3/2/2023 0 Comments 1982 jet calendar![]() ![]() He would take an inferior chassis, demand of it more than it had to give, and thus we had the Villeneuve style. There was a crackle of excitement in the air. People sensed that, with Gilles, the impossible could happen. The mystique of Ferrari helped, of course, but it went further than that. Wherever the circuit, the response of the public, as he drove round on the warm-up lap, was instinctive. There has never, in my experience, been adulation and love for a racing driver such as that for Gilles. Those who knew him well liked him enormously, but beyond that there was something of the man which touched fans across the world. The loss of any great racing driver is a blow to the sport, but Gilles Villeneuve was so much more than that. Planning a Grand Prix season like a military campaign, calculating gains here, losses there, was not Villeneuve's style. What mattered was winning races, an instant, intuitive thing, a passion to beat everyone now, today. Driving 'for points' was complete anathema to him, a concept he found impossible to comprehend. Any such list which omits a Moss is already an absurdity, and Gilles himself often said that the World Championship was a secondary consideration, a bonus. It will not remember him as a World Champion, but that is of no consequence. History will relate only that he drove in 67 Grands Prix, and won six. Those who had seen him in Canada spoke of an astonishing balance and confidence and pace, and it was apparent in Europe from the start. When Gilles first appeared in Formula 1, at Silverstone in 1977, he already had an awesome reputation. It was a short career, just over four years at the top of the sport he so much loved. As a consequence, he was secure enough to admit his mistakes, rather than blame the car, and he would look you straight in the eye as he did so. He had no need of yes-men to tell him how good he was. But Gilles's enormous confidence came from within himself. There was no need to surround himself with vacuous hangers-on, as did so many of his colleagues.Įgo is very important in motor racing, essential even. On the track or off, his integrity was absolute. ![]() As a driver he was scrupulously fair, blindingly fast. He was more fiercely competitive than anyone I have ever seen, yet the attraction of the man was that he saved it all for his racing. Many people in motor racing were totally unable to understand Villeneuve.
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