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It has been nearly 30 years since Jacques Villeneuve claimed his one and only Formula 1 title, which happens to be the last one earned by Williams.
His first two seasons defied belief, as he stormed onto the grid, coming over from North America and winning Formula 1 races almost immediately.
Villeneuve had already won Champ Car in 1995 and had strong ties to the European racing scene through his father’s exploits. Gilles Villeneuve was an undoubted legend.
In the middle of that championship-winning season, Williams signed him to a two-year deal, with the option of another in 1998.
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Nowadays, a pundit, Villeneuve called the Mexican Grand Prix ‘embarrassing’ and is never one to hold back on his opinions.
Villeneuve thinks Charles Leclerc has realised his fate and that it seems unlikely he will ever be a champion. Ferrari aren’t the team they were when Jacques’ father once drove for them.
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After blitzing the opposition early in his career, it felt as though the championship had a new star at the very top.
Taking the reins over from Damon Hill was a daunting task, but one he handled well under the pressure of having the best car.
Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Villeneuve has now revealed how McLaren’s David Coulthard helped him to win his one and only crown in 1997.
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“They caught me with three corners to go,” he said. “Once Mika was ahead, then I let David past, because we were good pals. So I thought, ‘Come on, that would be nice. We’ll be on the podium together.’ I really didn’t care.
“It’s funny because he gets by me, and then just before the start-finish [line], he slows down as well, because he told me he was thinking, ‘Man, is Jacques champion or not? Am I stealing away his championship?’ It was a very fun and confusing moment. At that point, he was my party dude that year.
“It’s funny, because all the time I spent with him in ’97, away from the track, mentally helped me as well. To take the steam off. That’s why when he was third, and I was second, I would just let him by, as well. It was like a little thank you.”
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Jacques Villeneuve shares how David Coulthard helped him let ‘steam off’ in F1
In an age where social media wasn’t really a thing, Formula 1 was still quite old-school back in 1997. The cars were starting to look a little more modern, but the technology hadn’t quite arrived yet.
The sort of technology which prevents drivers from living a simple life nowadays. They’re some of the most recognisable figures in the world.
It’s something that Villeneuve is thankful for, describing how he needed to go out with Coulthard some weeks in a bid to let some ‘steam off’.
“You need to let the steam off some way or another,” Villeneuve continued. “Back then, you didn’t have social media, you didn’t have cellphones that took a picture every five seconds. It was a different era. We didn’t have simulators. Now, all they do is play on their simulators or do something else.
“We had less races, but we were testing in between every race. It was intense, it was continuous. The amount of mileage we were doing was just crazy. We were training like maniacs as well. So, you needed that one or two days where you could just let loose.
“Oftentimes it would be me calling, ‘Hey, let’s go for a coffee, a little bite, a little drink.’ That bite or drink would end up finishing very late. There’s one race where we almost paid the price, because we had a big party on the Wednesday night before going to Budapest.”
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