Jacques Villeneuve...

Now here in europe we tend to slag of old JV a fair bit.

He's a bit arrogant, a bit outspoken, and lots of F1 fans reckon he's well overrated.

YET this weekend, he's in with a definate shot of wining the Le Mans 24 hours, which would make him only the second driver ever to win the triple crown of motorsport, and he'd be the first driver ever to win Le Mans, the F1 championship, the Indy 500 and the indycar Championship (both of them won before the CART/IRL split)

Now lets be honest here, you don't get yourself a trophy cabinet like that without being a hugely talented driver. Even luck is only going to take you so far, and a famous surname may well open the odd door, but it won't give you championships.

So is Villeneuve a modern day great? Or something far less?

Discuss.......

Of course Jacques Villeneuve is an excellent driver, but his father is the legend of the family.

Proof: YouTube - Villeneuve v. Arnoux

I thought his first 3 seasons in F1 were excellent, but his star shone brightly and burnt out quickly. His last season or so in F1 were poor, but that shouldn't diminsh what he achieved earlier in his career, or what he might achieve this weekend.

He is a bit different but a very talented driver in my eyes have had some great races.

He was very good in a very good car. But without having close to the best car on the grid, he never seemed to have the will to win needed. Maybe having been champion, he just didn't have the desire to be a midfield battler?

A fast and committed driver of that there is no doubt....however.

For his championship year he stepped right into a car that had been developed by Damon Hill, renowned as was his father, for being able to communicate with chassis engineers exactly what the car was doing. So he stepped right into the best car with the best engine.

His decision to go to BAR ultimately undermined him and demoralised him. He tried damnably hard with that car, but it was never right, and his comments became increasingly frustrated and bitter. If you watched the Belgium GP practice when he crashed at Eau Rouge in the BAR he was utterly committed. The car was a dog. Thereafter I think his confidence suffered and his abilities suffered as well and his last season in F1 was a bit humiliatating for an ex champion.

You can almost see the same happening with Jenson Button...stuck in the mid field with 'next year, next year' being quoted all the time.

I think he has had time to get over his disappointments in F1 and I am sure he will do well in a LeMans team..where you need bucket loads of luck.

AlfaLincs

Originally Posted by selespeed

Of course Jacques Villeneuve is an excellent driver, but his father is the legend of the family.

Proof: YouTube - Villeneuve v. Arnoux

Totally agree, Jacques in F1, when he was with Williams albeit undoubtably the best car around at the time, was just a very quick driver. But Gilles won in cars that were not especially competative at the time.

Originally Posted by AlfaLincs

His decision to go to BAR ultimately undermined him and demoralised him. He tried damnably hard with that car, but it was never right, and his comments became increasingly frustrated and bitter. If you watched the Belgium GP practice when he crashed at Eau Rouge in the BAR he was utterly committed. The car was a dog. Thereafter I think his confidence suffered and his abilities suffered as well and his last season in F1 was a bit humiliatating for an ex champion.

AlfaLincs

didnt Jaques put some of his own money into building the BAR team?

Best thing I liked about Jacques was that he was always commited at Spa, he once said in an interview that he was never happy with a car until he had gone through Eau Rouge flat out even though the car may have not been able to handle it! He was always refreshingly honest in interviews as well which is not the norm for F1 drivers.

I am watching the 24hr at the moment and it is really good to see him driving well but again the Peugout does seem to be the car to be in.
Having said that the Aston Martins in the Gulf Colours look and sound great. Is it me being a bit of an anorak or is the Blue on the Gulf colour a bit paler than the Gulf colours of the GT40 era?

looked a bit sulky to not get the win
another one for audi at least mcnish got the win

Peugeot were unlucky, amazing pace in the dry. Regulations will have to change before next year.

Sadly they were beaten by the Audi's superior fuel consumption, but if it had stayed dry for the distance then the Audi wouldn't have lived with the Pugs, even with the better fuel mileage.

Originally Posted by AlfaLincs

A fast and committed driver of that there is no doubt....however.

If you watched the Belgium GP practice when he crashed at Eau Rouge in the BAR he was utterly committed. The car was a dog. Thereafter I think his confidence suffered and his abilities suffered as well and his last season in F1 was a bit humiliatating for an ex champion.

That's a good point. During the race didn't he crash into the back of Ralf Schumacher, hurting his back. I don't think he was ever the same driver again after that.