Villeneuve Story: Formula One debut

«In the summer of 1977 a driver with a sweet look and a fearless heart appeared among the tents of Formula 1, climbed the wire in his Ferrari and for five years traveled along it between somersaults and pirouettes. Then one day he came down and became a legend."

Gilles Villeneuve's arrival in the Formula One circus also occurred thanks to James Hunt after he saw him win the Grand Prix in 1977 “Trois Rivieres”, while he came third. The driving at the limit and the unscrupulousness of the Canadian surprised Hunt who upon returning to his homeland spoke to the then McLaren team manager, Teddy Mayer, with the intention of hiring that talented young man in the Woking team. Which happened quickly: Gilles was offered tests and participation in the British GP that same year, albeit as the third driver and with a poorly performing car, the M23. Nonetheless, in the morning warm-ups he set the best time, surprising everyone, including the mechanics. He finished his race 11th starting from 9th place, a good result considering that he lost a lot of time in the pits due to a malfunctioning water warning light, which forced the team mechanics to check that there was no damage to the parts mechanics of the single-seater. He also got the trophy “Driver of the day”  for the sportsmanship demonstrated during the race. But all this was not enough to convince the McLaren leaders, who preferred Patrick Tambay to him; the young Canadian thus had to wait until the end of August to hope to return to a single-seater, when he was contacted by the Maranello company.

Ferrari, in fact, was looking for a replacement for Niki Lauda, ​​mathematically the new world champion who had decided to abandon the Modena team even before the end of the championship. Gilles then raced the last part of the 1977 championship with the 312 T2, receiving more criticism than compliments: in his home race, which took place on 9 October, he ended up retiring. Two weeks later at the Japanese GP he was involved in a bad accident with Ronnie Peterson: in an attempt to overtake the front part of the Ferrari ended up on the rear wheel of the Tyrrell P34, it rose from the ground and careened in an area that should have been safe but which it wasn't like that. A commissioner and a photographer lost their lives in the crash, while Villeneuve emerged unharmed but highly shocked. Bombarded with criticism from the press and opposing teams, he was equally confirmed by Enzo Ferrari himself for the entire following season.

1978 opened with good expectations: the 312 T2 ran the first two races of the season and won the Brazilian GP with Reutmann, a result probably due to the switch from Goodyear to Michelin tyres. For Gilles, however, things didn't go so well. At the first race, in Argentina, he finished 8th, in Brazil he was forced to retire after a collision with Peterson (again, poor guy). Three more consecutive retirements in the GPs of South Africa, USA West and Monaco: it couldn't have gone any worse, so much so that they gave him the nickname "Aviator" for his constant flights off the track; «When they called me the Aviator it wasn't nice for me. People didn't realize that I was an inexperienced driver and my crashes made the news because I was racing for Ferrari." the pilot once declared during an interview.

A turning point came at the Belgian GP, ​​where he remained in second position for a long time behind Andretti (Lotus), before having to stop in the pits due to a puncture, restarting and finishing in fourth position, showing his true skills as a driver and thus collecting not only the first points in the world championship but also the approval of the fans. Unfortunately, the rest of the season was all uphill for the men of the prancing horse: Lotus presented the 79, capable of exploiting the ground effect, guaranteeing exceptional grip on the track, while the newborn 312 T3 suffered from understeer as well as grip problems. Adding to the concerns were rumors – unconfirmed – according to which the Canadian would leave the team at the end of July to make room for Jody Scheckter, which later did not come to pass. On August 13, in the Austrian GP, ​​Gilles finished third starting from the sixth row and partly silenced the bad rumors circulating about his future. A few weeks later he sent the Monza crowd into raptures by conquering the front row alongside Mario Andretti, although at the end of the race he only finished seventh after receiving a one-minute penalty for jumping the start after the accident in which Ronnie Peterson lost his life . Shortly thereafter, confirmation of the contract extension for the entire 1979 season arrived, with the "clause" that the driver had reached a suitable maturity to no longer make mistakes rookie. After also retiring in the United States GP due to an engine failure mid-race, Villeneuve found the much desired victory in the Canadian GP, ​​his homeland.

In Saturday's qualifying the Ferrari driver was one of the fastest, placing 3rd, two tenths behind poleman Jarier (Lotus – Cosworth). On Sunday, during the race, he fought first against Scheckter and then against his own car, which was afflicted by the stability problems that had limited it throughout the season. Also helped by a bit of luck (withdrawals of Alan Jones and Jarier) Gilles brought the Canadian flag to the top step of the podium for the first time in the Formula One world championship, receiving much applause from his compatriots and seeing his fame increase considerably . Also worth remembering is how, uniquely in the history of Formula One, he opened a bottle of Labatt beer instead of the traditional champagne, as he was his sponsor.

He ended the 1978 season 9th in the drivers' standings with a victory and a third place as best results. From here onwards the Canadian driver's competitive maturity began and, consequently, the legend that was born around him.

Andrea Villa