneuve turned 53, a Canadian Formula 1 pilot who raced for Williams, Renault and Sauber, and also launched the BAR team, partly with his own money.
Jacques had a mega-busy, chaotic and unusual career: after starting in the Italian F3, he moved to Japan and won the title of vice-champion of the same class in 1992, moved to IndyCar, won the Indy 500 and American Series title in '95, and then made his F1 debut with three pole positions and four wins, becoming vice-champion in his first season. What awaited him next was the title of the best driver in the world, won in a high-profile battle with Michael Schumacher in 1997, the creation of his own team, short periods at Renault and Sauber, transfers to NASCAR, second place at Le Mans, racing in Brazil in stock cars, Formula E and even rallycross. It is unlikely that there will be another such multi-station pilot in the world today!
And we can read a lot about Villeneuve. For example, a long and detailed interview given as part of the official F1 podcast Beyond The Grid - where Jacques told literally everything. Just check it out:
“When I got into F1, mobile phones had just come out. No one was doing constant photography. You could joke, laugh, and you didn’t have to be politically correct, even in comments and responses to the press. Then the closed era had already begun, but you could still have fun, say what you think, and be a little more aggressive.
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There was no modern attitude like “I’ll push you into the wall, and if I don’t get a fine, then everything’s okay.” I think Michael [Schumacher] was the first to change lines on the straights and take people into the walls - he brought a little bit of karting spirit. No one had done this before. You either attacked or you didn't attack. If you chose the internal trajectory, you stayed there, no changes in direction. We could get out of the car, curse each other for five minutes, and then go drink coffee together. And it was fun. It’s just that there was still a touch of danger on the track, and therefore the drivers felt like a team doing something special that everyone else wouldn’t dare to do.”
“Schumacher was the first to take people out into the walls.” Villeneuve remembered everything - about the championship season, battles with Michael, directness and his own team
Of course, Jacques’s brightest page and culmination in F1 was the battle with Schumacher in ’97. Now it is customary to demonize Michael as the main villain of that story, but in fact, Williams and Jacques put pressure on Ferrari through the press, dubious maneuvers on the track and appeals to the FIA long before the decisive battle in Jerez.
As a result, Villeneuve accused his opponent of wanting to deliberately knock him out - but the whole situation turned out to be too ambiguous. And we analyzed it in detail
25 years ago Schumacher rammed Villeneuve. Michael was disqualified, but the extent of his guilt is still not clear
However, that season performed by Jacques really turned out to be fiery - and one of the best in the history of Formula 1. According to the analyst’s calculations in accordance with the Elo system (used to rank the best chess players), Villeneuve showed the seventh best performance of the season - beating Hamilton and Rosberg in 2016, Hakkinen in ’98, Alonso in 2005 and many others frankly powerful works of pilots.
The analyst calculated the ratings of all Formula 1 drivers in history. Jacques – No. 7 in F1 peak season
It is not surprising that Jacques, together with his father Gilles, was included in the selection of the most successful dynasties in motorsports
In general, Jacques’ path turned out to be extremely unusual - the death of his father allowed him to become himself, and he made his way into racing through alpine skiing!
The death of the legendary racer-father psychologically saved Jacques Villeneuve. Then he became himself - and found his way to F1 (and to the championship) through skiing
But Villeneuve Jr. did not always succeed in everything: for example, towards the end of his career, he was twice replaced by young pilots right during the season. And if losing the cockpit to Robert Kubica does not seem shameful, then losing a place in favor of Takuma Sato... As a result, a special mention in the rating below.
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Worst ways to end your Formula 1 career
By the way, from a piloting point of view, Villeneuve had interesting features - for example, he used only one steering wheel gear shifter instead of the standard two
But still, Jacques’ main fame now comes not from the past, but from the present. Or more precisely, constant criticism and truth-telling: Villeneuve doesn’t care about names and titles - he smashes and crucifies whoever and whenever he wants.
“Jacques always says exactly what he thinks,” Alexey Popov, the Russian voice of F1, described his friend. - Without sparing yourself or others. You can often disagree with him, but you cannot not respect real honesty, which is completely impossible in our time!”
“Vettel is a man without honor and respect.” Jacques Villeneuve as the main critic of Formula 1
You can also enjoy ten of the champion’s best moments in F1 in a special video created by the best racing series in the world.
Villeneuve also became the first client of the wedding racing altar of the newly erected paddock of the Las Vega Grand Prix sa, owned by F1! Right before the debut stage, yes.
