Formula 1 - Ferrari If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari... - Gilles I like thinking Ferrari can build drivers as well as cars. Some says Gilles is crazy. But I say: let him try. - Enzo Ferrari Gilles story in Formula One is not one of World Championships, he never attained that goal. Nor is it about wins, though he did win. But despite not being champion, or amassing win after win, he became a legend. And a legend of epic proportions. Enzo saw the great potential in Gilles when others didnt, and perhaps he was reminded of his old friend Tazio Nuvolari, or even his last great driver before Gilles, Niki Lauda. For Gilles seemed a bit of a mix between the two. Possesing the fortitude to will a car to his demands and push it and himself beyond human limits, much like Tazio. And having the dont give a damn what others think attitude of Lauda. It does seem the old man had a soft spot in his heart for Gilles, but even if so, Enzo was not one to let those feeling cloud his vision of always keeping Ferrari at its best, the best way he knew how, be it right or wrong. And sometimes that meant being a hard ass. But that was the way he operated, and it would be no different with Gilles, even if Enzo did think highly of him. No one really knows for sure just how he or Gilles felt about their relationship towards the end, but thats for later in our story. Gilles first race for Ferrari turned out to be the 1977 Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, a debut at his home must have been a dream come true. It came about after Ferraris number 1 driver Niki Lauda, already having the championship sewn up that year, quit Ferrari with two races left in the year. It was a rather uneventful race for Gilles, he qualifyed 17 and retired with four laps to go while in 12th place. His next race would be the year end Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji. He qualified 20th and on the 6th lap, he ran over the back of Ronnie Petersons Tyrrell, causing his car to flip through the air. Although Gilles was uninjured, a photographer and race marshall were killed, and several spectators were injured. The marshall had been trying to move the spectators out of the area, as they werent supposed to be there. That guy is a public danger. - Ronnie Peterson It was a tragic occurance that Gilles felt much sorrow for, but he felt the true blame lay on the organizers, who should never have let the spectators in the area to begin with. It was with that thought that he made his peace with the situation, and moved on. The 1978 season started with great promise. Gilles showed his skill at the season opening Argentinian Grand prix, qualifying 7th and finishing 8th, one spot behind teammate Carlos Reutemann. It would be a season of ups and downs. At South Africa he would retire with engine trouble, but the next race, the United States Grand Prix West at Long Beach, Gilles would show his worth. After qualifying 2nd, he jumped to the lead at the start and led until lap 39. He was being pressured by a surging Niki Lauda at that point, and when he attempted to lap the Shadow of Clay Regazzoni, he clipped Clays car and crashed out. He would crash in the next race at Monaco as well. Then at the Belgium Grand Prix, he would run a solid 2nd to the dominate Lotus of Mario Andretti, until a flat tire on lap 40 forced him to pit. He came back to finish 4th. That would be his best finish until the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, where on a rainy day, he would survive a race of attrition to finish 3rd, for the first podium finish of his career in Formula One. Every winter, you would reckon on three or four big spills - and Im talking about being thrown on to the ice at 100 mph. Those things used to slide a lot, which taught me a great deal about control. And the visibility was terrible! Unless you were leading, you could see nothing, with all the snow blowing about. Good for the reactions - and it stopped me having any worries about racing in the rain. - Gilles on his snowmobile experience and how it helped him in Formula One He is a bit strange but he surely is a phenomenon. - Nelson Piquet The next race would be the Italian Grand Prix which saw Ronnie Peterson lose his life. Gilles had qualified 2nd that day, but he and Mario Andretti were sent to the back for jumping the restart, and Gilles ended the day in 7th place. From there it was back to his home continent and the United States Grand prix at Watkins Glen, where he would qualify 4th and run 2nd until engine failre on the 22nd lap. But Gilles would save the best for last at his home Grand Prix in Canada, the years final race. It was decided that the traditional venue of Mosport was too dangerous and a course was laid out around the Ile de Notre Dame, a man made island that had been site of the 1967 Expo and had hosted part on the 1976 Olympics. There Gilles would qualify third, and after leader Jean-Pierre Jarier pitted because of bad brakes, Gilles would win his first Grand Prix. He took the lead with 21 laps to go and never looked back. It couldnt have been better for Gilles, in front of a huge crowd of his countrymen, he proved he was a Formula One driver that could win, not just look spectacular until he crashed. I finally broke the ice, this victory was needed after all the disappointments of this last year. This is the happiest day in my life. - Gilles 1979 would be a good year for Gilles. He would add to his win total and come close to claiming the championship, only missing out on it because his teammate was a bit faster. Jody Scheckter joined the team and he and Gilles would prove to be a powerful alliance, taking 1-2 in the championship points. Ferrari provided them with the 312T4. Although it was unweildy aero monstrosity, it had a potent flat V-12 engine, which was a brute. And Gilles set about putting that power to good use, but it was a bad start to the season, being forced to retire at the season opener in Argentina when the engine failed, and finishing a rather uneventful 5th in Brazil. But Gilles would then embark on a winning streak, starting with the unofficial Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, where he bested the field. And come the 3rd race at South Africa, Gilles would qualify 3rd, and take the early lead. A hard rain fell, which caused the race to be stopped for awhile, but Gilles led the way again at the restart. When the track started to dry, Gilles was forced to pit, relenqueshing the front spot. He would regain the lead on lap 52, and hold off his hard charging teammate for his first win of the year. The next race was the USGP at Long Beach, which was proving to be a favorite track for Gilles. He took the first pole position of his career and after a messy start that required three tries, mostly due to official errors, Gilles led from the start and took home his 2nd win of the year. A spin in Spain would see him end up 7th on the day, a finish order he would duplicate at Zolder in the following race. But that hardly tells the story of what a day he had. He tangled with the Williams of Clay Regazzoni, seems he had trouble passing Clay, for some reason. It damaged the front wing on Gilles car, forcing him to pit for repairs. He came back out in 24th position, but stormed back to the 3rd position, where he was running when he ran out of fuel at the end. It was an amazing run that doesnt come across as such just by looking at his finishing position. Should this race have been made by Jim Clark you all would be exultant. You could at least clap your hands to Villeneuve. - Mauro Forghieri after the race I race to be the first even when I cant win, I like racing all the same, for the sake of racing. This is my job and nothing stops me. Should I not think this way I could not be a driver. - Gilles He would run in 2nd place for awhile at Monaco before transmission failure ended his day. But the next race, the French GP at Dijon, would be the stuff of legend. Gilles would qualify 3rd and take the lead early, yet the handling went away and he would fall back to 3rd after being passed by Rene Arnoux. And on lap 78, Arnouxs engine began to sputter and Gilles caught him, and a wild melee ensued thats still spoken of in awe today. He and Arnoux went hammer and tongs battling for the spot. Banging wheels, dipping and diving in front of each other. But in the end, Gilles would beat Arnoux back to the line to take 2nd place from Arnoux by 2/10ths. It was the type of performance that won Gilles a legion of fans and placed him among the all time greats of Formula One. I think Ferrari has a great driver. - Enzo Ferrari after battle with Arnoux I tell you, that was really fun! I thought for sure we were going to get on our heads, you know, because when you start interlocking wheels its very easy for one car to climb over another. - Gilles, on duel with Rene Arnoux At the British GP he would qualify a lowly 13, but made a good run through the field fpr 5th before engine trouble parked him. He would finish 8th at Hockenheim and make an astounding start at Austria to take the lead, only to be passed by Alan Jones and have to settle for 2nd place. His next race at Zandvoort would be another effort for the ages. After starting 6th he soon took the lead from Alan Jones with a wonderful pass in Tarzan. But soon afterwards he would spin, costing himself the lead. He rejoined the fray, but spun again 4 laps later, which saw his left rear tire explode. Not one to give up so easy, he rejoined the race and completed another lap on three wheels, but had to retire when he reached the pits as the suspention had been badly damaged. Its still something folks point to as an example of Gilles wild personality. But in truth, Gilles was fighting for his championship life that day and knew it was in jepordy, which is why he refused to simply park the car after the tire failure. He just didnt have an ounce of quit in him. Gilles was blowing his stack, yelling, Put a f***ing wheel on there! Let me go out again! Finally they made him see the back of the car was a disaster. Then people criticised him for dangerous driving again. His argument was that he didnt know it was so bad. But, believe me, Villeneuve would have gone out again on three wheels! That was the way he was. - Gaston Parent As long as my car goes I drive it. I like racing to the limit, first and last. - Gilles Next up was the Italian GP, in which Gilles ran 2nd all day to his teammate, Jody Scheckter, which would give Jody the championship. Gilles shadowed him the entire race and may well have been able to make a pass. If he had finished in front of Jody, Gilles championships hopes would have still been alive, though by a slim margin. But Gilles knew he had his chance to be in that position himself, and was a loyal teammate to Jody that day. Before the end of my career I will be able to write my name in the world register but should this not happen it does not matter. I race because I like it. - Gilles There was a non championship race held at Imola, which Gilles lead for awhile before banging into the back of Niki Lauda in a fight for 1st, which ended Gilles day. He was the craziest devil I ever came across in Formula 1... The fact that, for all this, he was a sensitive and lovable character rather than an out-and-out hell-raiser made him such a unique human being. - Niki Lauda Gilles would finish the year with a 2nd place at the Canadian GP after banging wheels with Alan Jones. This is typical of Gilles. We are to recognize that he never surrenders. - Alan Jones He would then win the last race of the year, the USGP at Watkins Glen. It was a rainy day, but had quit before the start. Gilles led for awhile before relinquishing to Alan Jones, and after Jones lost a wheel, Gilles cruised to an easy victory. Watkins Glen 1979: During the extremely wet Friday practice session for this race, Villeneuve set a time variously reported to be either 9 or 11 seconds faster than any other driver. His team-mate Jody Scheckter, who was second fastest, recalled that I scared myself rigid that day. I thought I had to be quickest. Then I saw Gilless time and - I still dont really understand how it was possible. Eleven seconds! Jacques Laffite merely laughed and quipped Why do we bother? Gilles is different from the rest of us. He is on a separate level. It had been a good year for Ferrari, with Jody Scheckter winning the WDC and Gilles finishing 2nd. Gilles teamed with two other drivers in an Italian Touring car race in 1979. His team won, but was Dqed.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 11:12:42 +0000
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