Twenty-five years later, it’s hard to imagine what a huge star Jacques Villeneuve was in Quebec when he became Formula 1 drivers’ world champion.
Posted at 7:45 a.m.
Villeneuve aroused complete and absolute admiration. But an admiration devoid of this familiarity characterizing the relations between other Quebec stars and their compatriots. In his case, a distance remained perceptible. He looked like a prince. A prince who welcomed people’s affections while remaining on his guard. Nothing to do with the attitude of a Guy Lafleur who fed on it to win Stanley Cups.
This partly explains why the passion of Quebec fans for Villeneuve has not stood the test of time. Relations between the two parties have been cast in crumbly concrete. Over the years, cracks have appeared. Today, many young Quebecers are unaware of his considerable successes.
Of all these, the most important occurred at the circuit of Jerez, Spain, on October 26, 1997.
In the last race of the season, he and Michael Schumacher fight for the world title. As is too often his habit, Villeneuve got off to a bad start. But he fights hard, another of his characteristics. At 48e lap, driving just behind his rival’s Ferrari, he rushes into an opening to pass him on the inside.
Surprised, Schumacher slammed his racing car towards Villeneuve’s Williams in order to push it off the track, a dangerous and unsportsmanlike maneuver that would tarnish his reputation. Villeneuve held on and it was Schumacher who found himself in the background.
Villeneuve continues on his way and finishes the race in third place, enough to be crowned world champion.
In a small hotel in Berthierville, where I attend the race with members of its fan club, it is joy. It is in this small town that the Villeneuve clan has its roots, it is here that his father Gilles built his legend, it is here that he was told a last farewell after his tragic death in 1982.
On TV, Jacques, new world champion, answers questions. Will he greet his Quebec fans? No.
I noted it in my column at the time and my idea has not changed: we often had the impression that the love of the Quebec public for Villeneuve collided with its indifference.
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I covered several races for Villeneuve in his first three seasons in Formula 1. His team, Williams, had a solid track record. But he and his agent Craig Pollock had dreams of grandeur. They would create a new team to demonstrate to the tenors of motorsport their ability to compete very quickly with the best.
We know the rest. The BAR (British American Racing) adventure was a disaster and Villeneuve sacrificed potentially splendid years to it. Success never came.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
Jacques Villeneuve driving his BAR at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2002
It’s a shame because Villeneuve was endowed with a formidable talent, coupled with a strong head as evidenced by his disputes with his mechanics about the settings of his car. On the track, he offered a great show.
His first victory in Formula 1, he savored it in Germany, in April 1996, in a breathtaking performance on the Nürburgring circuit. During the last 30 laps, he repelled the onslaught of a Schumacher on the lookout, waiting for an error that never came. A considerable feat, achieved in the lands of the German pilot.
It was at this time that Villeneuve became a public favourite, even people who had little interest in motorsport.
The phenomenon was particularly strong in Quebec, but its fans also numbered in the thousands in several European countries.
His sense of repartee was unique. Thus, after this victory, he declared: “I did not arrive in Formula 1 with the idea of sitting down and remaining second. »
If a TV series behind the scenes of Formula 1 had existed then, like that of Netflix today, Villeneuve would have been an essential character. In an interview, her candor was refreshing.
Two months after his first checkered flag, Villeneuve suffered a serious accident in qualifying for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours.
The next day, despite persistent pain, he took the start and finished second. His guts that day remains etched in my memory. Villeneuve never lacked courage on the track, that’s for sure.
Villeneuve left Williams after the 1998 season, his third in Formula 1. His counter showed 11 victories and a world championship. He never improved on those numbers over the next eight years, an unbroken string of disappointments.
Later, a few lapidary judgments on Quebec society – the education system, public investments, even BIXIs were there! – tarnished his image. Outspokenness has its merits, but it is still necessary to avoid abusive generalizations and overly impulsive rants. Suddenly, we no longer recognized the Villeneuve of the mid-1990s, who so often found the right words to comment on sport and life.
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Yes, it is hard to imagine how Villeneuve was a huge star in Quebec 25 years ago. But what’s even more stunning is how his legend has crumbled over the years.
Fabulous memories remain, like that of his world championship, obtained 25 years ago. But the prince no longer displays the same panache.