The test was the first time 51-year-old Jacques Volneuve has driven a modern F1 car since his last race for BMW Sauber at Hockenheim in 2006.
Some things have remained the same – the track, the team, Fernando Alonso and even the difficulty of overtaking – while others have changed dramatically, from the health of the championship itself to the drivers’ races.
The organic part at the center of the carbon fiber is also of a different type than it was 16 years ago when Jacques Villeneuve made his final entry into the 2006 German Grand Prix.
These days, F1 drivers are younger than ever and in the social media spotlight. At the time of Jacques Villeneuve he was still a child.
How the muscle memory of the 1995 Indy 500 winner caught on despite not driving an F1 car at Monza since finishing 11th in the 2005 Sauber race, I was shocked.
“The car was really very stable. It was very easy to drive, but the grip was very high,” began Jacques Villeneuve.
“Speed … my brain is really struggling to make sense of it. It felt like I was glued to the ground and watching a fast-moving movie. It’s really impressive.”
“After a few laps in the simulator, I looked at the units (of Esteban Ocon and Alonso) to see where the braking points were.
“The brain remembers everything. It remembers the trajectory and everything that happened 15 or 16 years ago.”
“Where to brake, how to brake, even the braking board is all there.”
“So the memory hasn’t faded. But even with that memory, pressing the brakes and finishing braking, the curve was still 50 meters!}
One of the things Jacques Villeneuve didn’t expect so much was the progress in aerodynamics while he was away. “
2006 was another complicated year, but 16 years of development and research have completely re-examined the way aerodynamics are used in F1. Jacques Villeneuve describes the aerodynamic effect as something like a “parachute”.
“Even if he doesn’t apply the brakes, you have the feeling that a parachute is braking the car,” observes Jacques Villeneuve.
“I don’t remember ever having the opportunity to drive such a stable car.”
“I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to raise my head, but I did. Tonight I’m dying of pain!”
