It was exactly 20 years ago today that flamboyant Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve, the man Jody Scheckter described as “the fastest driver the world has ever seen”, died in a crash during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix.
It was exactly 20 years ago today that flamboyant Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve, the man Jody Scheckter described as “the fastest driver the world has ever seen”, died in a crash during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix.
Formula One fans who only started following the sport recently would remember Villeneuve as the father of 1997 world champion Jacques. But those who can remember when the man who made the number 27 car famous was still alive, regard Villeneuve as fun-loving, reckless, fearless, fast, determined, fiercely competitive, passionate, but never conservative.
On May 8, 1982, Villeneuve was killed at Zolder during Saturday qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. His F1 career lasted 67 Grands Prix – which included only six victories. But some F1 observers say Villeneuve made an invaluable contribution to – and played a an important supporting role in – South African Jody Scheckter winning the world championship at the wheel of a Ferrari in 1979.
At his funeral, Scheckter said in a simple but heartfelt eulogy: "I will miss Gilles for two reasons. First, he was the fastest driver this world has ever seen. 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."
After beginning his racing career in Formula Ford in 1973, the French-Canadian went on to the Formula Atlantic series, winning the series and featuring in a couple of Formula Two races in 1976.
His first Formula One race was with McLaren at Silverstone in 1977, earning him a reputation as a promising talent. Gilles once said: "If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari…"
At the end of 1977, Villeneuve’s ambition to drive for Ferrari was realised when the Scuderia signed him for the 1978 season. To cap it all, his first Grand Prix victory came at his home race in Canada.
His simple love of racing was something rare in the high-stakes, corporate world of professional sport. The jet-set lifestyle meant nothing to him, and neither did championships. He simply wanted to be the first to cross the finish line, not the one with the most points at the end of the season, motorsport.com reported on Wednesday. And driving for anything other than a win was incomprehensible to him, another source said.
Villeneuve pushed his car to its limits and was not afraid to take risks. In fact, the French-Canadian earned a reputation for destroying cars and the nickname "High Priest of Destruction". A member of the Ferrari crew once said that if the team gave Villeneuve a car he couldn’t break, it was a good car.
The man may have been well-known as an extreme risk-taker but, unlike drivers of the generation that came after him, he never put anyone at risk besides himself. This reportedly made him popular not only with the fans but with his fellow drivers as well.
Three-time champion Niki Lauda said: "Gilles Villeneuve was the craziest devil I ever came across in Formula One. 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."
The 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder was to be the scene of Villeneuve’s death. His team-mate, Didier Pironi, broke a pact he made with Villeneuve to drive in formation at the San Marino Grand Prix two weeks earlier. Villeneuve was angry that Pironi had “stolen” his victory during the closing stages of the Imola race and took to the track at Zolder in a determined mood.
During Saturday qualifying, he collided with the March of Jochen Mass and the Ferrari cartwheeled across the track… Villeneuve was thrown from the car and never recovered consciousness.
Twenty years on, it isn’t his record that history remembers. In four years, Villeneuve had only two pole positions. His best championship finish was second in 1979 behind Scheckter, but it was his passion for racing that attracted so many adoring fans.
Reports suggest it was his sense of humour, honesty and fun-loving attitude towards life that won him so many friends. Nigel Roebuck wrote in Autosport following Villeneuve’s death that "the light has gone out in motor racing". Villeneuve may be gone, but his spirit, his talent, competitiveness and passion will not to be forgotten.