Lando Norris’s 2025 championship title introduced again recollections for Jacques Villeneuve of when he gained the 1997 Components 1 championship.
Throughout an look on the Excessive Efficiency podcast, Villeneuve mentioned the kinds of championship wins that take him again to his personal expertise of claiming a title in 1997.
“Relies upon which sort of world championship it’s and the way it’s gained. As a result of we have seen some simple championships gained with 4 or 5 races to go or the battle solely towards a team-mate however probably not the 2 drivers on the identical stage,” the Canadian mentioned.
“Whenever you get a championship like this yr, the place there’s two or three drivers, two separate groups, and there is rigidity as a result of there was rigidity. Lando needed to react as a result of Max was coming again with a vengeance. I imply, he was actually reeling them in, surprisingly, and he caught them.
“He caught each McLaren drivers and the crew without warning. Lando needed to react. In order that made it thrilling, that made it tense. It is a championship he may have misplaced and in the long run he made certain that he drove the identical approach he drove on the finish of final yr when he was preventing Max, and that gave him the title. So these sort of championships, sure they do deliver recollections.”
After ending runner-up in his rookie season at Williams behind his team-mate on the time, Damon Hill, Villeneuve partnered with Heinz-Harald Frentzen in 1997. The driving force battled towards his team-mate and Michael Schumacher in a tense championship struggle and began the season strongly with seven grand prix wins and eight pole positions within the first 14 races.
Jacques Villeneuve
Picture by: Marco Canoniero / LightRocket through Getty Photos
The championship struggle went right down to the wire on the season-ending European Grand Prix, equally to the 2025 championship in Abu Dhabi. Heading into the race weekend, Villeneuve was one level behind Schumacher, which meant he needed to end within the high six forward of the German driver to win the title.
In an in depth qualifying session, Villeneuve, Schumacher and Frentzen all set the identical time, but it surely was Villeneuve who took pole place as he was the primary of the three to finish the lap. In the course of the race, Schumacher was despatched right into a gravel entice after a crash along with his championship rival, which in the end resulted within the Williams driver taking his first title.
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