Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, OQ, is a Canadian auto racing driver and amateur musician. He is the son of Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle, who was also a racer. Villeneuve won the 1995 CART Championship, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and the 1997 Formula One World Championship, making him only the third driver after Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi to achieve such a feat. To date, no other Canadian has won the Indianapolis 500...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionRace Car Driver
Date of Birth9 April 1971
CountryCanada
My goal is not to be a race-car driver. The reason I'm racing is because I enjoy being in the car and being on the edge.
I'm a racer at heart more than anything else, and that will always be my priority: competing. But ultimately, if you can't drive, you can still have the competitive spirit outside of a car.
I'm a purist, and I love the sport. I loved the '60s and '70s, when the fans even enjoyed the races where only four cars finished, and they were two laps apart.
I want to race in formula one for a lot longer.
With my father and uncle so involved in racing, it was the only thing I ever knew, so I'm sure that had a huge influence on me. However, my father had more influence on me just by the way he lived, because the way he was at the racetrack was the way he was in everyday life.
Starting from 19th place with a full tank and finishing sixth is obviously a lot better than I expected, so it was a very good race for me. The only problem I had was warming up the tires after the numerous safety car phases. We have to have a look at this to improve the situation but otherwise our pace was good.
The feeling I got from rallycross was a little bit more of the NASCAR aspect of it; it's a family of races where racing is a passion, and it's not the politics that come with it.
Both Indy Car and Formula 1 work in the same way, although there is a greater emphasis on development and technology in Formula 1.
Between 1999 and 2004, I experienced firsthand the difficulties and complexities involved in setting up a new team. But I've never been afraid of a challenge.
Everybody just uses the one-move rule without realising when it is too late to actually move and cross over and when it is actually being dangerous.
Some younger drivers didn't grow up seeing racing as being dangerous. They break their little finger, and they are surprised. It's like, 'Be happy it's only that.'
Everything bad about France was transferred to Quebec.
Conserving fuel is fine, and it was great in the past. The problem is that the drivers don't have to do it. It's all done electronically. You sit there, and it saves fuel for you, and that defeats the purpose.
That was a pretty bad lap, ... The car was just sliding around all over the place.