posted May 8, 2007

Watching that video displays everything that was right with F1 then and everything that is wrong with it now.

Cars quite literally wheel to wheel at every turn, and able to do so. Two drivers at the very peak of the sport trading more passing manoevres in 3 laps than we get to see in a whole race today. And neither ending up dumped off the track by a Schumacher style chop.

There was plenty wrong with F1 in those days - too many great drivers died. but in putting those right the sport's governing body has also destroyed all that was good. I'm sure that Gilles Villeneuve and the many great drivers that have died over the years are turning in their graves right now at how their sport has become such a shambolic shadow of itself.

But today is about one driver. I raise a toast to truly the greatest driver never to have won a WDC - possibly the greatest driver F1 has ever seen. The epitome of why statistics are meaningless. Gilles Villeneuve. Respect is mandatory.

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posted May 9, 2007

There is just something about Gilles that ranks him amongst the all time greats. He was THE hard charger that wasn't going to move for anyone. His fight with Rene Arnoux in my view is the greatest race between two drivers there has ever been. Villeneuve also has had moments of madness such as trying to drive a full speed with a punchered tyre at Zandvort (1979). I think that Gilles was unlucky to loss out on the title to Sheckter in '79 but those little indiscretions that kept him back. He was also an honerable man who kept his word e.g. not passing Jody at Monza even though he would loose the title. I think that's why he was so angry with Pironi for breaking his word at Imola. That anger pushed him over the limit on that fateful day Zolder. Agreat driver and a tragic lose to the world of F1.

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posted May 9, 2007

ShelbyUK - "Villeneuve, Schumacher, Senna were all great drivers but lacking that little extra professionalism and maturity that was evident with the likes of Stewart, Lauda and Prost."

I personally believe that the "selfish" streak that so many great drivers have in both F1 and other motorsport is partly what makes them great.

TO have that iron will, selfishly desiring more than an ordinary man would. That single minded determination that means a driver WILL drive on 3 wheels (Villeneuve) or with the car stuck in 5th gear (Schumacher).

It is that same bloodymindedness that can make a driver appear unprofessional or less chivalrous at times.

I am afraid it is just part of the psyche of great drivers.

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posted May 9, 2007

Gilles was the best DRIVER of an F1 car of any period. Unbelievably talented.
His first go in the M23, at Silverstone, he spun at every corner. It seemed mad, until he explained that you cannot find the limit until you cross it, and he had very little time to find it!

I still have posters from Grand Prix International in the garage. Only Gilles, no one else.

Nuff said?

My only complaint is, he had to choose my birthday to die...

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posted May 9, 2007

Gilles "le Petit Prince" is the definitive F1-driver. There were no better ones, nor shall there be!

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posted May 9, 2007

I would have to say that Gilles is probaly formulas ones greatest ever hero, even more so than Senna, my hero as a child.

I was only 1 years old when he died but like others on here I have been captivated by some of the old footage and some of the old stories. True genius.

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posted May 9, 2007

He was an odd one was Gilles. He had a massive will to win, but he looked purely at himself and not others to do it. If he was behind, and there was an agreement that his team mate would win, that's what he'd do.

Had he lived and gone to McLaren, what an age it would have been. Senna and Villeneuve racing in the wet.

Sigh....... I just wish he hadn't took his anger out in a totally meaningless practice session, and done it in the races instead. Formula One, even at that time, was still dangerous enough without you losing your head.

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posted May 12, 2007

I remember being fascinated with snowmobiles and formula one as a youngster. I used to read the reports on all the F1 races in an automobile magazine and could not wait to read all the details of each and every F1 weekend. Imagine my surprise when I was reading my favourite snowmobile magazine about a young racer who drove an old school bus between snowmobile races. The writer asked young Gilles Villeneuve what he wanted to do in the future. I almost flipped when I read “ I would like to drive in Formula 1”. I could not believe what I read. Gilles was winning all the important snowmobile races and yet F1 seemed light years away from the ice and snow of Canada. The day the CBC announced Gilles would drive a Ferrari was for me unforgettable. Gilles typified everything I loved about F1. For me it’s never been the same since he left. Salute Gilles!

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posted May 14, 2007

As with many of those who have commented, this tremendous piece brought back powerful memories and not a little sadness. I was 16 when he died and at that age I strangely felt he was somehow 'my' hero, not everyone else's. Now I realise his life (and his passing) reached out to affect all true aficionados of both Ferrari and the sport in general - the world over.

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