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The last weekend of Gilles Villeneuve

(Motorsport-Total.com) – Saturday, May 8, 1982. There were only a few minutes left from the final qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix the following day. And for those drivers hoping to improve their starting positions, it was the last chance.

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1982: Gilles Villeneuve lost his life in qualifying for the fifth Formula 1 race zoom

Despite the fact that his second and last set of qualifying tires had already completed several laps, Gilles Villeneuve continued to exert pressure. Because he had an additional incentive. At the San Marino Grand Prix two weeks earlier, Ferrari team-mate Didier Pironi had broken up.

The latter ignored orders and stole the victory from Villeneuve, which should have been an easy victory. Therefore, only one thing counted in Zolder: he wanted to be faster than Pironi. But his rival’s time was just out of reach.

Aware that his tires were worn out and a faster lap was therefore unlikely, the Ferrari team signaled that Villeneuve should come in at the end of the next lap. However, the Canadian never reached the box. Halfway through the lap, he hit a slow-moving car.

It was Jochen Mass who was on the run-out in his March. When the German saw the racing Ferrari in his mirrors, he turned to the right to let Villeneuve pass on the left. At this point, however, he had already made his decision – he wanted to pass on the right.

It was just one of dozens of such instinctive, critical decisions that every Grand Prix driver has to make every weekend. But for Gilles Villeneuve, the fastest and most popular driver of his era, it should be the last.

Villeneuve’s fatal accident

Jody Scheckter, teammate of Villeneuve at Ferrari in 1979/80, recalls: “I think he was under massive pressure in Zolder to beat Pironi, who was faster than him in qualifying. We all had problems with situations like this.”

“I was certainly annoyed a lot in a racing car. At the end of the training you are so angry that you get stupid if you let yourself in for it. I don’t know exactly what happened in Zolder, but it seemed as if it was exactly that happened. Gilles took a risk that doesn’t pay off, “Scheckter classifies the situation.


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