It’s been close to three decades since Jacques Villeneuve captured his only Formula 1 title, which also happens to be the last championship for Williams.
His first two seasons were remarkable, quickly making an impact in Formula 1 after coming over from North America and picking up wins almost straight away.
Before that, Villeneuve had already won the Champ Car series in 1995, and his ties to the sport went even deeper through his father. Gilles Villeneuve was a legend of the racing world.
He signed a two-year deal with Williams during that championship season, with an option for a third year in 1998.
Now working as a pundit, Villeneuve didn’t hold back when he called the Mexican Grand Prix “embarrassing” and has always been outspoken with his views.
As for Ferrari, they aren’t quite the force they were when his father was racing for them.
David Coulthard’s role in Jacques Villeneuve’s 1997 title run
Villeneuve came into the sport with a lot of hype, and he didn’t disappoint early on. His first few seasons made it clear that he was a force to be reckoned with.
Taking over from Damon Hill, Villeneuve stepped into big shoes at Williams. But with the best car on the grid, expectations were high.
Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Villeneuve has now revealed how McLaren’s David Coulthard helped him to win his one and only crown in 1997.
“They caught me with three corners to go,” he said. “Once Mika was ahead, then I let David past because we were good pals. So I thought, ‘Come on, that would be nice. We’ll be on the podium together.’ I really didn’t care.
Coulthard has long been considered a great personality around F1 circles due to his fun-loving attitude during his time as a driver.
Jacques Villeneuve talks about how David Coulthard helped him relax in F1
Back in 1997, Formula 1 was still holding onto some old traditions. Social media wasn’t around, and while the cars were beginning to look more like what we see today, the tech side of things hadn’t quite caught up yet.
That kind of tech has changed how drivers live now. They’re global celebrities, with every move watched and recorded.
Villeneuve has spoken about this before, mentioning how spending time with Coulthard away from the paddock helped him deal with the pressure of competing at that level.
“You need to let the steam off some way or another,” Villeneuve continued. “Back then, you didn’t have social media, you didn’t have cellphones that took a picture every five seconds. It was a different era. We didn’t have simulators. Now, all they do is play on their simulators or do something else.
“We had less races, but we were testing in between every race. It was intense; it was continuous. The amount of mileage we were doing was just crazy. We were training like maniacs as well. So you needed that one or two days where you could just let loose.
“Oftentimes it would be me calling: ‘Hey, let’s go for a coffee, a little bite, a little drink.’ That bite or drink would end up finishing very late.”
Coulthard played an important role during that time away from racing too – which only adds more context to why he became such an influential figure behind Jacques’ title charge that year.
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