The Canadian Grand Prix was the one that got away from local hero Jacques Villeneuve.
Although Villeneuve captured the Formula One world championship and claimed 11 grand prix victories, a win at the Montreal circuit named after his late father eluded him during his legendary career.
The 53-year-old from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., is back home this weekend joining the Sky Sports F1 commentary team for the Canadian Grand Prix.
“Not winning in Montreal, it’s not a source of sorrow as much for my family,” Villeneuve told Best Payout Online Slots. “More the fact it was my home race in front of my home crowd. It would have been special to have won it.”
Villeneuve actually came closest during his rookie season. After winning the Indianapolis 500 and CART series championship, Villeneuve made the jump to F1 in 1996 and joined the powerhouse Williams team. Villeneuve had a dazzling debut earning pole position in Australia, scored his first win in Germany and arrived at his homecoming second in the championship behind teammate Damon Hill.
The two were close in qualifying, but Hill edged out Villeneuve for pole by only 0.020 seconds and that proved to be the difference.
“I missed pole by a sniff and that spoiled the race for me,” said Villeneuve, who finished the season runner-up to Hill for the championship. “I went for the opposite strategy to Damon and it all depended on getting a better start than Damon. I didn’t and that was it. It was a close call and I came second.”
Despite winning the title, Williams parted ways with Hill and Villeneuve became their new No. 1 driver for the 1997 season. Thanks to three wins — and three retirements — Villeneuve held a slim three-point advantage over Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher in the standings heading into the Canadian GP.
Once again, Villeneuve lost out on pole position by a hair with Schumacher posting a faster lap by just 0.013 seconds. Although the two drivers were evenly matched and ended up fighting down to the wire for the title, Villeneuve’s day ended early as he crashed out on the second lap while Schumacher took the victory and the championship lead.
“Somehow at the last chicane he went on the curb, put a bit of dirt on the track just when I got there and I went a little sideways,” said Villeneuve, who went on to win the world championship that season. “I wasn’t stressed, my heart rate was low. That was what made it all the more frustrating. I got caught out.
“We were miles quicker. I really wasn’t proud of that one. I beat myself up. Then you have to do the walk of shame! You keep your helmet on for a while longer!”
The Canadian Grand Prix had been held at Mosport Park (now known as Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) in Bowmanville, Ont., and Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Mont-Tremblant, Que., before finding a permanent home in Montreal. Gilles Villeneuve was the inaugural winner on Notre Dame Island in 1978 and the circuit was renamed in his honour four years later following his death during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Although the Canadian Grand Prix is infamous for few overtakes and wet conditions — heavy rain and hail already affected Friday’s practice sessions with more inclement weather in the forecast — Villeneuve believes its worth keeping on the calendar.
“It is a special one,” he said. “It is exciting, it is fun, there’s a great atmosphere and everyone parties. It is the beginning of summer in Quebec. It is almost downtown. It is really cool and a great track for racing.
“It is a magnificent spectacle. When I was racing, I had a lot of friends in IndyCar and if they could go to the Montreal weekend they would just to see how impressive it all was compared with IndyCar.”
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is the three-time reigning world champion and has won the past two races in Montreal. He enters this weekend with a 31-point lead in the standings over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who is coming off a win at his home race in Monaco. McLaren’s Lando Norris earned his first career victory last month in Miami and is also closing the gap in third place and 25 points back of Leclerc.
Villeneuve said there isn’t one car that is fit perfectly for the track, but Ferrari might be better suited than their main competitors.
“The one that seems to have the least issues when you mix everything up is the Ferrari,” Villeneuve said. “They are not the best in slow speed and they are not the best in a straight line, but they are good at both.”