Gilles Villeneuve remains unforgotten
06/12/2018
On October 8, 1978, Gilles Villeneuve won the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on the "Ile notre Dame". On Sunday, Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) stood on the top step of the podium for the 50th time. Since 2004 (Michael Schumacher), Canadian Ferrari fans have had to wait for a victory for the Reds.
40 years after Villeneuve's victory in the Ferrari 312 T3, his son Jacques drove a few demo laps in his father's winning car. Gilles' wife Joann (67) was also there and recalls in the "Journal de Montreal": "That was one of the best days of our lives. Back then, we women were still allowed to join the men on the podium for the award ceremony. Now that is no longer possible. Why not?"
Back then, Gilles started from third position with the number 12, just like Max Verstappen this year. After 20 laps, he passed Alain Jones' Williams, then caught Jody Scheckter in the Wolf and was safely in second place. Jean-Pierre Jarier, who was leading the race, was heading for a safe victory with a lead of over half a minute until his Lotus lost a massive amount of oil and he had to retire.
Gilles Villeneuve thus inherited the victory, his first of six in his GP career. He probably had the greatest fighter's heart in all of racing, but unfortunately this was destroyed by a misunderstanding with Jochen Mass in Zolder, Belgium, on May 8, 1982. Soon after his death, the Montreal circuit was named after him.
