A debut not for the Ferrari team with which he became so closely associated, but for McLaren. So I asked him about it. Instead that place went to Mass, who was behind Gilles when he pitted.Race winner Hunt sang Villeneuve’s praises in his Autosport column that week: “I remember racing against him (and losing) at Trois Rivieres in Canada last year and being very impressed with his obvious talent and professional approach. Others dismissed his opposite-lock, tyre-smoking antics as a waste of energy.Either way, Villenueve was undoubtedly a great driver who knew no other way to drive than flat-out all the time. Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve, better known as Gilles Villeneuve (January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982), was a Canadian racing driver. He was given an ex-Hunt M23, rather than the latest M26, and the race number 40.“In those days we were a team who never pandered to our drivers,” says Caldwell. Sadly the story was to end in qualifying at Zolder – when in a twist of fate he ran into the back of the March of his former McLaren team-mate Mass and was killed instantly.The Formula 1 world may have gained a new driver on July 16 1977, but it lost a hero on May 8 1982.Part One: Getting to know one of McLaren's original employeesThe infamous Turn 14 wall has played its part over 50 years of Canadian GP classics He was replacing Chris Amon – a great friend of Bruce McLaren of course – who had stepped down to run the team. A deal was signed, and Villeneuve was promised some testing and a few races in 1977. We said, ‘How was that?’ he'd say, ‘Great, don't change the car, I'll just go out again and have another go, I'm going to learn some more.’ And off he'd go. What nobody really knew was how good the competition was. The Lotuses of Gunnar Nilsson and Mario Andretti were fifth and sixth, and then – incredibly – came Gilles. It took only until the third race of 1978, through the streets of Long Beach, California, for him to lead commandingly, although he was eliminated by an error of judgement when he tripped over Clay Regazzoni’s Shadow DN8 as he was lapping the slower car.
He was taken on by reigning world champions Ferrari for the end of the season and from 1978 to his death in 1982 drove for the Italian team. He didn't want to fiddle with the car.
Having topped the pre-qualifying session at the start of the weekend – there were 41 entries – he eventually earned ninth on the grid, immediately ahead of his hero Ronnie Peterson and, significantly, the newer M26 of McLaren number two Jochen Mass. He said he was a natural.”In retrospect it was an extremely generous gesture by Hunt. He'd come in and say everything was fine, no trouble with the brakes or anything. The first outing was to be in the British GP.“He loved cars and he loved talking about cars,” says Caldwell. This dynamic young charger eventually paid the price for his dauntless driving style, crashing to his death practising for the 1982 Belgian GP at Zolder, going to his grave suffused with anger after being double-crossed by his team-mate Didier Pironi who himself had won the San Marino GP ahead of Villeneuve – and in breach of team orders – a fortnight before. He soon became a star of the North American Formula Atlantic scene, and by 1976 he was dominating the series.In June that year Gilles was invited to take part in his first race outside North America, the classic F2 encounter through the streets of the French town of Pau. Personal risk didn’t come into his personal equation at all. “He was a hit with everybody. Mayer told him that the team would not be taking up its option on him for 1978, and that he could look for work elsewhere.Mayer did indeed plan to replace Mass, but he opted for another newcomer, Patrick Tambay. Despite this superb showing Mayer opted to sign Patrick Tambay as a replacement for Jochen Mass in 1978, a decision which seems truly unfathomable to this day.Gilles quickly made himself at home in F1. He moved into single seaters, winning the US and Canadian Formula Atlantic championships in 1976, before being offered a drive in Gilles Villeneuve was an F1 sporting personality who became a legend in his own lifetime - driving for McLaren in 1977 This site uses cookies. “Drivers just turned up and drove the cars.
From the start of the year he knew that he was cast in the supporting role to Scheckter, so when it came to following Jody round at Monza, knowing that he only had to overtake his colleague to win the world championship, Gilles’s integrity ensured that he held position and never tried to breach team orders by attempting to pass. He was immediately quick in testing in my last year’s M23 and was very constructive in his comments on the car’s performance.”At that stage it seemed pretty obvious that the new star would get Jochen’s job for 1978. We have noticed that you are using the English version of our web site. He was just our kind of boy. You can't tell how fast you're going unless you lose control of the car.’ He hadn't told us about the spins, and nor had he dropped much on the lap time. He suited us fine.“Then during the lunch break the journalists and photographers started to come back from around the circuit.