Gilles Villeneuve: "The Best Race Of My Life"

The Spanish Grand Prix. 21 June, 1981. Jarama, Spain

After two days of qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama

Gilles was seventh on the grid, beside Andretti's Alfa Romeo and

behind Giacomelli's Alfa, Prost's Renault, Watson's McLaren, the

Williams duo of Reutemann and Jones, and the polesitting Ligier

of Laffite. Gilles's fourth row grid slot was only achieved after

some right-on-the-limit lappery in an ill-handling Ferrari 126CK

which he compared to "a hopeless fast red Cadillac.

His careening "Caddy" was using up tires at an extraordinary

rate. Said Gilles: "Look out for me in the first few laps. After

that, the tires will be screwed and that will be that."

Well, the tires were indeed screwed, but that wasn't that. And

the Villeneuvism that took place under the blazing Spanish sun,

in temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, ranks with the

most sensational drives ever seen in Formula 1.



Peter Windsor Describes This "Villeneuve Masterpiece"
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHY6wv0VlsU

At the green lights the two white cars of the feuding Williams

teammates surged to the front, Jones having a slight advantage

over Reutemann as the field floored it en masse toward the first

corner. Right up with Jones and Reutemann was the irrepresible

red slingshot that was Villeneuve's Ferrari. It zig-zagged

arrogantly past the rather startled likes of Laffite, Watson,

Giacomelli, and Prost, the latter further disturbed to have the

Ferrari rudely chop the front wing of his Renault as it scythed

past.

As Jones exerted his authority over Reutemann on the opening lap,

Gilles began to pressure his former teammate from behind. Coming

across the line for the first time on his 264.96 km Jarama

journey he had his front wing tucked beneath Lole's rear one.

Under braking for the Virages de Fangio at the end of the

straight, the Ferrari brazenly zipped out from behind the

Williams and into second place. Behind the leading trio the order

was Andretti (who had also made a brilliant beginning from the

fourth row), Prost, Watson, Giacomelli, Piquet, Pironi (who had

bent his front wing against Patrese's Arrows at the start),

Patrese and Laffite (whose overheating clutch saw him swamped at

the start).

Jones was a comfortable eight seconds ahead on lap 14 when he

suffered self-confessed "brain fade," locking up his front brakes

and undergoing an off-course excursion. Jones resumed running in

15th place, worked himself up as far as eighth then fell out of

the main chase with gearbox troubles.

Thus Gilles led the Gran Premio de Espana with Reutemann in very

close proximity, several times alongside but with never quite

enough poke to pass. Gilles's front-running cause was aided by

Piquet, who collided with Andretti, effectively eliminating Mario

from further serious play, and Prost took himself out of the

action on lap 28 when he slid his broken-nosed Renault off the

road. Pironi pitted for attention to his disfigured nose and new

front tires and soldiered on to finish 15th.

Reutemann continued to investigate ways past Gilles while the

pack behind them underwent further shuffling. Piquet, physically

exhausted from hanging onto a Brabham with increasingly less

adhesion, finally lost it on lap 44 and crashed. Five laps later

Jolly Jacques Laffite, driving an inspired race, used lapped

traffic to sneak ahead of Watson into third and set off in pursuit

of the lead that, based on his pole position, he felt was

rightfully his.

Reutemann also had leadership amibitions and he hovered behind

Gilles like a hawk, waiting to pounce at the slightest

opportunity. However, Lole's claws had lost some of their

sharpness as he was sometimes having to hold his Williams in

third gear. This weakness and a brave bit of late braking brought

Laffite second place on the 61st of 80 laps. One lap later

Reutemann was outmanoeuvred by Watson while lapping slower

traffic and that was the final change of order among the

frontrunners.

For the last 18 laps the first five roared round and round like a

high-speed freight train, a Ferrari engine leading cars of Ligier

(Laffite), McLaren (Watson), and Williams (Reutemann), with a

Lotus caboose manned by Elio de Angelis, who had a small lead

over teammate Nigel Mansell, who was sixth.

While his followers cornered as if on rails, Villeneuve's tired

tires afforded him ever more precarious purchase on an

increasingly dirty track surface. The car doddered drunkenly on

tiptoe through each of Jarama's sixteen bends, then as the power

of 550 prancing horses beneath his right foot was given full rein,

the Ferrari surged ahead on the straights. His virtuoso performance created a concertina-like effect as the Questing queue behind him

closed up in the corners, then fell back in momentary exasperation,

before squeezing in behind him yet again.

The pace was frenetic, the heat intense and the tension electric

as the final laps were reeled off. Gilles had only to lose

concentration, fumble a gear change, slide a millimeter off line

and he would instantly switch from victor to vanquished. Time and

again the blue and white Ligier would emerge from a tighter

hairpin abreast of the scarlet Ferrari. Threatening to climb over

them both were the red and white McLaren, the green and white

Williams, and the blackband gold Lotus as the epic technicoloured

struggle continued round the Spanish circuit at undiminished

pace.

On the last lap Gilles held off a final desperate challenge from

Laffite as they rounded Tunel corner and was given the chequered

flag 1 hour, 46 minutes, and 35.01 seconds after he began. The

others shot by in the blink of an eye: Laffite .22 seconds later,Ül[1]Ü
Watson .26 seconds behind Laffite, Reutemann .03 seconds behind

Watson and de Angelis crossed the finish line .23 seconds later.

The first five were covered by a blanket of 1.24 seconds making

the Spanish Grand Prix of June 21, 1981, the second closest race

in history after the Italian Grand Prix of September 5, 1971,

where six tenths of a second at Monza covered the winner Peter

Gethin over the pursuing Peterson, Cevert, Hailwood, and Ganley.

"One time Gilles went right across the white line on the edge of

the track © all four wheels but he came back! I don't know how

but he came back," said Carlos Reutemann. "I honestly think it

was the greatest drive I've ever seen by anybody," said Brabham

designer Gordon Murray. "That chassis is awful, worse by far than

that of any other driver. His driving was just unreal. To get

that car around 80 laps without making a mistake is an

achievement. To do it when you are leading and under constant

pressure is unbelievable!"

On the victory podium the exhausted winner was congratulated and

crowned by King Juan Carlos of Spain. Afterwards, Reutemann was

heard to say: "It was ridiculous. It was like a train." And

Gilles laughingly agreed: "I was embarrassed about it. In fact, I

couldn't understand why they didn't pass me After all, three of

them were ahead of me on the grid!"

“It was very, very hard for me”, Gilles admitted. I had to take

many big chances. I never let up. It was the best race of my

life."

In the Ferrari pits the crew and Joann Villeneuve had watched his

progress on television monitors and they were exhausted from

jumping up and down and screaming. Ferrari boss Mauro Forghieri

was exultant. "Gilles was fantastic, a veritable marvel! I'd like to

see who has the courage to criticize him now. In the past years

he has taken an enormous amount of unmerited criticism and he has

been accused of going off the road when the fault was really not

a driver's error. Gilles, like all the people who have real courage,

is thoroughly genuine."

And the next day, in Maranello, Enzo Ferrari said: "Gilles

Villeneuve on Sunday made me live again the legend of Tazio Nuvolari."

(from Gilles Villeneuve The Life Of The Legendary Racing Driver)  

"This Was The Best Race Of My Life"