Gilles Villeneuve Canadian racing driver, champion in Formula Atlantic racing Date of Birth: 18.01.1950 Country: Canada

Biography of Gilles Villeneuve

Gilles Villeneuve, a Canadian racing driver, was born on January 18, 1950, in the small town of Richelieu, Quebec, Canada. From a young age, he had a passion for racing and often participated in snowmobile competitions in the snowy region of Quebec. Modifying his own Ford Mustang 1967, Gilles Villeneuve began participating in street races and simultaneously started attending the Jim Russell Racing School at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant. He dreamed of obtaining a racing driver license.

In 1974, Gilles made his first official race appearance in the regional Formula Ford championship in Quebec. He won seven out of ten races and became the champion of the entire series. The following year, he transitioned to Formula Atlantic racing. Gilles Villeneuve won the Formula Atlantic championship twice in 1976 and 1977. During this time, he caught the attention of managers from the Marlboro Team McLaren in Formula 1, who offered him a contract to participate in several races in the 1977 season.

In his very first race at the British Grand Prix in July 1977, Gilles Villeneuve finished in eleventh place. He had a few more decent performances, but the McLaren team did not extend his contract. However, he was then invited to join the Scuderia Ferrari team. The 1978 season started off rather poorly for Gilles, but he later found his form and finished the season in ninth place, winning the final race on his home track in Canada. By the way, Gilles Villeneuve remains the last Canadian to win the Canadian Grand Prix in Formula 1.

The 1979 season was Gilles' most successful in his career as he finished in second place overall. This was followed by a disappointing 1980 season and a seventh-place finish in the 1981 season. The 1982 season started with two retirements and disqualification, but Gilles achieved a promising second place at the San Marino Grand Prix. On May 8, 1982, during qualifying at the Zolder circuit in Belgium, Gilles had a tragic accident. His car collided with Jochen Mass's car at high speed, launching him into the air. After flying for about 100 meters, the car landed on the track. Gilles was thrown out of the cockpit and onto the barriers. Doctors fought for his life for six hours, but he passed away without regaining consciousness.

Gilles Villeneuve was married to Joann Barthe. They had a daughter named Melanie and a son named Jacques, who later became a racing driver and won the Formula 1 World Championship and the Champ Car series championship.