Gilles Villeneuve was one of the most spectacular drivers of his time – perhaps of all time – and has been venerated by Ferrari fans since his death in 1982.
Discovered and introduced to Formula One by James Hunt, Villeneuve made his debut for McLaren at Silverstone in 1977. Despite an impressive performance in his first taste of F1 machinery, Teddy Mayer passed over him for Patrick Tambay.
Enzo Ferrari grabbed Villeneuve instead and he spent the rest of his career with the team.
Villeneuve’s erratic reputation won him both criticism and adulation. Some criticised his excessive risk-taking, other lauded his never-say die attitude. In his third F1 start at Fuji he collided with Tyrrell’s Ronnie Peterson, and cartwheeled off the track, his car striking and killing two spectators who were standing in a restricted area.
Among the Ferrari-mad Tifosi Villeneueve was elevated to legendary status even before his death. He scored his first Grand Prix win late in 1978, his first full season with Ferrari, on home ground at Montreal. The track was later named after him.
In 1979 team mate Jody Scheckter won the title, Ferrari imposing team orders late in the year, forbidding Villeneuve from passing his team mate.
That year produced one of the most famous battles in F1 history – for second place – between Villeneuve and Renault’s Rene Arnoux. The same year he dragged his Ferrari, it’s left-rear tyre punctured, around a lap of Zandvoort, the wheel disintegrating as he returned to the pits, hoping it might be repaired.
Ferrari slumped in 1980 and any hope of a championship win was far from their minds. The 1981 car was little better but Villeneuve still produced two remarkable wins, one at Monaco, the other with a four-car train of rivals on his heels at Jarama in Spain.
Tragically, that was his last win. In 1982 he lost out to team mate Didier Pironi at Imola who failed to heed Ferrari’s instruction for the pair to “slow” and hold position.
Incensed, Villeneuve vowed never to speak to Pironi again. He died in a crash at the following round at Zolder, trying to better Pironi’s time in qualifying.
Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo
