
The only modern F1 driver at Villeneuve's level
The recent Canadian Grand Prix dug up old memories of the legendary Gilles Villeneuve. F1's current crop is filled with fine talents, but only one driver really replicates Villeneuve's finest quality
For anyone of my generation, the Montreal paddock inevitably makes you think, at some point, of Gilles Villeneuve. In his tragically brief career, Gilles competed at the circuit named for him only four times, finishing first, second, third and fifth - and it was this last result, interestingly, that an old friend and I reflected on over lunch at the track one day.
This was 1980, the year of the dread Ferrari 312T5. If the previous season's T4 had been a success, with Jody Scheckter and Villeneuve first and second in the world championship, time caught up with the lightly developed T5.
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.