On this date 25 years ago, Gilles Villeneuve passed away on that fatal day in Zolder, Belgium. The impetuous Canadian, carrying the hopes of a whole nation on his shoulders, was not born with a steering wheel between his hands however. He had first thought of becoming a career trumpetist! His attendance at a racing track would spark a great passion within him and mark his destiny. Selling goods and even his house in order to support his young driving career, Gilles would reach a turning point with his performance in Trois-Rivières, in his native province of Québec. Driving in the Atlantic Championship, he would brillantly win the race in front of invited and participating F1 drivers. James Hunt was amongst them, and he quickly suggested to the McLaren Team that Villeneuve should be met. Following a short passage within the British team, Villeneuve would head for the Italian squad of Enzo Ferrari, who would take him under his wing and offer Gilles his best years. After a slow start, Gilles Villeneuve's inner talent won the hearts of Italians, but especially that of Canadians who discovered Formula One with him and encouraged him with all their hope. He would end his first complete F1 season by winning the 1978 edition of the Canadian Grand Prix on the Notre-Dame Island circuit that would bear his name. The overexcited crowd cheered its new hero! In 1979, he followed team orders and did not contest team-mate Jody Scheckter's victory, which guaranteed him the title. Villeneuve became Vice-Champion, with Enzo Ferrari promising that his turn would come. That year also saw the incredible and unforgettable duel between Villeneuve and René Arnoux during the French Grand Prix. Over the following years, Villeneuve would take six victories and give us great moments… Impossible passes, controlled slides, perfectly calculated and improvised techniques.
Lest we forget that occasion where his pit crew had to convince him to stop when a shredded tyre was breaking off pieces of his car, and that famous occasion where he reached the podium despite a bent-over front wing… on a wet track! His last Grand Prix would be Italy 1982. Nearing the end of the race, Ferrari team orders were to slow the pace and to maintain positions. Gilles obeyed orders and slowed five seconds per lap. His team-mate Didier Pironi would not see things the same way and stormed by him in the penultimate lap, taking victory. Broken, frustrated, betrayed, Villeneuve promised that he would never again speak to Pironi, going as far as refusing to cheer him on the podium, where he did not even open the champagne bottle. He who had followed team orders for Scheckter in 1979, Villeneuve swore to take revenge on Pironi in Belgium. Those emotions would be the beginning of the end.
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