BEING JACQUES Skiing taught him everything he knows. His father’s sudden death was the making of him. And no, he doesn’t care for pushy racing dads. WORDS :
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Mark Gallagher
If Netflix had existed in 1996, it’s not hard to imagine a Drive to Survive–style series documenting the Formula 1 rivalry between Williams teammates Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill. Both happened to be sons of famed fathers who died early deaths — Gilles Villeneuve while driving for Ferrari in 1982; Graham Hill in a plane crash shortly after the two-time world champion ended his F1 career. Having finished runner-up to Damon in 1996, the younger Villeneuve, then 25, would go one better the following year, clinching the world championship title despite Michael Schumacher’s cynical attempt to take him out in the season finale at Jerez in Spain (an attempt that would result in Schumacher being disqualified entirely from the championship). It has been 25 years since Villeneuve claimed his Formula 1 title, but he hasn’t stopped racing. Most recently, he reigned victorious during the final two rounds of the 2021 NASCAR Euro Series. At home in Milan, Italy — not far from where his father, Gilles, entered the annals of F1 history as one of Ferrari’s most celebrated drivers — Jacques reflects on
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how it all started: with his dad. In Damon Hill’s autobiography, Watching the Wheels, Villeneuve’s former teammate writes candidly about growing up in the shadow of a famous father. Damon was often introduced as “Graham Hill’s son” rather than by his own name. Villeneuve, comparatively, never gave the impression that he carried the weight of his father’s F1 legacy. “No, I never did,” he says. “I think I was under a shadow as long as he was alive. It was a different era, when fathers loved their daughters but were proud of their sons. It was tough to be a son back then. All I wanted was love, but that didn’t happen because I was sent to school in the mountains, living in someone else’s home, away from my family and away from my dad.” But Gilles’ death during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder allowed 11-year-old Jacques to emerge from that shadow. “The fact that he died saved me, I think in that aspect, psychologically, which is a terrible thing to say, but it gave me freedom,” Villeneuve says. “When I went to boarding school after he died, it allowed me to grow up. I went from last in class to first within a month. And I was ski racing. Suddenly I became me.” On skis, the French Canadian discovered the satisfaction of pure competition. “What I did in skiing, I brought into racing,” he says. “If we would go and jump some cliffs, I would make sure I would jump a cliff that nobody else could jump, just for the sake of it.” As with many drivers, Villeneuve’s move into car racing began with karting. He took a course at the Jim Russell Racing School at Mont-Tremblant in Canada. Outings in Italy in a Group N Alfa Romeo followed, and eventually, he landed a seat with Prema Racing in Italian Formula 3. Then came some decisive moves, starting with selecting a manager. He appointed Craig Pollock, a former teacher from Collège Alpin Beau Soleil in Villars-surOllon, Switzerland. Pollock would remain at Villeneuve’s side for a decade and a half. The shift to Japan to drive with Cerumo was a turning point in terms of on-track performance. Villeneuve then moved into the North American Toyota Atlantic series, in which he finished third in 1993 with Forsythe-Green Racing. The faith in Villeneuve displayed by team co-owner Barry Green and engineer Tony Cicale proved to be a catalyst. “That was super important because Barry and Tony, the two of them together, had my back,” Villeneuve says. “Barry believed in what I could do.” Green so supported Villeneuve that he was prepared to risk losing their Player’s
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