BIOGRAPHY OF
JACQUES VILLENEUVE
Born on 9th april 1971 in St Jean sur
Richelieu (Québec), Canada
Height : 1.68 m
Weight : 67 kg
Residence : Villars-sur -Ollon (Suisse) - Monte Carlo (Monaco)
·
The debut
1986 – Jacques Villeneuve is 15 years old when he
takes part to an intensive course for
drivers at the Jim Russell’s
School, where he drives a Formula Ford 1600cc. He immediately shows his talent
from the first lap!
1987- He takes part to another course for drivers, on
a Formula 2000, at Spénard-David’s School in Shanonville – Ontario, Canada and
he runs three races of that School’s Championship.
1988 – In Italy, Jacques takes part to three races of
the « Alfa Italian Touring Car Championship ».
1989 à 1991 – Still in Italy, he takes part to
the Formula 3 Championship and he gets
two 2nd places and two 3rd places.
1992 – Jacques move to Japan, where he takes part to
the Formula 3 Championship. At the end of the season he is 2nd, with
three victories, one 2nd place and five 3rd places. Craig Pollock, his trainer when he was still at the college in Beau Soleil - Swisse
- becomes his manager.
·
1992 and 1993 - Formula Atlantic
1992 – Jacques takes part to the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières
in Québec, Canada, driving a Player's
Canada car and he gets the 3rd
place.
1993 –He takes part to the Formula Atlantic with the
team Forsythe-Green. During the first complete year in Formula Atlantic,
Jacques obtains the title of Rockie of the year, with five victories (one
victory on Gilles-Villeneuve Track in Montreal), three 2nd places, one 3rd
place and seven poles.
·
1994 and 1995 - IndyCar
Always with the team Forsythe-Green, Jacques
Villeneuve takes part to the World Series PPG IndyCar : at the end of the
season Jacques is 6th in the Drivers Championship and he gets the title of
Rockie of the year 1994. During the season, Jacques obtains a victory, one 2nd
place and one 3rd place.
·
1995 - Champion of the World Series PPG IndyCar !
Jacques Villeneuve, still in the team Green, takes
part to his second Championship of the World Series PPG IndyCar.
He is 24 years old and he is the youngest driver to
win the 500 Miles of Indianapolis.
In Laguna Seca, California, Jacques is crowned Champion
1995 of the World Series PPG IndyCar. During that brilliant season, he gets
four victories, one 2nd places, two 3rd places and six poles.
·
1995 - Formula 1 – Test sessions….
On the 1st , 2nd and 3rd august 1995, Jacques
Villeneuve realises his first test session driving a Williams F1 in
Silverstone, England.
On the 16th of the same month, Jacques
officially announce that he will take part to the FIA F1 World Championship in
the 1996 season.
·
1996 – An amazing first year in F-1
During his first season in Formula 1, Jacques obtains the title of Vice World Champion!
Victories : 4 (Europe, England, Hungary,
Portugal)
Pole positions
: 3 (Australia, Belgium, Japan)
Points : 78
World Champ.
position : 2nd
·
1997 – F1 WORLD CHAMPION !!!!
On 1997 Jacques gets the title of
F1 World CHAMPION !
Victories : 7 (Brazil, Argentina, Spain,
England, Hungary, Austria, Luxembourg)
Pole positions:
10 (Australia, Brazil, Argentina, San Marino, Spain, England, Belgium,
Austria, Japan, Europe)
Points: 81
World Champ.
position : 1st
A big professional success and a big
change in private life : his relationship with his girlfriend Sandrine
Gros d’Aillons ends.
·
1998 – F1 Driver for Williams Team
Best result : two 3rd places (Germany and Hungary)
Points: 21
World Champ.
position : 5th
·
1999 – F1 Driver for British American
Racing Team
A year on the track to forget:
zero points and a terrible accident in Belgium, luckily without bad consequences
for Jacques. An important year out of the track: in Barcelona, during a test
session before the Spanish GP, he meets the Australian singer and actress
Dannii Minogue and their love story begins….
·
2000 – F1 Driver for BAR- Honda Team
Victories : 0
Pole position : 0
Points : 17
World Champ. position: 7th
·
2001 – F1 Driver for BAR-Honda Team
Victories : 0
Pole position : 0
Podium : 2 (3rd place)
Points : 12
World Champ. position: 7th
In January, Jacques and Dannii
Minogue split. In July, Jacques is followed at the GP by his new American
girlfriend Ellen Green.
·
2002 - 2003 - F1 Driver for BAR-Honda
Team
Jacques has got many problems in 2002 and
2003 in BAR, until he makes the decision to leave the team, and he is not on
the grid in Suzuka for the last race of the season 2003.
·
2004 – Holidays…. And F1 Driver
for Renault
Jacques Villeneuve leaves the team BAR-Honda and he doesn’t find any
other opportunity to drive for another team, until the second half of the
season, when Renault calls him to replace Jarno Trulli. Jacques drives the
Renault for the last three races of the Championship.
·
2005 – F1 Driver for Sauber-Petronas
Victories : 0
Pole position : 0
Points: 9 (best place : 6th)
World Champ. position : 14
·
2006 – F1 Driver for BMW-Sauber