Jacques Villeneuve
Discussion
carinaman said:
That does help.........LOLThank you for posting what I should have
Mr Tidy said:
Well JV wasn't exactly a big success in F1 - and there is usually a reason for that! 
One of the best rookie years in history followed by a World Championship in his second year and he wasn't a big success?Yeah his career went to s
t after he mistakenly joined BAR but people forget just how good he was at the start of his F1 journey.F1GTRUeno said:
Mr Tidy said:
Well JV wasn't exactly a big success in F1 - and there is usually a reason for that!
One of the best rookie years in history followed by a World Championship in his second year and he wasn't a big success?Yeah his career went to s
t after he mistakenly joined BAR but people forget just how good he was at the start of his F1 journey.Villeneuve to BAR was a stupid move, worse even than Alonso to McLaren Mk 2. Great drivers get in the right cars at the right time.... Villeneuve thought he was better than he was and seemed unable to realise how much the car mattered. I particularly remember his embarrassing final F1 stint where all his fans were saying this will be where we all see the real Villeneuve again, we did, but I don't think it was what they meant.
In recent years he seems to have become a bit of a 'rent a gob', but at least he says what he thinks rather than being overly polite.
He admits that not going to McLaren was one of the few times he didn't go with his gut feeling, as this interview shows. Sure, he wasn't the greatest F1 champion if you mean in driving terms but he's his own man and that goes a long way in my estimation. You have to be good to compete at that level regardless.
I'd love it if it did punditry for UK telly. It would be almost as having Hunt back in the commentary box.
I'd love it if it did punditry for UK telly. It would be almost as having Hunt back in the commentary box.
tobinen said:
He admits that not going to McLaren was one of the few times he didn't go with his gut feeling, as this interview shows. Sure, he wasn't the greatest F1 champion if you mean in driving terms but he's his own man and that goes a long way in my estimation. You have to be good to compete at that level regardless.
I'd love it if it did punditry for UK telly. It would be almost as having Hunt back in the commentary box.
He does Italian tv, and it’s fair to say he’s outspoken, no sitting on the fence!I'd love it if it did punditry for UK telly. It would be almost as having Hunt back in the commentary box.
cb1965 said:
He was good as you can't win a WC by being anything but, I would say that if I had to pick the least talented F1 DWC my vote would go to him. He won the WC in a car vastly superior to that of his rivals and even then only just scraped it against Schumacher in a fairly shonky Ferrari. If the drives had been reversed Schumacher in the Williams would have wrapped up the WC with several races to spare.
Villeneuve to BAR was a stupid move, worse even than Alonso to McLaren Mk 2. Great drivers get in the right cars at the right time.... Villeneuve thought he was better than he was and seemed unable to realise how much the car mattered. I particularly remember his embarrassing final F1 stint where all his fans were saying this will be where we all see the real Villeneuve again, we did, but I don't think it was what they meant.
In recent years he seems to have become a bit of a 'rent a gob', but at least he says what he thinks rather than being overly polite.
I agree with this and even though Damon was far from top draw I suspect DH would have beaten him in 1997 in an equal car. I liked JV's style in his first season (great pass at Estoril) but as you say Schumacher ran him very close in a Ferrari that was way off the pace of the Williams. 1997 should have been a cakewalk such was their car advantage.Villeneuve to BAR was a stupid move, worse even than Alonso to McLaren Mk 2. Great drivers get in the right cars at the right time.... Villeneuve thought he was better than he was and seemed unable to realise how much the car mattered. I particularly remember his embarrassing final F1 stint where all his fans were saying this will be where we all see the real Villeneuve again, we did, but I don't think it was what they meant.
In recent years he seems to have become a bit of a 'rent a gob', but at least he says what he thinks rather than being overly polite.
cgt2 said:
cb1965 said:
He was good as you can't win a WC by being anything but, I would say that if I had to pick the least talented F1 DWC my vote would go to him. He won the WC in a car vastly superior to that of his rivals and even then only just scraped it against Schumacher in a fairly shonky Ferrari. If the drives had been reversed Schumacher in the Williams would have wrapped up the WC with several races to spare.
Villeneuve to BAR was a stupid move, worse even than Alonso to McLaren Mk 2. Great drivers get in the right cars at the right time.... Villeneuve thought he was better than he was and seemed unable to realise how much the car mattered. I particularly remember his embarrassing final F1 stint where all his fans were saying this will be where we all see the real Villeneuve again, we did, but I don't think it was what they meant.
In recent years he seems to have become a bit of a 'rent a gob', but at least he says what he thinks rather than being overly polite.
I agree with this and even though Damon was far from top draw I suspect DH would have beaten him in 1997 in an equal car. I liked JV's style in his first season (great pass at Estoril) but as you say Schumacher ran him very close in a Ferrari that was way off the pace of the Williams. 1997 should have been a cakewalk such was their car advantage.Villeneuve to BAR was a stupid move, worse even than Alonso to McLaren Mk 2. Great drivers get in the right cars at the right time.... Villeneuve thought he was better than he was and seemed unable to realise how much the car mattered. I particularly remember his embarrassing final F1 stint where all his fans were saying this will be where we all see the real Villeneuve again, we did, but I don't think it was what they meant.
In recent years he seems to have become a bit of a 'rent a gob', but at least he says what he thinks rather than being overly polite.
F1GTRUeno said:
Mr Tidy said:
Well JV wasn't exactly a big success in F1 - and there is usually a reason for that!
One of the best rookie years in history followed by a World Championship in his second year and he wasn't a big success?Yeah his career went to s
t after he mistakenly joined BAR but people forget just how good he was at the start of his F1 journey.Up against Villeneuve, there was never any doubt as to who would come out on top. The drivers were unchallenged by others and it was just a fight between themselves. It was over pretty quickly. Much was made of Villeneuve leading his first race but the ease with which Hill stayed with him was indicative of who was fastest.
Whilst the gap between the Williams and the rest was not as great once Hill left, it was still the best. The WDC was not settled until the final race and many bet on Schumacher.
Villeneuve talks a good race. He also seems to me to be rather bitter about his own abilities. He surely must know that his WDC was courtesy of Williams' habit of losing WDCs.
He was great fun to watch, mainly because he had the conceit not to follow what others did. Some of his overtakes were awe inspiring although at other times one wondered what he was doing.
A strange chap. I can't take to him, I think because most of what he says is nonsense, said, I think, for clickbait.
wolfie1978 said:
How much of a waste was it having Frentzen in the other car, I remember him being touted as better than Schumacher by some.
Frentzen was the 'contractual' German Williams had to get on board to get BMW to commit to giving them the works engine when it was ready to race in a few years time. Williams simply replaced Frentzen with Ralph Schumacher when it came to the debut season of the engine.Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff