1997 Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has opened up about his title fight with his team-mate Damon Hill in 1996.
The Canadian driver entered his rookie F1 season with Williams in 1996 and was straight into a title fight with his team-mate Hill. He ultimately finished second behind the Briton with 78 points, compared to Hill’s 97. Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher ended the season in third behind the two Williams drivers.
While he missed out on the title, Villeneuve explained during an episode of the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast that he had no ill feelings about the outcome.
“Oh, I thought it was possible,” he said when asked if he felt the championship title was possible as he headed into the season finale in Japan. “Anything can go wrong, as it happened to me. Losing the wheel could have happened to Damon.
“If we had inverted our pitstops, it would be a very different story. I knew I had to take a win. But as you said earlier, in the first few races, Damon built quite a margin. And what was difficult in recovering, it was him or me.
“There was hardly ever someone in the middle because we were the car to beat, like the Mercedes had been for many years. So on a good weekend, I would finish first and Damon probably second and then you were stuck. So I knew that I had to do that.
“I got a great pole. So that also set the path for the following year because the team had brought friends and said, ‘He’s the next world champion,’ about me. So I had to put the balls in the right place and roll the dice, to make sure that I will be the guy for next year. And there’s nothing more I could do.
Jacques Villeneuve, Williams FW18 Renault leads Damon Hill, Williams FW18 Renault
Photo by: Sutton Images
“Pole and then try and win the race. Losing the wheel had no effect in the end because, at worst, I would have finished second and Damon would still have been champion.
“We had a good time that night. We had a good party, and I was very happy for him. It didn’t feel like ‘Oh, you know, I lost the championship’. Of course, I was not happy to not have won, but also he was deserving it so much that I was cool with it.”
Villeneuve went on to claim the drivers’ championship a year later in 1997.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team
