On this day in 1982, we sadly lost Gilles Villeneuve, one of the most loved Ferrari drivers ever, in a fatal crash at during qualifying at Zolder. The first F1 race I ever watched on TV was the 1979 Dutch Grand Prix from Zandvoort, when I was 8 years old. I remember how amazing the start of the race was, with all of the drivers jockeying for positions, and trying to get ahead of each other, but mostly, I remember Gilles in his Ferrari, going off track due to a puncture, reversing back on track and then trying to get back to the pits at full speed. What made it even more amazing was the fact that, as he drove flat out around the circuit, the tyre disintegrated, and then the wheel hub ripped away from it's mounting, leaving the the wheel dragging behind the car, and causing the car to "pop a wheelie" along the straights. Most drivers would have slowed down, or parked the car up straight away, but Gilles didn't, instead he kept his foot flat to the floor, dragging the wheel, with sparks flying everywhere, determined to get back to the pits, and get back into the race. On reaching the pits, he sat in the car shouting at the mechanics to: "put a f***ing wheel on it!", and got annoyed, as they seemed to be refusing to do it. It wasn't until he got out of the car that he could see the reason they weren't putting a wheel on the car - Because there was nothing to attach the wheel to - The damaged wheel and wheel hub having been ripped off the car on his way back to the pits. I instantly fell in love with his: "Never give up!" attitude (which would be demonstrated in many other races, such as the 1981 Canadian Grand Prix, where he continued to circulate with hie damaged front wing blocking his view [much to the consternation of Jackie Stewart who was commentating on the race!], until it finally fell off. He finished 3rd, despite the missing wing! Or at the 1979 French Grand Prix at Dijon, when he battled wheel to wheel with Arnoux's Renault - Neither prepared to give in!) I cried my eyes out when he died at Zolder, and to this day, I cannot watch the crash footage because it brings those exact same emotions flooding back to me, and breaks my heart all over again! Gilles was an incredible racer, an incredible person, and a man of honour - I consider myself lucky to have been watching F1 when he was racing. We tout the word "Legend" a lot these days, mainly based on how successful they have been, in winning races, and winning Championships. Gilles never won the Formula One Drivers World Championship, and he didn't win that many races, but he raced hard, and he raced right on the edge on every lap (usually on opposite lock, in a beautiful power-slide! ), and in doing so, he won the hearts of the Tifosi, and he won the hearts of F1 fans in general (he even won the heart of Enzo Ferrari!) - That to me, makes him a true F1 Legend! As I've said many a time: GILLES VILLENEUVE: TOO YOUNG TO DIE! - TOO FAST TO LIVE! Salut Gilles! - Thank you for the memories! RIP
Gilles Forever, we will never forget you, till this day, still the fastest driver to ever sat on an f.1 car......
Nice thread. Gilles certainly gave us our money’s worth. http://pitlane.gr/index.php/en/afieromata/drivers/item/269-gilles-villeneuve-the-last-romantic
Cheap shot. A number of truly great race drivers have been killed on the track, and many others as well. It's a dangerous sport.
Let me first say that I personally don't think this was a "cheap shot" - At the end of the day, there is an element of truth to it. Gilles liked to push the boundaries when racing, like poking a sleeping bear with a stick and running away for fun. Very exciting, but there is always the risk that one day, it will go wrong, and you will get mauled to death by the bear. Gilles took chances, drove at, and sometimes beyond, the limit, and quite often pushed his luck, but until that day in Zolder, he got away with it. To many, he was just reckless, to the Tifosi, he was just unbelievably exciting! His attitude to racing played a part in his demise, but a far bigger part was played by his frame of mind, after being stabbed in the back by Pironi at the previous race at Imola, and a split second misjudgement as to which side of the track the slow moving Jochen Mass would take, going into the left handed "Butte" corner at Zolder - Gilles going to overtake off the racing line, on the right, at the exact same time as Mass moved right, to give him the racing line, as is normal practice. The most remarkable thing about how Gilles went about racing, is that he knew how dangerous it could be. He knew there was a high risk of serious injury, or even death, and it didn't put him off pushing the boundaries. The other remarkable thing about Gilles was, how hard, forceful and: "in your face" he could be in the car, and how quiet and polite he was out of the car. Helmet off, and not behind the wheel, he was almost angelic - Behind the wheel (race car or road car!), he was a speed demon! (as a couple of journalists who grabbed a lift with him found out!) Those of us who got to see Gilles race, either live or on TV, were lucky - He was an F1 barnstormer! Jody Scheckter once said: "Most drivers want to win races - Gilles wanted to win every lap!" I see hints of Gilles in the way Max Verstappen races sometimes, but Max only races at ten-tenths, and not on every lap - Gilles raced at eleven-tenths every lap!
Wrong. You're supposed to keep your line, just so this sort of thing doesn't happen. The mistake was not Gille's.
I don't think that was meant to be a cheap shot. I take it it as just an observation. It was mine at the time, and still is. The more you risk, the more you have to lose. It sucks, but that's the price of gambling. It happened to Clark, that didn't even drive spectacularly. It happened to Peterson, who did. It happened to Senna, in between. They were all quick, very often, and they all payed the price, from apparently, no fault of their own. That too is just an observation. I'm taking no cheap shots. When something looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it's probably a duck. 'Not always; but the more characteristics of a duck it has, the better the odds that is a duck. The same as tempting fate too often; providing a bigger chance of it turning around and biting you. Not always, but the odds, again, go up with the increased exposure to it. It bit them all. Gilles drove the way he did, no doubt, that's why everybody's so excited about him. That also increased the probability of things going awry, for whatever reason. Sorrowfully, it did. Methinks that's what MA meant. Of course I could be wrong, but a more positive interepretation is better than assuming an accusation is in order.
Villeneuve drove at the limit most of the time, leaving himself a very slim margin of error. He was driving through red mist at the time, and that must have contributed to the freak accident that cost his life.
Most drivers would admit they rarely drive all the time at their limit, and prefer to keep a margin of error.
