One of the best in the business (Jacques Villeneuve)

Member Name: MichaelR

Product:	Jacques Villeneuve
Date:	28/01/01 (17 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Speed, talent, that special "something"

Disadvantages: Talks without thinking first sometimes.

The word "great" is used all too often in Formula One.

To my mind, there are three great drivers in Formula One at the moment. To be classed as great, a driver does not have to enjoy extra-ordinary success. (Although by definition, most of them do) He does have to enjoy success where possible though, but more than that, he has to have that indefinable "something" that makes him stand out from all the rest.

He needs to squeeze 110% out of his car, he needs to go the eleventh tenth, and he needs to produce the extra-ordinary and produce it often.

He needs to be one with the car, make it a part of himself.

Above all, he needs to make you watch him drive and say to yourself "Now there goes a great driver".

All those things are true of Jacques Villeneuve, who wholly deserves to be called a great driver. He's already a champion, in only his second season in the sport, but that's not what makes him a great driver in my eyes.

It just all of the qualities mentioned above really, he has them all.

He really is a true racing driver, the last of the late brakers, supremely aggressive, and able to extract the maximum possible performance from the car.

He is also the only driver, in recent years anyway, to have made the switch from CART without any significant experience in European Formulae behind him and to go well, more than well.

I have no doubt that Montoya will be the second driver to do so (although time will tell) but Jacques is the only one so far.

Just as an aside, I would like to say that I was not surprised at Zanardi's failure. It has to be remembered that he was a failure in F1 already before he moved stateside (frequently outclassed by Johnny Herbert at Lotus) and that CART is mainly full of "has beens" "never weres" and "aren't yets" from the Formula One world. You just have to look at the calibre of e
x-F1 driver that can enjoy a measure of success in CART. People like Papis, Nakano et al.

Back to Villeneuve though.

I believe that he is the only driver in F1 today who could consistently match Michael Schumacher in the same car.

A lot has been said about how Michael "suppresses" his team mates and forces them to bow to his will.

It is true that he establishes himself as the number one through team orders to some extent, but mostly it is not required.

Michael crushes them with pure speed. He is faster, he is in front, he doesn't need them to move over for him, because they are always behind, well not always, but most of the time.

That wouldn't happen with Jacques though. He could match him. Maybe Mika could too, but I think Michael would just about get the better of him.

Jacques though, Jacques would give him a good run for his money.

I would dearly love to see them both drive in the same team. It would be the greatest partnership since Senna and Prost at McLaren.

Sadly though, I don't think it will ever happen. They have a mutual dislike of each other. (Probably stemming from Jerez '97)

Still, we can all dream can't we.......?

Apart from the fact that he successfully made the switch from CART to F1, I also admire him for what he has done, and is doing at BAR.

It must mean so much more to a driver to achieve success knowing that he does not have the best car. To build a team around him, to build it up from nothing. Obviously not single handed, the team is always greater than any one person, but to contribute towards that, to be a part of that building process and to triumph in the face of adversity.

If Villeneuve can win for BAR, and I am sure he will, and soon, it will surely mean more to him (and it will mean more to me) than if he won 3 championships with McLaren.

It would have been so easy for him to do that
. He had the offers, and he turned them down.

It truly is the mark of a great driver, when he can walk away from the chance to drive the best car on the grid in favour of something that requires hard work to get up to speed.

I admire Villeneuve so much for going to BAR and sticking with them, even through the disaster that was the '99 season.

Here's hoping that he can be rewarded for his loyalty.

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Jacques Villeneuve - Grand Prix Record

Grand Prix - 81
Wins - 11
Win Ratio - 13.6%
Poles - 13
Fastest Laps - 9
Points Scored - 197
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