1,000 Greatest Drivers: Gilles Villeneuve

A spectacular driver, but too inconsistent to be quite generational.

Getting this down to 500 words was kind of like pulling teeth, especially when you consider how many electrifying moments Villeneuve had. I do think the myth is to some extent greater than the reality, because Villeneuve competed during what was a fairly shallow period of F1 and he was too inconsistent to be head-and-shoulders the best driver in his prime years (I would actually say Alan Jones was, and even though I think 1979 was Villeneuve’s best season, I think Jones was better that year). However, making cuts here was pretty painful because I knew I needed to mention his snowmobile racing, beating everyone by 9 seconds in practice at Watkins Glen, his Spanish GP win, and the San Marino GP since many people think he died because he was overdriving to compete with Didier Pironi (although I am not convinced). Most people cite the 1981 Spanish GP win as his best, but I went with Watkins Glen just because of his insane practice times.