Villeneuve

May 8 this year is the 30th anniversary of the death of Gilles Villeneuve.

A true naturally talented racer who showed he was one of the greats of Formula 1 in a very short space of time. His exploits on the track are well documented and he never failed to excite anyone who saw him race.
I have always been a bit torn on Villeneuve. I admired his talent, his prowess and the way he went about his racing. But, particularly in 1979, he seemed to be the one who stood in the way of Alan Jones winning - and I always wanted the Australian to win. Jones' grit seemed to match Villeneuve's unstoppable determination.

I remember the start of one race and there was a first corner altercation that took Jones out of the race. I said to myself, "I bet it was Villeneuve", and when the dust had settled it was in fact the Canadian sitting with the Australian amongst the debris. I was frustrated that Villeneuve's "do or die" nature had caused Jones to miss out on another victory. But it was that same "do or die" nature that grew the legend of  Gilles Villeneuve, what endeared him to us racing fans and why we have missed him these past 30 years.

As well - he drove one of the prettiest F1 cars ever - the Ferrari 312 T4.