Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve (born April 9th, 1971 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian former Formula One World Champion and team owner.

He is the son of fellow Grand Prix driver Gilles Villeneuve.

Formula One

1997-1998: Williams

In 1997, Jacques Villeneuve won his first Formula One world championship, driving for Rothmans Williams Renault.

The following year, Villeneuve and Williams would be outclassed by the superior quality of the Ferrari and McLaren teams, with Villeneuve only able to pick up podium finishes when the Ferrari and McLarens ran into trouble. Villeneuve's best result of the season would be a second place in the deluge at the Belgian Grand Prix, although this achievement was dwarfed by the maiden win of Jan Magnussen. Villeneuve would finish as "best of the rest" in fifth place in the championship.

1999-: BAR

For 1999, Villeneuve made the jump to F1 newcomers British American Racing, whom had just taken over the ailing Tyrell outfit. Despite claims from team management that BAR would be able to win from the very first race onwards, neither Villeneuve or Sammy Jones were able to pick up a single point in 1999, leaving BAR joint bottom with Lola.

Villeneuve and Jones remained at BAR into the new millennium, and the team brokered a deal with Honda to become the exclusive works team for the Japanese manufacturer. The changes seemed to suit the pair, with Villeneuve and Jones both being able to score points in the early races.

2010-2011: Stefan & Red Bull

By 2010, Villeneuve was the team leader for the newly-entered Stefan Grand Prix alongside Kazuki Nakajima. After a pair of retirements in the opening round, Villeneuve would hit back with a win and a second place at the United States Grand Prix as well as a win in the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Allegations of espionage marred proceedings, and Villeneuve left the team at the end of the year to retire.

However, after the disqualification of Jenson Button early in 2011, Villeneuve was called up to race for Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix.

2013-2015: Team Ownership

In the summer of 2012, it was announced that Villeneuve - with help of Italian GP2 team Durango - had obtained a license to enter a team in the 2013 season. Jacques Villeneuve would race for the team alongside Frenchman Alexandre-Laurent Voeckler. He'd race for the team until the 2014 German Grand Prix, where he'd injure himself in a high speed accident. He'd retire from active competition at the end of the season.

Villeneuve Racing would remain in F1 for one more year before closing its doors in late 2015.