Comments on: You’re nine years too late, Jacques

By: Number 38

Number 38 — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 06:45:03 +0000

F1 is NASCAR training and he’s gently adapted to the big cars, never my F1 favorite but he’s been accepted by many Americans.
I guess there’s a time and place for everyone.

By: George

George — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 02:11:13 +0000

JV never won ANYTHING after his title year. Not a single race. Again, a monumental waste of talent and opportunity.

By: Sri

Sri — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:07:04 +0000

I think everyone makes mistakes. JV did make a fair share of his. I think he made a mess out of 97 campaign, yet, he did win it. So respect where is due. Also, i miss the in your face characters, Monty Python(really, he had a gut growing) and JV and the likes. F1, should perhaps try not to be so politically correct and remain a sport, which we like. The stuff the legends are made of.

By: George

George — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 02:54:40 +0000

JV was always and foremost about about JV. Not much to like there as far as I am concerned. I am somewhat stunned over his fast adaptation to NASTYCAR, and I for one will cut him slack until he reverts back to his prototypical complaining about everything to anyone who will listen.

What a monumental waste of talent and opportunity.

By: AmericanTifosi

AmericanTifosi — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 22:16:53 +0000

Poor Jacques. Did anyone notice in the 24hrs of Le Mans, his crew had trouble strapping him into the Peugot because of his baggy racing suit!

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:45:01 +0000

Perhaps Jacques is being so charitable because Craig gave him what he desired most: money. For Jacques the BAR adventure was a disaster on all other fronts so that’s the only explanation I can see. I seem to remember a later team principle, dave richards I believe, complaining publicly that if only he would take a pay cut the car could be made to go faster. all to no avail.

By: Cooperman

Cooperman — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:42:08 +0000

I miss Jaques Villeneuve from F1.

I wasn’t his biggest fan but he drove with a sort of flair and passion that you see less off in modern day, corporate F1 – more like a Jean Alesi than a Kimi Raikkonen. Heart-on-sleeve stuff. When he was ‘on it’ he was brilliant to watch. That pass on Schumacher at Estoril in 1996 was the move of the year by a long shot.

He wore baggy overalls out of personal style and he said what he thought. BAR / Honda’s mistake was – as JV himself put it – to buy into his style for their own marketing purposes and then later try to change him.

F1 lost two of its biggest characters, and talented drivers, to NASCAR in a very short space of time. Villeneuve and Montoya. Neither conformed to the modern F1 stereotype and it’s a pity that either of them had to. F1’s very big loss.

By: Vertigo

Vertigo — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:41:37 +0000

Always hated Villeneuve, thought he managed to almost lose the title in 1997 when his car was streets ahead of all the others. His music’s awful too.

By: William Wilgus

William Wilgus — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:22:07 +0000

It’s my understanding that JV won the F1 championship that year `because nobody else did’. What I remember most is his ability to blame everyone and everything else.

By: Journeyer

Journeyer — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 12:06:00 +0000

Odd how when JV leaves any given team, they have a big, if not HUGE, performance leap the year after:

Williams were 3rd in 1998, then moved down to 5th in 1999, but that was more due to Zanardi’s 0 pts. Look instead at… Ralf! And his run of podiums that year.

BAR were 5th in 2003, then moved WAY up to 2nd in 2004, being the only team to regularly challenge Ferrari.

Renault were 3rd in 2004, then won titles in 2005 AND 2006.

BMW Sauber were 5th in 2006. But right after JV left in the middle of that season, the team scored 2 podiums! (Heidfeld at Hungary and Kubica at Italy) The year after, they too leapt to 2nd in the championship.

Keith, what were JV’s other options for 1999? I believe he should’ve just stuck it out with Williams, who were due to get a big boost from BMW for 2000. I believe they already knew about the BMW deal at the end of 1998.