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There isn’t a scarcity of creativity at French Formulation 1 broadcaster Canal+, which not too long ago arrange an interview – or ought to we are saying ‘questioning’ – with its personal pundit , pretending he was in police custody.
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Trying again on his profession, the 1997 world champion delved into a number of noteworthy elements and occasions of his time as a racing driver.
Gilles’ undesirable legacyGilles Villeneuve with spouse Joanna and kids Melanie and Jacques
Gilles Villeneuve with spouse Joanna and kids Melanie and JacquesErcole Colombo
Ercole Colombo
Jacques’s father was legend Gilles Villeneuve, who gained six grands prix earlier than his premature demise in a collision throughout qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. He was simply 32 years outdated.
Jacques was 11 on the time and was not deterred from motor racing – however felt the burden of expectations on his shoulders, notably from the media.
“What weighed on me was not being Gilles’ son, as a result of I used to be tremendous happy with being my father’s son,” Jacques defined. “What weighed on me was that I used to be by no means allowed to present an actual reply when it got here to my father. I used to be informed ‘Oh, you race since you need to perpetuate what your father did, that’s nice’. ‘No, I race as a result of I prefer it’. ‘What? Are you insulting your father?’ ‘No, I like racing, I’m not emulating him’.
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“That’s after I realized that too many individuals – particularly older journalists – nonetheless lived with that romanticism. Both I stated what they wished to listen to or they acquired upset, so I selected to not reply anymore. I wasn’t free to say what I actually thought.”
Jacques Villeneuve, Williams FW18 Renault leads Damon Hill, Williams FW18 Renault
Jacques Villeneuve, Williams FW18 Renault leads Damon Hill, Williams FW18 RenaultMotorsport Photographs
Motorsport Photographs
Reigning Indy 500 winner Villeneuve made a extremely scrutinized F1 debut on the 1996 Australian Grand Prix on the all-new Albert Park monitor. The Canadian grew to become the third and at the moment newest rookie to get pole place on debut (excluding the first-ever world championship race and the Indy 500), outpacing team-mate by 0.138s. Ferrari’s was half a second off the tempo.
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“The automotive was aggressive, clearly,” Villeneuve stated. “Alongside me was Damon Hill, who was tremendous quick and knew the automotive effectively. What helped me in comparison with F1’s present rookies was that we might do miles and miles of testing from January – 5 days every week we have been at Estoril in Portugal. So we acquired there with quantity of operating beneath our belt.
“The opposite factor that performed to my benefit was that it was a brand new circuit; Damon had no factors of reference, and that’s how I made the distinction. Nevertheless, within the following two grands prix, I used to be one second off in qualifying!” Villeneuve’s deficit to Hill was 1.143s at Interlagos and 0.561s in Buenos Aires.
Ranging from pole in Melbourne, Villeneuve led for a lot of the first 53 laps – out of 58 – however needed to cede the win to his team-mate resulting from a technical situation on his FW18, which allegedly put him liable to retiring from the race.
“Melbourne irritated me a bit bit, as a result of we had the race within the bag,” he added. “There was an oil leak within the corners, the pink gentle was approaching for oil stress, so the group informed me to decelerate and let Damon by means of, in any other case the engine would break down. I discovered not too long ago from some engineers that even when I hadn’t slowed down the engine truly wouldn’t have damaged down, that it was possibly higher for the concord within the group to not take that threat.”
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Villeneuve was nonetheless eager to minimize any suggestion of a conspiracy.
He additionally clarified he was not so bothered. “I knew 1997 was going to be my 12 months, 1996 was Damon’s and I had lots to be taught from him. Had it been in 1997 or in opposition to one other team-mate, I possibly would have minded, however not in opposition to Damon. He was right here, he was extraordinarily skilled, and I had lots to be taught.”
How he ended up with blond hairJacques Villeneuve (CDN) Williams celebrates victory
Jacques Villeneuve (CDN) Williams celebrates victorySutton Photographs
Sutton Photographs
Blond hair has at all times been, in a approach, Villeneuve’s trademark – merely as a result of, though he wore it over a brief interval of his life, this was when he gained the world championship.
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“The primary time was in 1997, proper after the grand prix in Montreal,” he recalled, having retired from his house race when on lap 2 he crashed into the ‘Bienvenue au Quebec’ wall – which might be nicknamed the ‘Wall of Champions’ when three of them hit it in 1999.
“I went house and noticed a film, Trainspotting. I discovered it very humorous, and their hair was bleached blond. ‘Oh, that’s cool, why not?’ I went to my hairdresser’s, stated ‘Hey, do that for me’. ‘Are you loopy?’ ‘No, do it.’ However I didn’t let my administration know, nor the group, nor my sponsors. We had a photoshoot deliberate simply earlier than Magny-Cours; I acquired there – ‘Hello, it’s me!’ – and there was a little bit of a shock.”
4 months later, Williams-Renault’s French contingent celebrated Villeneuve’s world title with blond wigs.
Schumacher’s post-Jerez betrayalMichael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve within the press convention
Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve within the press conferenceErcole Colombo
Ercole Colombo
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Jacques Villeneuve’s profession spotlight definitely was defeating Ferrari’s for the 1997 title, in controversial circumstances that will be debated by pundits and followers alike for many years.
“It began within the earlier race in Japan,” the Williams driver detailed. “I used to be 9 factors forward, it was 10 factors for a win on the time. We virtually had the championship within the bag.
“However on Friday morning, on the primary out-lap, on the lengthy again straight, there was a automotive stopped on the aspect with yellow flags. The automotive was stopped, effective, we stored going. Then, the stewards determined to disqualify me from the entire weekend. That appeared a bit harsh – I by no means had such a penalty, and there has by no means been the like since then. All of us at Williams felt a bit just like the cube have been loaded.
“We nonetheless determined to race in order that we might doubtlessly attraction. The purpose was to drive slowly and for somebody to overhaul Michael in order that he wouldn’t win the race. However all different drivers have been fearful of enjoying alongside, so everybody was driving slowly.”
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What Villeneuve didn’t point out is that he had beforehand ignored yellow flags a bit too typically, and consequently was beneath a suspended one-race ban. Moreover, the incident involving ’s stricken Tyrrell truly occurred on a lap the place Villeneuve set a private finest.
Regardless, the incident fired Villeneuve up. “We went to the final race one level down, and that’s when the political video games began.
“Schumacher went to Ferrari as a result of Ferrari wanted to win, they hadn’t gained for a very long time. That’s why I then determined to place fairly a little bit of stress on Schumacher, reminding the media and the federation how he had gained his two championships in opposition to Damon Hill. By driving him into the wall,” he added, referring to the decisive collision within the 1994 title race in Adelaide.
After a outstanding three-way tie in qualifying for the final 1997 spherical at Jerez – with Villeneuve awarded pole place by advantage of setting his time earlier than Schumacher and Williams team-mate – Schumacher took the lead initially and led his rival till Villeneuve dove down the within on lap 48. The German drove into the Williams however did not take it out of the race and acquired caught within the gravel.
The controversial collision between Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F310B, and Jacques Villeneuve, Williams FW19 Renault
The controversial collision between Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F310B, and Jacques Villeneuve, Williams FW19 RenaultMotorsport.com
Motorsport.com
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“I keep in mind having checked out him. I keep in mind driving right down to the braking level and seeing him stood on the wall, watching me. This picture actually struck me. I used to be laughing, I used to be completely satisfied!”
All Villeneuve needed to do was end sixth to attain one level, and he finally took third behind the McLarens.
“I slowed right down to protect the automotive. The mount that held the battery was damaged, so the battery was held by two electrical cables solely, and it was being tossed round. However I slowed down, I braked earlier, I didn’t go full throttle, I averted the kerbs. That’s what allowed me to complete the grand prix.”
“Il n’a jamais voulu passer à autre selected. C’était l’ère Schumacher chez Ferrari, il n’y avait pas de place pour un Villeneuve” 😳 Jacques Villeneuve nous raconte TOUTE l’histoire de son duel avec Schumacher en 1997 😍 Inspecteur Dupin, c’est dispo sur nos plateformes ! #F1
Nevertheless, Villeneuve’s post-race get together took an sudden flip when Schumacher joined to have fun his opponent’s world championship.
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“Michael got here along with his spouse, sporting one of many yellow wigs from the Renault mechanics,” Villeneuve stated. “He wasn’t staying at this lodge, he simply confirmed up. He joined me behind the bar, put his hand round me, made cocktails whereas his spouse took photos. Truthful play, the championship’s over, we transfer on.
“One week later, I woke as much as German tabloids with the image, captioned: ‘Proof I didn’t do something fallacious, Jacques is just not upset’. That irritated me. They used my second – my get together, my championship – as a photograph op to absolve him of guilt. That’s what actually broken and prevented any doable relationship.”
Schumacher went on to be disqualified from the 1997 championship by the FIA. Villeneuve nonetheless sees him as his biggest rival – however insists he by no means would have joined the Ferrari driver as a team-mate regardless of his father’s hyperlink to Maranello, as he wouldn’t have accepted number-two standing and felt there was no room for a Villeneuve alongside Schumacher.
Coming to blows with feisty MontoyaA powerful morning session for Jacques Villeneuve
A tricky morning session for Jacques VilleneuveBrousseau Photograph
Brousseau Photograph
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Throughout his short-lived F1 profession, which spanned simply 5 years and a half, Juan Pablo Montoya might be fairly feisty – each on and off the monitor. Villeneuve skilled it first-hand on the 2001 Canadian Grand Prix, when the Colombian was a rookie.
“Montoya went out of the pits and blocked me on goal,” Villeneuve claimed. “My lap was ruined. I slowed down in a chicane to say, ‘Oh!’, and he drove into me, breaking my suspension!
“He stated a number of issues to me that he shouldn’t have, so I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, the stewards got here – that was in the course of the drivers’ briefing – then I defined what he’d stated and all the pieces eased off.”
