Gilles Villeneuve

Did You Know?

• Villeneuve often claimed to have been born in 1952, subtracting two years from his age to avoid being considered too old for Formula One.
• His helmet had a black base with a stylized red 'V' on each side, a design he devised with his wife Joann.
• Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc wore a one-off tribute helmet to Villeneuve at the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix.

Early career

Villeneuve got his start racing his own modified 1967 Ford Mustang in local drag events. Bored with that, he went to the Jim Russell Racing School at Circuit Mont-Tremblant to earn his racing licence. In Quebec regional Formula Ford, he drove a two-year-old car he owned and won seven out of ten races. He then spent four seasons in Formula Atlantic, again running his own car for one of them.

His first Atlantic win came in 1975 at Gimli Motorsport Park during a heavy rainstorm. In 1976, driving for Ecurie Canada with engineer Ray Wardell, he won every race except one, claiming both the US and Canadian titles. He took the Canadian championship again in 1977. Money was scarce, so he relied on snowmobile racing for most of his income.

He was a top competitor there, especially after winning the 1974 World Championship Snowmobile Derby. Skiroule, his snowmobile maker, helped sponsor his second Atlantic season. Villeneuve said snowmobiling taught him car control: he expected three or four big spills each winter, getting thrown onto ice at high speed. The sleds slid a lot, and poor visibility from blowing snow sharpened his reactions and made rain racing seem easy.

Formula One career

After Villeneuve impressed James Hunt by beating him and other Grand Prix stars in a non-championship Formula Atlantic race at Trois-Rivières in 1976, Hunt's McLaren team offered him a Formula One deal for up to five races in a third car during 1977. He made his debut at the 1977 British Grand Prix, qualifying 9th in McLaren's old M23 and finishing 11th after a faulty temperature gauge cost him two laps. British press coverage was complimentary. Despite this, McLaren team manager Teddy Mayer decided not to continue with Villeneuve, saying he 'was looking as though he might be a bit expensive.'

Villeneuve had no solid options for 1978 until he met Enzo Ferrari in August 1977. Ferrari was reminded of Tazio Nuvolari and, after a test session at Fiorano, signed Villeneuve for the last two races of 1977 and the full 1978 season. Villeneuve later said his third wish would be to drive for Ferrari. He took his maiden podium in Austria in 1979 and won his home Grand Prix in Canada.

He won three races in 1979, finishing championship runner-up to teammate Jody Scheckter by four points. After a winless 1980 season, he took back-to-back wins at Monaco and Spain in 1981, earning acclaim for his defensive tactics at the latter.

Death

On May 8, 1982, Villeneuve died after an accident during the final qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. At the time, teammate Didier Pironi had set a time one-tenth of a second faster for sixth place. Villeneuve was using his final set of qualifying tyres; some say he was trying to improve his time, while others suggest he aimed to beat Pironi. However, biographer Gerald Donaldson quotes Ferrari engineer Mauro Forghieri as saying Villeneuve was returning to the pit lane when the accident occurred.

With eight minutes left, Villeneuve came over a rise after the first chicane and caught Jochen Mass traveling more slowly through Butte. Mass moved right to let him through; Villeneuve also moved right. The Ferrari hit the back of Mass's car and was launched into the air at an estimated 200–225 km/h. It flew over 100 m before nosediving and breaking apart. Villeneuve, still strapped to his seat but without his helmet, was thrown 50 m into catch fencing.

Several drivers stopped; John Watson and Derek Warwick pulled him from the fence. A doctor arrived within 35 seconds; Villeneuve was not breathing but had a pulse. He was intubated and transferred to University St Raphael Hospital in Leuven, where a fatal neck fracture was diagnosed. He was kept on life support until his wife arrived and died at 21:12 CEST. An inquiry led by Derek Ongaro concluded that an error by Villeneuve caused the collision and exonerated Mass.

Legacy

Villeneuve competed in 67 Grands Prix, winning six and achieving 13 podiums. At his funeral, former teammate Jody Scheckter delivered the eulogy, calling him the fastest racing driver in history. Niki Lauda described him as 'the craziest devil I ever came across in Formula 1' but also a sensitive and lovable character. The racetrack on Notre Dame Island in Montreal was renamed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix, and a sign reading 'Salut Gilles' was painted at the start/finish line.

A corner at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari was named after him, and a Canadian flag is painted on the third slot on the starting grid. A bronze bust of Villeneuve stands at the entrance to the Ferrari test track at Fiorano. At Zolder, the corner where he died was turned into a chicane and named after him. A museum opened in Berthierville in 1992, and a statue stands in a nearby park named in his honor.

He was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 1993 and into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1983. In June 1997, Canada issued a postage stamp in his honor.