Jacques Villeneuve

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Jacques Villeneuve
Villeneuve in the pits at the 2002 US Grand Prix
Nationality	Canadian
World Championship Career
Active years	1996 - 2006
Team(s)	Williams, BAR, Renault, Sauber, BMW Sauber
Races	165
Championships	1 (1997)
Wins	11
Podium finishes	23
Pole positions	13
Fastest laps	9
First race	1996 Australian Grand Prix
First win	1996 European Grand Prix
Last win	1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix
Last race	2006 German Grand Prix

Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve [IPA: ʒak vilnœv] (born April 9, 1971) is a Canadian automobile racing driver, and winner of Formula One (1997) and CART (1995) world championships and the Indianapolis 500, one of only three drivers to accomplish all three feats (the others being, chronologically, Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi). He was most recently employed in Formula 1 by BMW Sauber as a race driver until mid way through the 2006 season, and is now pursuing a racing career outside F1, including entry into the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans sportscar race.

Contents 1 Early years 2 CART IndyCar World Series 3 Formula One 3.1 Williams (1996-1998) 3.2 BAR (1999-2003) 3.3 Comeback with Renault (2004) 3.4 Sauber (2005 - 2006) 4 Life after Formula One 5 Personal 6 TV Ads 7 Results 7.1 CART IndyCar career results 7.2 Formula One career results 8 Complete CART results 9 Complete Formula One results 10 External links 11 References

[edit] Early years

Born in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, Villeneuve is the son of the highly respected Gilles Villeneuve, a Formula One driver killed during qualifying at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix when Jacques was only eleven years old. His mother is Joann Villeneuve. He has two sisters, Melanie and Jessica (half-sister). His uncle, also named Jacques, was a moderately successful driver in American and Canadian road racing, winning one CART race. Young Jacques, following his family's racing footsteps, first competed in the Italian Formula 3 series from 1989 through 1991. In 1992, he raced in the Japanese Formula 3 series, winning three races and placing second in the championship.

[edit] CART IndyCar World Series

In 1993, Jacques moved to the North American Toyota Atlantic racing series, where he won five races and finished his debut season third in the standings. He moved to Champ Car in 1994, and was the series 1994 Rookie of the Year after a string of strong results, including his first victory at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Driving for expatriate Australian Barry Green's team, Villeneuve ran the new Reynard chassis coupled with the Ford Cosworth engine. The new chassis became progressively faster as Reynard and Team Green developed it, and the results improved, culminating in that win at the tricky Road America circuit. That year he also finished second in the Indianapolis 500, the 'best of the rest' behind the ultra-dominant Penske-Mercedes.

He started 1995 strongly, winning the opening race at Miami. His most significant victory of the year was at the Indianapolis 500. He won in an impressive style, as he overcame a mid-race 2-lap penalty, and thus actually covered 505 miles, lapping the field twice. Other victories included Road America and the Grand Prix of Cleveland on his way to the 1995 CART IndyCar championship. His strong performances, as well as his family name, brought him to the attention of Frank Williams, who signed him to his Formula One team. Villeneuve began testing the Williams F1 car in 1995 after the IndyCar season.

Villeneuve was the last CART IndyCar World Series champion before the 1996 CART/IRL split created two rival series. As such, some feel that his achievements perhaps carry greater weight than his CART and IRL successors', since the "talent pool" of American open-wheel racing drivers was also split, leaving each series with fewer top contenders.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Formula One

[edit] Williams (1996-1998)

In 1996 he moved to Formula One with the Williams team. His début was nothing less than spectacular, as he became only the third Formula One driver in history to achieve both a pole and a podium position in his maiden grand prix. He led the race until an oil leak, and team orders, forced him to slow and allow team mate Damon Hill to pass. He held on to finish second. He won four races that year, reached the podium 11 times, and finished with 78 points — all rookie records which still stand today. The début victory came at the Nürburgring where he held off two time world champion (subsequently seven time world champion) Michael Schumacher in his Ferrari. He finished the season runner-up in the drivers championship to Hill, having taken the title battle down the wire at Suzuka. When the wheel fell off his car, his title hopes, which were already very narrow to start with, were dashed. His impressive debut helped Williams win the constructors championship by over 100 points in 1996.

With the 1997 departure of Hill to Arrows, Villeneuve became the number one at Williams, comfortably outpacing new team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen. In just his second season in Formula One he became world champion by claiming 7 wins, 10 poles, 8 podiums, and 81 points. He clinched the title in dramatic fashion by beating Ferrari star Michael Schumacher in the final race of the year at Jerez. Schumacher, under pressure with Jacques closing in, turned in on Villeneuve as the Canadian made a pass on the inside. The move echoed Schumacher's infamous clash with Damon Hill in the 1994 Australian Grand Prix. The cars made contact and Schumacher ended up in the gravel ("That didn't work, Michael!" exclaimed ITV commentator Martin Brundle) but Villeneuve was able to continue, finishing in third place and claiming the title. Schumacher was stripped of second place in that year's standings, later admitting that the he had intentionally caused the incident. 1997 also saw Williams crowned constructors champions once more, but with the engine-supplier Renault pulling out of the sport, the future was not to be so successful for the team.

“

"You shouldn't do what you don't want other people to do to you, to start with and...you know...if you can sleep with what you're doing, then I guess it's fine for you...but there are a few things that go beyond what I'd do myself..." - Jacques Villeneuve on Jerez 1997[1]

”

Villeneuve's career went into sharp decline following his drivers championship. Remaining with Williams in 1998, he struggled with an underpowered Mecachrome engine, and failed to win a single race. His fifth in the standings was disappointing for a title defence; but considering the pace of his car he could do no better. Two third places (at Hockenheim and the Hungaroring) and a front-row grid slot at Monza were the only highlights.

[edit] BAR (1999-2003)

In 1999, Villeneuve joined the newly-founded British American Racing (BAR) team, co-founded and partly owned by Villeneuve's personal manager, Craig Pollock. There was a lot of media hype about the new squad, but despite the high expectations, BAR had a poor season, not scoring a single championship point that year. At times the car showed a promising pace, Villeneuve running in third place at Barcelona, but often, technical problems ruined his chances. Teammate Ricardo Zonta's lack of experience may also have hindered development.

Autosport magazine speculated that Villeneuve would switch back to Williams for 2000, but he went on to race for BAR until late 2003, never placing higher than seventh place in the driver's championship. The majority of his tenure at BAR is marked by repeated mechanical failures; when he did manage to finish a race, it usually was not on the lead lap. The year 2000 can be considered his best season at the team; with Honda engines, BAR's speed improved, and reliability was also better. Many specialist publications and industry insiders considered him to be the fastest driver that year; his speed off the line was particularly impressive.

Villeneuve was unable to score a podium, but did come close at Indianapolis where he narrowly lost a duel with former team-mate Frentzen. 2001 saw French veteran Olivier Panis stepping into the second seat. Panis was often able to match Villeneuve, but the 1997 champion had the better results, two third places at Barcelona and Hockenheim being the team's first rostrums. The season had started terribly however; Villeneuve was involved in a tragic accident in Melbourne which led to the death of a marshal. At the end of 2001 a major managerial reshuffle took place.

Villeneuve's friend and manager Pollock was sacked, with Prodrive boss David Richards taking over. From this point on, Villeneuve felt less comfortable at the team. 2002 was a poor year, with the team slipping backwards in terms of pace. Points were scarce and it was not until the middle of the year that Villeneuve scored any, a fourth at Silverstone his best result in 2002. With one year left to run on his contract Villeneuve turned down a lucrative offer to spend a season racing in CART before returning to BAR for 2004 and 2005 (a deal which Villeneuve claimed was spoken about but never actually produced for him to sign). Instead, he decided that he would see out his present deal in the hope of landing a role at another grand prix team the following year.

Bitter public rows between himself and Richards over salary soured the relationship further. 2003 saw Villeneuve come under harsh media criticism for being occasionally outpaced by his younger (and less experienced) teammate, Jenson Button. Many critics also questioned Villeneuve's reported $19 million annual salary, given that he scored a meager six championship points that year. However, when the car was fast enough to score points, it often failed under him (he suffered 8 retirements, all due to mechanical problems, compared to Button's three mechanical failures); when it lasted, he was usually ahead of Button. With his stock falling he had few options for 2004 and when BAR announced Takuma Sato as his replacement for the next season, he quit one race early. Sato filled in at Suzuka. After Villeneuve's departure, BAR would rise from fifth place to second in the constructor championship. From 1996 to 2003, Villeneuve competed in 131 Grands Prix, with a total of 11 wins and 13 pole positions.

[edit] Comeback with Renault (2004)

With no contract for 2004, Villeneuve was forced to take a sabbatical, but maintained that he wanted to return to the sport. He continued training and made a special appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed driving his late father's Ferrari. In September, Villeneuve returned to Formula One, driving the final three Grands Prix of the season for French-based Renault. Jarno Trulli had fallen out of favour and team boss Flavio Briatore felt Villeneuve would be worth a gamble. Although vowing to help Renault achieve second place in the constructors championship (ahead of his former team BAR), Villeneuve failed to score a single point, unable to finish any of his races on the lead lap; Renault settled for third in the final standings. Jacques admitted that the enforced lay-off had cost him vital seat time. With the cars so much faster than in 2003, and his fitness questionable, he found it difficult to adapt, and with Fernando Alonso as team-mate his task was made all the more difficult. The young Spaniard proved much faster (going on to win his first title the next season). Just before his 3-race Renault comeback, Villeneuve signed a two-year contract to drive for Sauber, starting in 2005.

[edit] Sauber (2005 - 2006)

His Sauber debut at the Australian Grand Prix was remarkable only for his (weather assisted) P4 starting position. For the opening three races he was the slowest driver on Michelin tyres and rumours began to spread that he would soon be replaced. The rumours proved unfounded and at Imola he managed to score his first points for the team. The pressure was soon back on him when he forced team-mate Felipe Massa off the track when attempting an over-ambitious overtaking move in Monaco, ruining both their races.

Towards the end of the season, his pace improved and he scored more points at Belgium, moving ahead of Massa in the championship tables, although Massa repassed him after finishing 6th in the season finale in China. In terms of speed, the two team-mates were fairly evenly matched by the end of the year. Massa was later drafted into Ferrari to support Michael Schumacher's 2006 campaign.

After much uncertainty, in late 2005 BMW confirmed that Villeneuve would race for BMW Sauber in 2006. GP2 frontrunner Heikki Kovalainen and Indycar champion Dan Wheldon had both been linked with the seat, but BMW opted to honour Villeneuve's contract; to cut the contract would possibly have been an expensive exercise for the marque, and Villeneuve was popular with the sponsors and team personnel.

After the first several races of 2006, neither Villeneuve nor teammate Nick Heidfeld was clearly superior to the other (7: 13 in points). Following a crash at Hockenheim, BMW opted to allow test driver Robert Kubica to race in Villeneuve's place for the forthcoming Hungarian GP. Kubica drove to a solid seventh place, despite the chaotic wet conditions (but was later disqualified because his car was too light). Within days, BMW and Villeneuve announced that they had parted company with immediate effect.^[2] The reason for his departure was later revealed that he simply didn't want to be a part of a potential "shoot-out" with test driver Robert Kubica, feeling that he had proven himself already.^[3]

[edit] Life after Formula One

In a recent interview with Autosport magazine, Villeneuve's manager Craig Pollock confirmed that the Canadian is done with F1 and is now linked with a NASCAR switch.^[4] When asked about the rumor he neither denied nor confirmed but did say that if he was to drive in NASCAR, it would be at the NEXTEL Cup level.

On January 10, 2007, Villeneuve was confirmed as a driver for Peugeot Sport in their launch of the 908 diesel-powered Le Mans prototype. Villeneuve was be one of the team's third drivers for the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was his first drive in a sportscar since working with Toyota in 1993. If he wins the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he would become the first person to win the F1 Championship, Champ Car Championship, Indianapolis 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.^[5]

[edit] Personal

When not racing, Villeneuve lives between Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland and Montreal, Canada. Villeneuve was among the first group inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. He was also named Canada's Athlete of the Year, receiving the Lou Marsh Trophy in 1995 and 1997. In 1998, he was made an Officer of the National Order of Quebec.

Villeneuve was previously engaged to Australian singer Dannii Minogue in the late 1990s and was once engaged to American ballerina Elly Green. In a 1999 interview, Johnny Herbert stated that "Jacques is a computer games junkie; every time I see him, he's wrapped up in a new one". [1]Villeneuve appeared briefly in the 2001 Sylvester Stallone action movie Driven as a race car driver. He married his Parisienne girlfriend Johanna Martinez on May 29, 2006, at a civil ceremony in Switzerland. After the ceremony, it was announced the Villeneuves were expecting a baby in November. Johanna gave birth to a son, Jules, on November 14, 2006.

In January 2007, Villeneuve purchased a $3 million home in Westmount in Montreal. His mother was the real estate agent responsible for the sale of the home. [2] Jacques owns a trendy nightclub and restaurant in Montreal called Newtown, which is the English translation of his French last name ('Ville' means 'Town', and 'Neuve' means 'new'). It is located on Crescent Street, one of Montreal's hottest nightspots.

Following his relationship with Dannii Minogue, Villeneuve explored singing. In 2006 he released his first commercial single 'Accepterais-tu', a French song with lyrics that fit well with his present personal status - asking his loved one to marry him. The launch was held at his café.^{[citation needed]} On February 19th, 2007, Villeneuve released his first album entitled “Private Paradise”. The launch was held at his café, where he performed two songs in front of a crowd largely composed of news reporters. When asked about his expectations on the album he released the following statement: “I hope the album makes a great success. I would never do something hoping to get criticized.” [3] His new record had very low sales; as of March 9th, 2007, only 233 copies were sold in the entire province of Quebec and about 30 outside of Quebec and Canada. [4]

[edit] TV Ads

Jacques Villeneuve has appeared in various TV commercials for Honda when he was driving for the BAR team. In March 2006, Jacques Villeneuve appeared in television campaign for Intel's Centrino Laps campaign, in which he touts the benefits of using Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology. The ad can be viewed here

Villeneuve also appeared in a Canadian commercial alongside Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter and countryman Donovan Bailey shortly after winning his 1997 F1 World Driver's title. The ad proclaimed Canada to be the "fastest nation on earth."

[edit] Results

[edit] CART IndyCar career results

• 1994 CART IndyCar season — Players - Forsythe-Greene —
  • Rookie of the Year
• 1995 CART IndyCar season — Players - Forsythe-Greene —
  • Series Champion
  • 1995 Indianapolis 500 Champion – racing 505 miles due to two lap penalty incurred by passing the pacecar while in the lead.

[edit] Formula One career results

• 1996 — Williams-Renault — 4 wins, 78 points (finished 2nd)
• 1997 — Williams-Renault — 7 wins, 81 points (World Champion)
• 1998 — Williams-Mecachrome — 0 wins, 21 points (finished 5th)
• 1999 — BAR-Supertec — 0 wins, 0 points (finished: 21st)
• 2000 — BAR-Honda — 0 wins, 17 points (finished 7th)
• 2001 — BAR-Honda — 0 wins, 12 points (finished 8th)
• 2002 — BAR-Honda — 0 wins, 4 points (finished 12th)
• 2003 — BAR-Honda — 0 wins, 6 points (finished 16th)
• 2004 — Renault — 0 wins, 0 points (finished 22nd)
• 2005 — Sauber-Petronas — 0 wins, 9 points (finished 14th)
• 2006 — BMW Sauber — 0 wins, 7 points (finished 15th)

[edit] Complete CART results

• Races in bold designate pole position.

(key)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Team	Rank	Points
1994	Team Green	SUR 17	PHX 25	LBH 15	IND 2	MIL 9	DET 7	POR 6	CLE 4	TOR 9	MIC 20	MID 9	NHA 24	VAN 24	ROA 1	NAZ 7	LAG 3		Team Green	6th	94
1995	Team Green	MIA 1	SUR 20	PHX 5	LBH 25	NAZ 2	IND 1	MIL 6	DET 9	POR 20	ROA 1	TOR 3	CLE 1	MIC 10	MID 3	NHA 4	VAN 12	LAG 11	Team Green	1st	172

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Team	WDC	Points
1996	Williams	AUS 2	BRA Ret	ARG 2	EUR 1	SMR 11	MON Ret	ESP 3	CAN 2	FRA 2	GBR 1	GER 3	HUN 1	BEL 2	ITA 7	POR 1	JPN Ret				Williams	2nd	78
1997	Williams	AUS Ret	BRA 1	ARG 1	SMR Ret	MON Ret	ESP 1	CAN Ret	FRA 4	GBR 1	GER Ret	HUN 1	BEL 5	ITA 5	AUT 1	LUX 1	JPN DSQ	EUR 3			Williams	1st	81
1998	Williams	AUS 5	BRA 7	ARG Ret	SMR 4	ESP 6	MON 5	CAN 10	FRA 4	GBR 7	AUT 6	GER 3	HUN 3	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	LUX 8	JPN 6				Williams	5th	21
1999	BAR	AUS Ret	BRA Ret	SMR Ret	MON Ret	ESP Ret	CAN Ret	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	AUT Ret	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL 15	ITA 8	EUR 10	MYS Ret	JPN 9				BAR	21st	0
2000	BAR	AUS 4	BRA Ret	SMR 5	GBR 16	ESP Ret	EUR Ret	MON 7	CAN 15	FRA 4	AUT 4	GER 8	HUN 12	BEL 7	ITA Ret	USA 4	JPN 6	MYS 5			BAR	7th	17
2001	BAR	AUS Ret	MYS Ret	BRA 7	SMR Ret	ESP 3	AUT 8	MON 4	CAN Ret	EUR 9	FRA Ret	GBR 8	GER 3	HUN 9	BEL 8	ITA 6	USA Ret	JPN 10			BAR	7th	12
2002	BAR	AUS Ret	MYS 8	BRA 10	SMR 7	ESP 7	AUT 10	MON Ret	CAN Ret	EUR 12	GBR 4	FRA Ret	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL 8	ITA 9	USA 6	JPN Ret			BAR	12th	4
2003	BAR	AUS 9	MYS Ret	BRA 6	SMR Ret	ESP Ret	AUT 12	MON Ret	CAN Ret	EUR Ret	FRA 9	GBR 10	GER 9	HUN Ret	ITA 6	USA Ret	JPN				BAR	16th	6
2004	Renault	AUS	MYS	BAH	SMR	ESP	MON	EUR	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	CHN 11	JPN 10	BRA 10		Renault	22nd	0
2005	Sauber	AUS 13	MYS Ret	BAH 11	SMR 4	ESP Ret	MON 11	EUR 13	CAN 9	USA DNS	FRA 8	GBR 14	GER 15	HUN Ret	TUR 11	ITA 11	BEL 6	BRA 12	JPN 12	CHN 10	Sauber	14th	9
2006	BMW	BAH Ret	MYS 7	AUS 6	SMR 12	EUR 8	ESP 12	MON 14	GBR 8	CAN Ret	USA Ret	FRA 11	GER Ret	HUN Inj	TUR	ITA	CHN	JPN	BRA		BMW	15th	7

[edit] External links

• The official website for Jacques Villeneuve
• The official music website for Jacques Villeneuve
• Jacques Villeneuve's restaurant and club "Newtown"
• Jacques Villeneuve Profile and Statistics
• Villeneuve career statistics
• Villeneuve to drive for BMW in 2006
• Jacques Villeneuve Statistics
• BMW Sauber F1 website
• Intel's Driven to Perform website
• Villeneuve parts company with BMW Sauber
• Pollock: Villeneuve done in F1
• Jacques Villeneuve on The Hour

[edit] References

Sporting positions
Preceded by Nigel Mansell	CART Rookie of the Year 1994	Succeeded by Gil de Ferran
Preceded by Al Unser, Jr.	Indianapolis 500 Winner 1995	Succeeded by Buddy Lazier
Preceded by Al Unser Jr	CART Series Champion 1995	Succeeded by Jimmy Vasser
Preceded by Damon Hill	Formula One World Champion 1997	Succeeded by Mika Häkkinen
Preceded by Myriam Bédard	Lou Marsh Trophy winner 1995	Succeeded by Donovan Bailey
Preceded by Donovan Bailey	Lou Marsh Trophy winner 1997	Succeeded by Larry Walker

Indianapolis 500 Winners

Four-time winners A. J. Foyt • Al Unser, Sr. • Rick Mears Three-time winners Meyer • Shaw • Rose • Rutherford • B. Unser Two-time winners Milton • Vukovich • Ward • Johncock • Fittipaldi • Luyendyk • Unser, Jr. • Castroneves One win Harroun • Dawson • Goux • Thomas • DePalma • Resta • Wilcox • Chevrolet • Murphy • Corum • Boyer • DePaolo • Lockhart • Souders • Keech • Arnold • Schneider • Frame • Cummings • Petillo • Roberts • Davis • Robson • Holland • Parsons • Wallard • Ruttman • Sweikert • Flaherty • Hanks • Bryan • Rathmann • Jones • Clark • Hill • Andretti • Donohue • Sneva • Sullivan • Rahal • Villeneuve • Lazier • Cheever • Brack • Montoya • de Ferran • Rice • Wheldon • Hornish