Remembering the great Gilles Villeneuve, who died #OnThisDay 8 May 1982. Professor Sid Watkins described Villeneuve’s tragic accident and death at the Zolder circuit as almost inevitable, given Villeneuve’s notorious risk-taking. He had a history of daring behaviours, such as piloting a helicopter despite an empty fuel gauge. Two weeks prior to his death, he had a dispute with Ferrari teammate Didier Pironi, who Villeneuve felt had unfairly won the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix against team orders.
During qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix, in an intense effort to outpace Pironi, Villeneuve attempted to pass Jochen Mass, in a slower car, and the pair collided. His car launched into the air, crashed down onto the track, and violently somersaulted, ending in catastrophic injuries that proved fatal.
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44 years ago today the @F1 world lost Gilles Villeneuve, one of the quickest, most exciting & flamboyant racers in history.
Between 1977 & 1982 Gilles won 6 of his 67 starts for @ScuderiaFerrari & @McLarenF1 - all for the former.
He...
#restinpeace#f1#gilles#OnThisDay