Fame isn't always matched by results. Sometimes, like in the case of Gilles Villeneuve, the man becomes the legend.Due to his uniqueness,making his fans dream and beyond simple performance. With his way of being, his courage and his generosity Villeneuve conquered a whole generation of motorsport fans.
His first F1 race was at Silverstone in 1977 partnering James Hunt and Jochen Mass. Shortly after the British race McLaren's team manager Teddy Mayer decided not to continue with Villeneuve for the following year.But in August of 1977 Maranello called. He was then embraced by Enzo Ferrari who's first taught "When they presented me with this 'piccolo canadese', this minuscule bundle of nerves, I immediately recognized in him the physique of Nuvolari and said to myself, let's give him a try.".After his signing for Ferrari he remarked- "If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari...".Ferrari's obvious interest in Villeneuve prompted Niki Lauda to jump ship at Canada in October having already clinched his second championship with the Italian team.
His day came on 8 October 1978 in Montreal. Gilles gave it his all and conquered his first win with a Ferrari after a great race.
Following a puncture in 1979 Dutch Grand Prix, the Canadian wrestled the car back to the pits on two tyres, the right front was in the air and the left rear was shredding rubber and sparking.This is considered begin one of the wildest laps in history.
Gilles' signature race was not a first, but a second. At the 1979 French Grand Prix at Dijon, Renault and Jean-Pierre Jabouille posted the first win for a modern turbo car. Rene Arnoux, running well, looked to make it a Renault one-two. Villeneuve, however on the contrary in a sliding, wheel-banging, tire-boiling duel with Arnoux that no witness to it is likely to forget. Villeneuve's insane insistence that his slower Ferrari could beat Arnoux's faster Renault was rewarded, and he finished just ahead of the Frenchman. It is probably safe to say that this was the most exciting race for second place in the history of motor racing.
Villeneuve died in a 140 mph crash caused by a collision with Jochen Mass during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. The accident came less than two weeks after an intense argument with his teammate, Didier Pironi, over Pironi's move to pass Villeneuve at the preceding San Marino Grand Prix. At the time of his death, Villeneuve was extremely popular with fans and has since become an iconic figure in the history of the sport.
Villeneuve raced in Formula 1 for six years,started in 67 races and won 6 races.In 1979 season, he finished second by four points in the championship to teammate Jody Scheckter.
Like certain other great drivers, including Clark and Senna, Villeneuve was a curious mixture of seemingly disparate personality types.His incomparable driving style was always at the limit and will remain in his fans' hearts forever.His son, Jacques Villeneuve, became Formula One world champion in 1997.
In June, 1997 Canada issued stamps in honor of its favorite racing son.
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