Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, OQ, is a Canadian auto racing driver and amateur musician. He is the son of Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle, who was also a racer. Villeneuve won the 1995 CART Championship, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and the 1997 Formula One World Championship, making him only the third driver after Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi to achieve such a feat. To date, no other Canadian has won the Indianapolis 500...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionRace Car Driver
Date of Birth9 April 1971
CountryCanada
Unlike motor sport, I didn't get into music for the live performances. I like writing and studio work and seeing how a song can come to life.
Both Indy Car and Formula 1 work in the same way, although there is a greater emphasis on development and technology in Formula 1.
I had to back off on one lap near the end because of yellow flags, but that happened while we were on a long run so it wasn't really a problem and I did my best lap on the next one, which was my last. The grip was getting better all day, having been very low to begin with this morning. We still have some set-up work to do, but it was okay.
I think it was wrong to take the decision to slow F1 down. It was much better in my day, when it was already a lot safer than it had been in the '70s and '80s, but you could still drive crazy fast.
Winning the Indy 500 in 1995 and the Formula 1 championship in 1997 are very special moments for me, and the people in NASCAR show me respect for what I've achieved so far in my career.
That was a pretty bad lap, ... The car was just sliding around all over the place.
I was happy to ski and play a lot of ice hockey. But I've come back because I was - and am - a racing driver. This is what I do.
Winning is still the reason that I drive in formula one. And the title, as well. I'm not here just to be part of it. I haven't forgotten how to win.
With my father and uncle so involved in racing, it was the only thing I ever knew, so I'm sure that had a huge influence on me. However, my father had more influence on me just by the way he lived, because the way he was at the racetrack was the way he was in everyday life.
I don't understand the concept of always trying to make F1 go slower and slower and slower and have less and less power.
He should give up motorbikes and join us.
He doesn't seem to have the personality for a No. 2: He is a fighter. He's not one who will just accept being behind. He is still progressing, and Ferrari can only be good for him.
I'm always taken aback by the affection that this area shows toward my father. I feel the affection too.
I'm a purist, and I love the sport. I loved the '60s and '70s, when the fans even enjoyed the races where only four cars finished, and they were two laps apart.