Jacques Villeneuve: Lucky or Good?
Depending on which side of the fence you stand on, Jacques Villeneuve is either one of the best and most versatile drivers of his generation or one of the luckiest. He was born into racing: his father was legendary Formula 1 driver Gilles Villeneuve, a legend in his native Canada who was killed in a Formula 1 practice crash at Zolder in 1982, and he was named after his uncle Jacques (who was the first Canadian ever to win a CART race). Since then, he’s built on the family’s legacy by becoming one of only three drivers to win a Formula 1 title, CART championship and the Indianapolis 500 (Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi are the other two).
He’s also tried his hand at NASCAR racing, running a limited series of stock car and truck races since 2007. While the Formula 1 circuit is at the famed Hockenheim track this weekend for the German Grand Prix, Villeneuve is at another legendary circuit: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he will attempt to become the only driver other than Juan Pablo Montoya to race in the Indianapolis 500, Formula 1 United States Grand Prix and Brickyard 400 at the speedway.
However, while he is trying to race his way into the Sprint Cup field this weekend, his mind can’t be too far from Formula 1 racing. That’s because Villeneuve announced this week that he has joined forces with the Italian-based Durango Racing team to put together a bid for a spot in the 2011 Formula 1 grid. Villeneuve was also forced to shut down rumours that the investors in the Villeneuve Racing team include the son of Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi.
If Villeneuve Racing claims a spot on the grid in 2011, he’ll join a short list of world champions to later start their own teams. Jackie Stewart and Alain Prost are two of the former champions who have tried to start their own teams to varying degrees of success.
It’s ironic that the news about Villeneuve’s team came when he was preparing to race at Indianapolis; it was that track which provided an invaluable boost to his career. Villeneuve became a racing superstar after winning the 1995 Indianapolis 500 in one of the most dramatic and controversial finishes in recent memory. Villeneuve was forced to rally from deep in the pack after being assessed a two-lap penalty for accidentally passing the pace car. He caught a huge break when leader Scott Goodyear — ironically — was judged to have passed the pace car ahead of a late-lap restart, handing the victory to Villeneuve.
His victory and subsequent CART title in 1995 attracted the attention of Frank Williams, who signed Villeneuve to a deal to race for him in the 1996 Formula 1 season. While other CART drivers had struggled making the transition to Formula 1 racing (such as Michael Andretti), Villeneuve took to it instantly. It helped that unlike Andretti, Schumacher was put into a position to win with a dominant team that was willing to support him.
Villeneuve won four races in his maiden Formula 1 campaign, eventually finishing second in the Drivers’ Championship to teammate Damon Hill. The departure of Hill the following season made Villeneuve the clear top driver at Williams at he took advantage of this, claiming an additional four races and winning the world title. The last race of the season ended in controversy after rival Michael Schumacher apparently intentionally tried to wreck Villeneuve. Schumacher was disqualified from the Drivers’ Championship while Villeneuve finished third in the race.
Villeneuve’s career would fall off rapidly after his championship in 1997. He would finish fifth in 1998 as the defending champion before leaving Williams for a disastrous stint at BAR where he never finished higher than seventh. Further stints at Renault and Sauber would fail to bring results and eventually lead him to NASCAR. His rapid ascent and sudden fall have led many to speculate that his title was more a reflection of the Williams team in the mid-1990s than his own talent.
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