Jacques Villeneuve and his father did not take the usual route to enter the premier class of motorsport.
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After a notable career in Formula Atlantic, most notably at the Trois-Rivières Grand Prix in 1976, Gilles was recruited by the McLaren team to compete in the British Formula One Grand Prix the following year before retiring a few months later Ferrari switched.
The son found himself in Formula 1 after making his name in the Indycar series, where he won the title and the prestigious Indianapolis 500 in 1995.
After that everything happened in a hurry.
Villeneuve was invited by the Williams team to attend a private testing session which proved successful on August 15, 1995 at the Silverstone circuit.
Little intimidated by the presence of Damon Hill and David Coulthard, the Quebecois came within six tenths of a second to the times set by the two title riders of the British team, who nonetheless had the advantage of not only knowing the single seater intimately, but also the mythical route.
As a result, Villeneuve was called up to take the place of Coulthard, who will sign from McLaren in 1996. From the start he made a strong impression by taking the lead at his first Grand Prix in Melbourne.
What only five other drivers have managed in the history of the specialty – including the last, Argentinian Carlos Reutemann, in 1972.
A good start
In the race, Villeneuve led the peloton ahead of his teammate Damon Hill before being forced to slow down due to an oil leak that struck about fifteen laps from the finish.
He still reached the second step of the podium.
From then on, a bitter duel developed between these two drivers, who had the privilege of driving aboard the best single-seater on the grid.
Additionally, that first season allowed him to win four events, but his failure at the final Grand Prix of the season in Japan will ruin his efforts to overtake Hill in the final standings.
“It was written in heaven that Williams wanted Damon to be champion in 1996,” said Villeneuve. But that was only a reprieve.
Jacques Villeneuve could have been crowned with it in his first year, which no driver – even the greatest like Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost and others – has managed to do.
An anthology piece
From that first year in F1 we will also remember his famous overtake at the Estoril circuit in Portugal, where he took advantage at the expense of Michael Schumacher, passing him from the outside while a straggler, Giovanni Lavazzi, was in front stood by him.
A maneuver that is still considered an anthology today.
“I told my mechanics that I wanted to try this daring overtaking during the race. My experience on oval tracks helped me and I was successful,” said Villeneuve after signing his fourth Formula 1 win.
Favorite to succeed Hill in 1997, Villeneuve became the first (and only) Canadian to have his name on the champions’ trophy, not without facing the threat of Ferrari and Schumacher in a final twist-and-turn Grand Prix in Spain resist.