Jacques Villeneuve
Canadian · 1996–2006
Photo: Legends Of Motorsports · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Villeneuve in numbers
235 official points
1Drivers’ titles
1997
18th of 789 all time
2Constructors’ titles
1996, 1997
24th of 789 all time
6.7% of races
8% of races
14.1% of races
1Drivers’ titles
1997
of 1 in the career
2Constructors’ titles
1996, 1997
of 2 in the career
22.4% of races with Williams
26.5% of races with Williams
42.9% of races with Williams
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
2.4% of races with BAR
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
Jacques Villeneuve arrived in Formula 1 preceded by two enormous weights: his father's name, the legendary Gilles Villeneuve, and a reputation already forged on the other side of the Atlantic. Before setting foot in F1 he had won the IndyCar championship and the Indianapolis 500 in 1995, an unusual CV for a newcomer.
He debuted in 1996 with Williams, the best car on the grid, and came within a whisker of the title in his first year. He clinched it in 1997, in a brutal season against Schumacher's Ferrari settled in the Jerez controversy, where the German tried to run him off the track and was excluded from the championship. Villeneuve, with his blond mane and aggressive style, was a global star.
His decision to leave Williams to lead the ambitious BAR project derailed his competitive career: he never won again and faded away at underperforming teams. Even so, his name remains forever tied to one of the most memorable championship finales in history.
What if Villeneuve had another car?
We took his real attributes and put him in the best car of each era: in a real driver's seat, against the team-mate that car actually had. 20 full seasons in each.
| Car | Team-mate | Finish | Wins | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren1988 | Alain Prost-83 pts | P2 | 2.8 | 0% |
| Williams1992 | Riccardo Patrese-2 pts | P2.1 | 4.8 | 30% |
| Ferrari2002 | Rubens Barrichello+35 pts | P1.2 | 9.8 | 85% |
| Red Bull2013 | Mark Webber+49 pts | P1.1 | 11.2 | 90% |
| Mercedes2016 | Lewis Hamilton-87 pts | P2 | 4.9 | 0% |
| Red Bull2023 | Sergio Perez+31 pts | P1.2 | 12.8 | 85% |
| Cadillac2026 · 11th on the grid | Valtteri Bottas+15 pts | P10.3 | 0 | 0% |
The only one who beats him is Lewis Hamilton in the 2016 Mercedes: 87 points clear over a full season.
Ver en españolRating by season
- First season
- 78 1996
- Peak
- 83 1997
- 2006
- 75 BMW Sauber
10 seasons in the database, from 1996 to 2006. Our own rating, from 50 to 99.
Teams
Tags
Best year
1997
What would Jacques Villeneuve have achieved with a different car or in a different era?
Hypotheses featuring Jacques Villeneuve
Related drivers
His team-mates
9 team-mates across 11 seasons. When both finished the race, Villeneuve was ahead in 33 of 69; on the grid he started ahead in 98 of 164.
| Year | Team-mate | In the race | On the grid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Damon HillWilliams · 16 races | 4-5 | 3-13 |
| 1997 | Heinz-Harald FrentzenWilliams · 17 races | 5-3 | 13-4 |
| 1998 | Heinz-Harald FrentzenWilliams · 16 races | 4-4 | 10-6 |
| 1999 | Ricardo ZontaBAR · 12 races | 1-0 | 11-1 |
| 1999 | Mika SaloBAR · 3 races | · | 3-0 |
| 2000 | Ricardo ZontaBAR · 17 races | 6-0 | 15-2 |
| 2001 | Olivier PanisBAR · 17 races | 5-2 | 11-6 |
| 2002 | Olivier PanisBAR · 17 races | 2-2 | 10-7 |
| 2003 | Jenson ButtonBAR · 15 races | 1-3 | 7-8 |
| 2004 | Fernando AlonsoRenault · 3 races | 0-3 | 1-2 |
| 2005 | Felipe MassaSauber · 19 races | 3-9 | 7-12 |
| 2006 | Nick HeidfeldBMW Sauber · 12 races | 2-5 | 7-5 |
The first number is always Villeneuve's. A team-mate is whoever started the same race for the same team. "In the race" only counts races both finished, because a retirement says nothing about who was quicker. "On the grid" is the starting position, with penalties already applied.
Compare Villeneuve with another driver
Titles, wins, poles and podiums side by side, against any of the 789 drivers in history.
Keep reading
Where Jacques Villeneuve comes up in what we have measured, with our own numbers.
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