Gilles Villeneuve in short: born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, on 18 January 1950, he raced in Formula 1 from 1977 to 1982, almost always with Ferrari, winning 6 Grands Prix out of 67 started. In 1979 he finished second in the championship, 4 points behind teammate Jody Scheckter, whom he did not attack at Monza in order to respect team orders. He died on 8 May 1982, aged 32, after the crash in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder.
Updated in October 2026.
Villeneuve never won a championship and won only 6 races, yet his name is among those Formula 1 keeps remembering: the Montréal circuit bears his name. This profile goes through the career with data checked against several independent sources and leaves out the quotes and anecdotes that cannot be verified.
Gilles Villeneuve at a glance
- Birth and death: 18 January 1950, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Quebec); 8 May 1982, Leuven (Belgium), aged 32.
- F1 teams: McLaren (1977, one race) and Ferrari (1977-1982).
- Career totals: 67 Grands Prix started (68 entries), 6 wins, 2 pole positions, 8 fastest laps, 13 podiums, 107 points scored.
- Wins: Canada 1978; South Africa, Long Beach and United States (Watkins Glen) 1979; Monaco and Spain 1981.
- Best championship result: second in 1979, 4 points behind Jody Scheckter.
From snowmobiles to Formula 1
Villeneuve is born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, in Quebec. As a young man he races snowmobiles, which in the Canadian winters are his main source of income (Planet F1) and in which he dominates the 1975 season (GrandPrix.com). In the same period he races in Formula Atlantic, from 1974 to 1976 (GrandPrix.com).
His Formula 1 debut is the British Grand Prix of July 1977, at Silverstone, with a McLaren: he qualifies ninth (Wikipedia, GrandPrix.com). In the same 1977 he moves to Ferrari, with which he races the last two events, starting with the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport, and then the whole of 1978 (Wikipedia, GrandPrix.com).
Ferrari: the first win and the 1979 championship
The first win comes in Montréal, in October 1978, in the first Canadian Grand Prix held at the Île Notre-Dame circuit, the last race of the season (Planet F1, Motor Sport Magazine).
In 1979 he wins in South Africa, at Long Beach and at Watkins Glen and finishes the championship second, 4 points behind teammate Jody Scheckter (Formula One History, Wikipedia). At Monza, with the title at stake, he respects team orders and does not attack Scheckter, even though he had the chance (Motor Sport Magazine, Formula One History).
Four races that made the legend
Dijon 1979. The 1 July French Grand Prix is won by Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the Renault, the first win for a turbo engine in Formula 1, but what is remembered is the fight for second place between Villeneuve and René Arnoux: in the last laps the two swap positions several times, with their wheels touching, and Villeneuve completes the decisive pass at the hairpin on the last lap and finishes second, ahead of Arnoux (Motor Sport Magazine).
Zandvoort 1979. After passing Alan Jones around the outside of the Tarzan corner and taking the lead, Villeneuve’s left rear tyre starts to deflate and he spins; soon after, the tyre bursts. He sets off again and brings the Ferrari back to the pits on three wheels, for a full lap, with an arm raised to warn the others; the damaged suspension ends his race (Formula1.com, Motor Sport Magazine).
Imola 1980. On 14 September, at the Italian Grand Prix, a puncture sends him into the barriers at high speed: the Ferrari disintegrates and Villeneuve, who was running fourth, walks away with only scratches and bruises (Formula One History, Wikipedia).
Jarama 1981. On 21 June, three weeks after the Monaco win, he starts seventh in a turbo Ferrari that is less nimble than its rivals and wins by keeping a group of more agile cars behind him: the first five, Villeneuve, Laffite, Watson, Reutemann and de Angelis, finish within 1.24 seconds (Wikipedia, Motor Sport Magazine).
Imola 1982, Zolder and the end
On 25 April 1982, at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Ferrari orders its two drivers to slow down. Villeneuve takes the order as an instruction to hold position, Pironi thinks he is free to race and on the last lap, at the Tosa corner, passes him and wins (Wikipedia, Planet F1). Furious, Villeneuve says he will never speak to him again (Wikipedia, Motorsport.com).
On Saturday 8 May 1982, in the last qualifying session of the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, Villeneuve’s Ferrari hits the March of Jochen Mass, which was travelling slowly, and the Ferrari goes airborne. He is taken to hospital in Leuven and dies that evening, aged 32 (Motorsport.com, Wikipedia). According to the accounts of Motorsport.com and Planet F1, he was trying to beat Pironi in qualifying. Ferrari withdraws from the Grand Prix (Wikipedia).
Villeneuve’s legacy: the circuit, number 27, Jacques
In 1982 the Île Notre-Dame circuit in Montréal, where Villeneuve won the first Canadian Grand Prix in 1978, was named after him, and “Salut Gilles” is written on the start-finish line (Wikipedia).
Number 27 came to Ferrari in 1981, through the swap of numbers with the Williams of reigning champion Alan Jones: before that Villeneuve had raced mostly with 12. He carried it in 1981 and 1982 and after his death it remained the number linked to his name (The Race, Crash.net).
His son Jacques won the CART title and the Indianapolis 500 in 1995 and the Formula 1 World Championship in 1997 with Williams: he is so far Canada’s only Formula 1 world champion (Formula1.com).
What Villeneuve teaches anyone sponsoring in Formula 1
With 6 wins in 67 races and no title, Villeneuve is regarded as one of Formula 1’s most revered heroes (Crash.net): the value of an association is not measured only in trophies, but in how much the story of a driver or a team stays in the public’s memory. Today a brand wanting to enter F1 starts from precise thresholds: an entry level of $2 million a year, two seasons minimum, no single race (RTR Sports Marketing, September 2026 survey). To get oriented there are the guide on the cost of a Formula 1 sponsorship, the analysis of how much Formula 1 drivers earn and the page on Formula 1 sponsorship.
Six wins and no title. Villeneuve’s name is written on the start line in Montréal, and it stays there every year.
RTR Sports Marketing has been building motorsport sponsorships since 1995.
Images: Gilles Villeneuve in a Ferrari at the 1979 Monaco Grand Prix (John, public domain); Ferrari 312 T3 at Druids at the 1978 British Grand Prix (Martin Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0); Villeneuve in the pits at Imola in 1979 (ideogibs, CC BY-SA 2.0); his helmet at the Museo Ferrari (Morio, CC BY-SA 3.0); the “Salut Gilles” inscription in Montréal in 2012 (Nic Redhead, CC BY-SA 2.0).
Sources: Wikipedia, Gilles Villeneuve; Formula One History, career statistics; GrandPrix.com, profile; Planet F1, 1978 Canadian Grand Prix; Motor Sport Magazine, portrait of Villeneuve; Motor Sport Magazine, Dijon 1979; Formula1.com, Zandvoort 1979; Motor Sport Magazine, Zandvoort 1979; Formula One History, Imola 1980; Wikipedia, 1980 Italian Grand Prix; Wikipedia, 1981 Spanish Grand Prix; Motor Sport Magazine, Jarama 1981; Wikipedia, 1982 San Marino Grand Prix; Planet F1, Villeneuve and Pironi; Motorsport.com, Villeneuve’s last weekend; Wikipedia, 1982 Belgian Grand Prix; Wikipedia, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve; The Race, the number 27; Crash.net, Ferrari’s number 27; Formula1.com, Jacques Villeneuve; RTR Sports Marketing, September 2026 survey of market thresholds in F1.
Frequently asked questions
How many races did Gilles Villeneuve win?
Six in 67 Grands Prix: Canada 1978; South Africa, Long Beach and United States (Watkins Glen) 1979; Monaco and Spain 1981. All with Ferrari.
Did Gilles Villeneuve ever win the world championship?
No. His best result is second place in 1979, 4 points behind teammate Jody Scheckter, whom he did not attack at Monza in order to respect team orders.
How did Gilles Villeneuve die?
On 8 May 1982, in the last qualifying session of the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, his Ferrari hit the March of Jochen Mass, which was travelling slowly. He was taken to hospital in Leuven and died that evening, aged 32.
What number did Gilles Villeneuve have?
In his first seasons at Ferrari he mostly carried 12; in 1981 and 1982 he carried 27, the number Ferrari inherited from the Williams of reigning champion Alan Jones.
What happened between Villeneuve and Pironi at Imola in 1982?
On 25 April 1982 Ferrari ordered its two drivers to slow down. Villeneuve thought he had to hold position, Pironi passed him on the last lap and won. Villeneuve said he would never speak to him again; he died two weeks later.
Who is Jacques Villeneuve?
Gilles’s son. He won the CART title and the Indianapolis 500 in 1995 and the Formula 1 World Championship in 1997 with Williams, and is so far Canada’s only Formula 1 world champion.
