Jacques Villeneuve

Race Car Driver

Jacques Villeneuve was born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Montérégie, Quebec, Canada on April 9th, 1971 and is the Race Car Driver. At the age of 53, Jacques Villeneuve biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.

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Other Names / Nick Names
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, JV
Date of Birth
April 9, 1971
Nationality
Canada
Place of Birth
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Montérégie, Quebec, Canada
Age
53 years old
Zodiac Sign
Aries
Networth
$50 Million
Profession
Racing Automobile Driver, Sports Commentator
Jacques Villeneuve Height, Weight, Eye Color and Hair Color

At 53 years old, Jacques Villeneuve has this physical status:

Height
168cm
Weight
68kg
Hair Color
Light Brown
Eye Color
Blue
Build
Athletic
Measurements
Not Available
Jacques Villeneuve Religion, Education, and Hobbies
Religion
Not Available
Hobbies
Not Available
Education
Not Available
Jacques Villeneuve Spouse(s), Children, Affair, Parents, and Family
Spouse(s)
Camilla Lopez
Children
Not Available
Dating / Affair
Martina Hingis, Natalie Imbruglia, Vanessa Mae, Dannii Minogue (1999-2001), Ellie Green, Johanna Martinez (2006-2009), Camilla Lopez (2012-Present)
Parents
Gilles Villeneuve, Joann Villeneuve
Siblings
Melanie Villeneuve (Sister)
Other Family
Jacques Villeneuve Sr. (Paternal Uncle) (Former Professional Racing Driver), Jessica Villeneuve (Half-Sister), Seville Villeneuve (Paternal Grandfather) (d. 1987), Georgette Coupal Villeneuve (Paternal Grandmother) (d. 2008)
Jacques Villeneuve Career

Villeneuve's mother was aware from when he was five that he wanted to race, and he went go-karting with his uncle several times in Canada. In May 1982, his father died in an accident with Jochen Mass during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit Zolder. Jacques became less interested in motor racing after that, fearing the sport's dangers. In 1984, he asked his mother if he could do motor racing like his father. Villeneuve's mother agreed to let him race on the condition he improved his academic performance in one of his weakest subjects, mathematics. Though his mother preferred him to do a course in aerodynamic or mechanical engineering, she did not discourage her son from pursuing racing. In early September 1985, Villeneuve was invited by a SAGIS employee to race in 100 cc go-kart at Italy's Imola Circuit. He impressed the track owners so much that they let him test a 135 cc kart and then a Formula Four car. In July 1986, his uncle enrolled him in the Jim Russell Racing Driver School in Mont Tremblant, where he passed a three-day course driving a Formula Ford 1600 car from Van Diemen.

In mid-1987, he left his family to attend the Spenard-David Racing School in Shannonville, Ontario to hone his abilities under Richard Spenard. Villeneuve did not have the money to pay for the course and his mother would not fund it because she thought Jacques finishing his education was more important. He, therefore, worked in a mechanics' training programme allowing students to learn racing in return for garage painting. Aged 17, Villeneuve was invited to make his car racing debut in the Italian Touring Car Championship, driving a Salerno Course-entered Group N Alfa Romeo 33 car for three rounds of the 1988 season. The Canadian and Italian authorities would not grant him a licence since he was a year younger than their minimum age requirement, so he obtained an international racing licence in Andorra with Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs aid. Villeneuve performed poorly in each of the three rounds.

He went on to sign a three-year contract to drive a Reynard-Alfa Romeo car for Prema in the Italian Formula Three Championship, a deal that was aided by the squad obtaining sponsorship from the Camel cigarette company. Initially struggling to drive a Formula 3 car, he enrolled at the Magione Driving School. Under Henry Morrogh's direction, he gradually developed his character and driving technique. Villeneuve did not qualify five times, failed to finish three of the eleven races, and scored no points. In the 1990 season, he qualified for each of the 12 rounds and scored ten points for 14th in the Drivers' Championship. Villeneuve was considered a title favourite for the 1991 championship. A late-season switch to the Ralt RT35 chassis failed to improve his performance, but he still finished sixth overall with 20 points and 3 podiums. In late 1991, Villeneuve finished eighth in both the Macau Grand Prix and the Formula 3 Fuji Cup.

Dissatisfied with his management in 1991, he asked former Beausoleil sports administrator and motor racing promoter Craig Pollock to take over his management three times. For the 1992 season, he wanted to compete in Formula 3000 in Europe with Prema, but did not have the funding to compete with the top teams. Villeneuve accepted an offer to relocate to Japan and drive a Toyota 032F car for the TOM'S squad in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship in 1992 following advice from Tambay. He felt the Japanese series was almost as good as the Italian one, and he did not want to remain in Europe. Villeneuve was the only driver to receive works support from TOM'S, and he got driver training. He won three races and finished no lower than sixth nine times, earning second in the Drivers' Championship and 45 points. People in the racing world observed that ten years after his father's death, Villeneuve was becoming a well-known racer. In August, Pollock negotiated an contract for Villeneuve to enter the Formula Atlantic street event at Trois-Rivières in the 1992 Atlantic Championship. He finished third in the No. 49 Swift DB-4-Toyota car lent by the ComPred team. In addition, he also tested a C Class Toyota that year and was mentored by driver Roland Ratzenberger.

Four months later, Villeneuve accepted an invite to share a C Class TOM'S-entered Toyota TS010 car with Eddie Irvine and Tom Kristensen at the final round of the 1992 All Japan Sports Prototype Car Endurance Championship at Mine Circuit, finishing fourth. He was fourth at the Macau Grand Prix for TOM'S. In Trois-Rivières, Villeneuve met crew chief Barry Green who wanted a driver for his new Forsythe-Green Racing squad. He accepted a three-year contract from Green with personal sponsorship from sports marketing arm Player's November 1992. He raced the lower-tier 1993 Atlantic Championship which featured more powerful cars with more grip and downforce to become better acquainted with American open-wheel racing before progressing to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) in 1994. Villeneuve built a close working relationship with aerodynamicist Tony Cicale. Driving the No. 10 Ralt RT40-Toyota car, Villeneuve won five races and finished in the top three four times for third overall and 185 points after a season-long duel with David Empringham and teammate Claude Bourbonnais. He was named the series' Rookie of the Year, and ended 1993 retiring from the Macau Grand Prix driving a March Racing Ralt 93C-Fiat car.

Formula One career

In early 1995, the Williams F1 team and engine supplier Renault became interested in Villeneuve replacing the outgoing David Coulthard. Bernie Ecclestone, F1's commercial rights holder, saw this as an opportunity to lure Villeneuve from CART although Team Green wanted him to remain in America. Technical director Patrick Head and team principal Frank Williams gave Villeneuve a test in a FW17 car at Britain's Silverstone Circuit in August 1995. He lapped two seconds slower than driver Damon Hill. Negotiations between Villeneuve's representatives in mid-1995 led to Villeneuve signing a contract for 1996 and 1997 with the option for the 1998 season. He was sent by Frank Williams to cover 6,000 mi (9,700 km) in testing during the six-month pre-season period testing on permanent European racing circuits, and he also prepared by learning the circuits on a simulation computer game.

He drove the docile FW18 car equipped with a powerful, reliable Renault engine and a better gearbox. Villeneuve built up a rapport with his race engineer Jock Clear and learnt from his teammate Hill. Although not considered a title favourite by the media, he contended for the World Drivers' Championship with Hill but never led the standings. Villeneuve's debut at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix saw him become the third driver ever to claim pole position on his first start, and despite an oil leak, he finished second. He beat Ferrari's Michael Schumacher in the European Grand Prix three races later for his maiden F1 victory. Villeneuve scored points in eight of the next eleven events and won the British Grand Prix, the Hungarian Grand Prix and the Portuguese Grand Prix. Entering the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix, he had nine fewer points than Hill, requiring him to win the event and for Hill to score no points to claim the title. However, Villeneuve's right-rear tyre came off his car, forcing him to retire from the race. He finish runner-up to Hill in the drivers' standings with 78 points in his maiden season. Villeneuve was the first rookie to achieve four Grand Prix victories in his debut year and the first to finish runner-up overall.

Before the 1997 season, Hill moved to the Arrows team, resulting in Villeneuve's promotion to lead driver. He was paired with Heinz-Harald Frentzen. He and Schumacher vied for that year's World Drivers' Championship and variously shared the title lead. Villeneuve trained extensively and drove an aerodynamically efficient and powerful FW19 car designed around him. He won seven Grands Prix and qualified on pole position eight times in the first 14 races. At the season's penultimate race, the Japanese Grand Prix, he had a chance to win the championship but was banned for overtaking under yellow flag conditions twice during practice. He was allowed to race under appeal but was disqualified from fifth when the appeal was rejected. Before the season-ending European Grand Prix, Villeneuve had 77 points, one fewer than Schumacher, requiring him to finish in the top six and ahead of Schumacher to win the championship. During qualifying, Villeneuve, Schumacher and Frentzen all set the exact same lap time, but Villeneuve started from pole position per F1 regulations because he was the first driver to set the time. Villeneuve and Schumacher were involved in a collision that saw Schumacher careen into a gravel trap, giving the title to Villeneuve. He was the second driver (after Mario Andretti) to win the F1 World Championship, the CART title and the Indianapolis 500. He was also Canada's first F1 World Champion.

Villeneuve threatened to leave F1 and return to CART if F1 introduced grooved tyres and narrower cars for the 1998 season. Though these changes were adopted, he remained at Williams with Frentzen. Villeneuve's FW20 car had one-year old Mecachrome-branded engines after Renault's withdrawal from F1 after the 1997 season, which transported to be noncompetitive. He scored points at nine Grands Prix with a season-high third at each of the German Grand Prix and at the following Hungarian Grand Prix. During practice for the Belgian Grand Prix, he lost control of his car in Eau Rouge corner and crashed backwards into the barrier at approximately 170 mph (270 km/h). Villeneuve was unhurt. With 21 points, he finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship.

He left Williams following the 1998 season. McLaren technical director Adrian Newey, who liked Villeneuve's performance and who Villeneuve respected, offered him employment for the 1999 season, but Villeneuve rejected it. He instead signed a contract to drive with the new British American Racing (BAR) team founded by Pollock and British American Tobacco following their late 1997 purchase of the financially struggling Tyrrell team. Villeneuve joined the team because he sought to emulate Schumacher's style of basing a team around him and employing highly skilled people to get from the bottom of the running order to the top.

Villeneuve was joined at BAR by former McLaren test driver Ricardo Zonta for most of the season and then by Mika Salo for three Grands Prix. His BAR 01 car was efficient and fast but chronically unreliable. He failed to finish each of the first eleven races due to either mechanical trouble or crashing. Villeneuve was only able to finish four Grands Prix with a best finish of eighth at the Italian Grand Prix. Villeneuve qualified a season-high fifth at the San Marino Grand Prix and was briefly third in the Spanish Grand Prix two events later before retiring. During qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, he suffered a high-speed crash through Eau Rouge corner, which destroyed his car but left him uninjured. He tallied no points towards the Drivers' Championship.

For the 2000 season, his BAR 002 car had a more reliable and powerful works Honda engine, and Zonta was again his teammate. Villeneuve finished fourth at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and scored two more points by placing fifth at the San Marino Grand Prix two races later. He also finished fourth at the French Grand Prix, the Austrian Grand Prix and the United States Grand Prix. Villeneuve scored points in the final two races by finishing sixth at the Japanese Grand Prix and fifth at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Overall, his performances had improved from 1999 due to a better built and more reliable car. Villeneuve finished the season seventh in the Drivers' Championship with 17 points.

There were rumours of Villeneuve leaving the BAR team after 2000. He talked to Benetton, Ferrari and McLaren about racing with them in the 2001 championship. Villeneuve later admitted McLaren was not an option since his management team got accused of conducting early season publicity and he disliked McLaren's corporate methodology. Villeneuve also considered taking a sabbatical, but he ultimately signed a three-year contract extension with BAR in July 2000. He obtained a get-out clause enabling him to leave BAR should they under-perform.

He was joined by Olivier Panis, and the 003 car he drove was approximately 30 kg (66 lb) lighter than the 002 chassis. Villeneuve was cordial with his teammate since they could talk to each other in French, and set himself the goal of winning a race and finishing third in the Drivers' Championship. His car was fairly reliable but lacked rear grip and straight-line speed due to an underpowered Honda engine. At the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Villeneuve struck the rear of Ralf Schumacher's car, launching him into the air. One of Villeneuve's car's wheels struck marshal Graham Beveridge, killing him. Villeneuve achieved BAR's first two podium results, finishing third at both the Spanish Grand Prix and the German Grand Prix. He finished the season seventh in the Drivers' Championship with 12 points. Although he scored five fewer points than the year before, Villeneuve qualified higher than Panis eleven times in 2001.

Before the 2002 season Villeneuve remained at BAR. He talked to team principal Flavio Briatore, who offered him a seat at Renault in lieu of Jenson Button but Villeneuve rejected it. Villeneuve ultimately opted to remain at BAR due to pressure from Honda, and he again partnered with Panis. He became uncomfortable when new BAR team principal David Richards publicly mentioned that many spent on Villeneuve's high salary could be better used for research and development. The BAR 004 chassis proved to be more unreliable than the year before and slower due to an under-powered Honda engine. He scored four points for 12th in the Drivers' Championship with a fourth place at the British Grand Prix being his season's best result. Villeneuve regretted remaining at BAR due to the lack of results, and he was offered a contract to join Team Player's in CART for the 2003 championship before returning to BAR for the 2004 and 2005 F1 seasons. The deal was pushed by Richards but not agreed upon because Villeneuve's and Pollock's financial settlements were too great for team owner Gerald Forsythe to be willing to take on.

He decided to remain at BAR for the 2003 season, and was partnered with Button. Villeneuve's BAR 005 car had a more powerful but bulky Honda engine. He initially had a poor relationship with Button, not speaking to him and saying that Button "should be in a boy band". Their relationship did not improve after the season-opening Australian Grand Prix when Villeneuve was due to make a pit stop but drove an additional lap when Button was due to make his, leaving Button stationary behind Villeneuve. Though he blamed it on "radio problems". Button and Richards hinted their disbelief in his execution. Villeneuve was outperformed by his teammate and retired eight times due to mechanical faults. He finished sixth at both the Brazilian Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix. Before the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix, Villeneuve was informed by Richards he was no longer needed. He was replaced by test driver Takuma Sato. He was 16th in the Drivers' Championship with 6 points.

Villeneuve took a sabbatical after BAR released him. He thought of taking up NASCAR as a new challenge, but no teams approached him. After speaking to senior officials from BAR and Williams, Villeneuve believed that they would want to resign him to their respective teams, but neither move occurred. When he realised no competitive team would employ him, he and Pollock met Sauber team owner Peter Sauber in Hinwil in mid-2004. Impressed with Sauber's professionalism, he signed a two-year contract the next month to drive for Sauber from the 2005 season and help them attract new sponsors and partners.

Before his tenure at Sauber began, Villeneuve was employed by Briatore to help Renault claim second from BAR in the World Constructors' Championship by scoring the maximum number of points in the 2004 season's final three races following the dismissal of Jarno Trulli for performing poorly. Sauber was comfortable in letting Villeneuve drive for Renault because both teams used Michelin tyres. Driving the R24 car, he finished all three events but under-performed and was lapped each time. Villeneuve scored no points and was unclassified in the Drivers' Championship.

At Sauber, he used a C24 chassis and was teammates with Felipe Massa. A lack of both pre-season testing and money for car development caused Villeneuve to have a difficult handling car. He did not have a good relationship with the team because he was not allowed to give feedback on car setup due to Willy Rampf's influence. Villeneuve finished a season-high fourth at the San Marino Grand Prix and scored more points in eighth at the French Grand Prix and sixth at the Belgian Grand Prix. He was 14th in the Drivers' Championship with 9 points.

For the 2006 championship, he stayed at the renamed BMW Sauber after BMW purchased the team. Nick Heidfeld was his teammate. The atmosphere within the team made Villeneuve content, and he was happy with BMW's involvement. He found the less electronically dependent and less refined aerodynamically F1.06 car more driveable. Team principal Mario Theissen criticised Villeneuve for not achieving decent results, thus failing to please BMW's board of directors. Despite retiring three times, he accumulated 7 points from the first 11 races, ranking him 15th in the Drivers' Championship. At the German Grand Prix, Villeneuve sustained muscle pains in an accident exiting a corner. Shortly afterward, Theissen terminated his contract and replaced him with Robert Kubica. He did not want to be part of a shootout between himself and Kubica, and saw his release as a precursor to his future, saying "Screw this, It's time to get on with the rest of my life." Villeneuve twice failed to return to F1, first with Stefan Grand Prix in the 2010 season, then with his team in partnership with Durango for the following year.

Post Formula One career

He explored NASCAR after exiting F1, talking to Roush Racing owner Jack Roush who agreed to help Villeneuve obtain Truck Series experience before progressing to the Busch Series in 2007 on the condition of a sponsorship agreement. Before that, he made his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut with Peugeot in the 2007 edition informing team manager Serge Saulnier that he wanted to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsport. Sharing the Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1)-class No. 7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP car with Marc Gené and Nicolas Minassian, Villeneuve retired after 338 laps with engine injection trouble. He entered into a partnership with Bill Davis Racing (BDR) to enter the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series' last seven events in its No. 27 Toyota Tundra in anticipation of racing full-time in 2008. Villeneuve finished outside the top ten in all seven events for 42nd overall with 615 points. That same year, he drove two races in the Nextel Cup Series (the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix) in BDR's No. 27 Toyota, finishing 21st and 41st respectively.

He and Pollock agreed to end their working relationship in early 2008, and Barry Green began managing him. That February, BDR released Villeneuve, who failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 of the renamed Sprint Cup Series after causing a multi-car accident in the Gatorade Duels. Two months later, he raced the final two rounds of the inaugural season of the Middle East and Southeast Asian-based stock car Speedcar Series at the Bahrain International Circuit and the Dubai Autodrome. Villeneuve then won the 2008 1000 km of Spa (part of the Le Mans Series) for Peugeot with Gené and Minassian in his first race victory for 11 years. Although he finished second in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, sharing Peugeot's No. 7 LMP1 entry with Gené and Minassian, he was released a month later because Peugeot wanted a French driver. In August, Villeneuve signed a contract to make his Nationwide Series debut driving Braun Racing's No. 32 Toyota Camry in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, finishing 16th. He also came 16th at the Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez round of Top Race V6 Argentina aboard Oro Racing Team's No. 27 Volkswagen Passat TRV6.

Villeneuve returned to the Speedcar Series in the 2008–09 season driving for Durango. Competing in five races, he finished in the top ten three times, scoring seven points for 11th in the Drivers' Championship. In mid-2009, Villeneuve partook in the Tide 250 at Autodrome Saint-Eustache and the GP3R 100 at Circuit Trois-Rivières of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series for the Jacombs Racing Team in its No. 7 Ford Fusion, finishing fourth at Trois-Rivieres. For the first and only time, Villeneuve entered the Spa 24 Hours in 2009. He shared Gravity Racing International's G2 category No. 118 Mosler MT900R GT3 with Vincent Radermecker, Loris de Sordi and Ho-Pin Tung. The trio failed to finish. He drove the No. 27 Mercedes TRV6 at the Interlagos Circuit and Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez rounds of Top Race V6 Argentina, achieving a best finish of 13th in Buenos Aires. He made one appearance in the 2009 Nationwide Series, finishing fourth at the NAPA Auto Parts 200 in Braun Racing's No. 32 car.

In 2010, Villeneuve ran the Nationwide Series road courses at Road America, Watkins Glen and Montreal in Braun Racing's No. 32 vehicle. He finished eighth at Watkins Glen before claiming third at Montreal, where he started second. In mid-season, Villeneuve entered the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway finishing 29th in Braun Racing's No. 32 car. Villeneuve joined Rod Nash Racing as Paul Dumbrell's international co-driver in its No. 55 Ford FG Falcon for the Gold Coast 600 double header in October 2010 and sought advice from driver Marcos Ambrose on touring car racing. He finished 22nd in the first race and fifth in the second. Ford motorsport manager Chris Styring considered Villeneuve for the Bathurst 1000, the L&H 500 and the Gold Coast 600 in the 2011 International V8 Supercars Championship, but Villeneuve's financial demands were too great for Ford.

He drove the Road America and Montreal road course races of the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series for Penske Racing in its No. 22 Dodge Challenger in lieu of Brad Keselowski. Villeneuve finished the Road America race third and qualified on pole position for the Montreal event but finished 27th despite leading 29 laps. In August 2011, he joined Shell V-Power Racing for the Stock Car Corrida do Milhão for the 2011 championship of Stock Car Brasil despite concerns about adapting to his car. Driving the No. 27 Peugeot 408, Villeneuve qualified 27th and finished 18th. He was employed by Penske to drive its No. 22 car at the Road America and Montreal road course races in the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series. Villeneuve finished sixth at Road America and third at Montreal. During the 2012 International V8 Supercars Championship, he filled in for the injured Greg Murphy for three rounds in Kelly Racing's No. 51 Holden Commodore, finishing no higher than 24th. He finished seventh sharing Vita4One's No. 34 BMW Z4 GT3 with Jos Verstappen at the City Challenge Baku GT event in October.

When Villeneuve expressed interest in the International V8 Supercars Championship, he was considered for a full-time seat at Kelly Racing in the 2013, but no agreement was reached. For the first and only time, he partook in the Le Mans double header counting towards the 2013 season of the FFSA GT Championship, sharing the No. 27 Sport Garage-entered Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 with Éric Cayrolle. The duo finished 11th in the first race and retired from the next. Midway through the season, Villeneuve was hired by car owner James Finch to drive the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in the Sprint Cup Series for Phoenix Racing in its No. 51 Chevrolet SS, finishing 41st due to mechanical trouble after 19 laps. Later that year, he finished fifth in the Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres (part of the Canadian Tire Series) in 22 Racing's Dodge Challenger.

In 2014, he signed to drive an Albatec Racing-prepared Peugeot 208 Supercar part-time in the FIA World Rallycross Championship's inaugural season. Villeneuve chose to do rallycross because he felt it was exciting for both drivers and spectators. In seven races, Villeneuve scored eight points for 37th in the Drivers' Championship. He was released before the season ended due to non-supportive statements he made concerning his team and rallycross. Villeneuve entered the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in 19 years, driving Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports' No. 5 Dallara DW12-Honda third car entry. Though he had not planned to return to American open-wheel racing, he changed his mind after the 2012 introduction of a new car and engine formula. He qualified 27th and finished 14th. In August, Villeneuve finished 24th in Jacombs' No. 7 Dodge at Canadian Tire Series' Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres.

He accepted an invitation to enter 2015 Stock Car Brasil's season-opening Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna round alongside Zonta in Shell Racing's No. 10 Chevrolet Sonic, placing 21st. Villeneuve signed a contract to replace Heidfeld and partner with Stéphane Sarrazin at Venturi Grand Prix in the 2015–16 season of the all-electric Formula E series. Villeneuve had observed Formula E intently throughout 2014, admiring its bumpy city tracks. Guido Pastor called him to test a car, after which he got selected to drive. Villeneuve finished outside the top ten in the first two races and failed to start the Punta del Este ePrix due to an accident during qualifying. His relationship with Venturi cooled thereafter and they agreed to terminate their working relationship early in January 2016. Villeneuve signed a one-race agreement to return to rallycross in the 2018 season. He drove a Subaru Rally Team USA-entered WRX STi Supercar at the World RX of Canada (part of the Americas Rallycross Championship). He failed to qualify for the final following two accidents sustained during the second semi-final.

For the 2019 season, Villeneuve shared Scuderia Baldini 27's GT3 Pro-class No. 27 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo with Giancarlo Fisichella and Stefano Gai in the Italian GT Championship, finishing fourth at the 3 Hours of Misano and second at the 3 Hours of Vallelunga. He raced as a guest driver at the Ring Knutstorp and Karlskoga Motorstadion rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia in a MTech Competition-entered Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, placing in the top ten in the second race of both rounds. That year, he made his debut in NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in the Elite 1 Division. Villeneuve drove the No. 32 Go Fas Racing Chevrolet, finishing the season eighth in points with 431 scored, two pole positions and seven top-tens. For the 2020 season, he entered that year's Whelen Euro Series with FEED Vict Racing, a team owned by him and Patrick Lemarié. Driving four rounds in the No. 5 car, he achieved two top fives for 104 points (21st overall) in the Elite 1 Division. He drove Academy Motorsport's No. 5 car in the 2021 Whelen Euro Series, achieving his first two series victories in both races of the season's final round at Vallelunga, and scoring 331 points for ninth in the points standings with two wins and four top-ten finishes.

For 2022, Villeneuve is due to return to the NASCAR Cup Series as a part-time driver of the non-chartered No. 27 Team Hezeberg Ford. He aimed to assist Team Hezeberg in the launch of its Cup Series programme and he consented to assist with their effort in the Daytona 500. Villeneuve qualified for the race as of the fastest of the open non-charter teams; starting from 40th, he finished the race in 22nd after an early-race half-spin and a subsequent collision with Tyler Reddick.

Source

Daniel Ricciardo, a former Formula One world champion, says he is only in the sport because people love him on social media: 'He can thank Netflix for being on the grid.'

www.dailymail.co.uk, February 29, 2024
Daniel Ricciardo, the former world champion of Formula One, has surprisingly revealed that his driving skills aren't what has kept him in the world's top motor sport competition.

The lights have gone... and they have hurlled! Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 world champion, is married in the PADDOCK at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with an Elvis impersonator in charge of proceedings

www.dailymail.co.uk, November 17, 2023
After he tied the knot in Las Vegas, Jacques Villeneuve became the first Formula One racer to get married on schedule. After a chapel was installed at the Sin City circuit, the 1997 world champion was hitched to Giulia. The cause to the Altar was the driving force behind the wedding reception, but Villeneuve was able to make F1 history by getting married.' Giulia was portrayed in a stunning white gown, while Villeneuve was wearing a three-piece navy suit for the special occasion.

Patrick Tambay, a retired F1 racer, died at the age of 73 after battling Parkinson's disease

www.dailymail.co.uk, December 4, 2022
Patrick Tambay, a former Formula One racer, died at the age of 73, according to his relatives. After a long battle with Parkinson's disease, the French driver, who competed in 123 races, died. He competed in F1 in two seasons, first between 1977 and 1979, then 1981-1986, then 1986. In the second of those years, he won two races for Ferrari; the 1982 German Grand Prix and the San Marino GP followed the following year.