(Pass the photos from the top and enjoy)
Emboldened –and relieved- Gilles Villeneuve arrived at the Jarama Circuit, located on the outskirts of Madrid, after his victory in the previous round in Monaco to end a streak of more than a year without winning.
And although his seventh position on the starting grid did not make him a favorite for victory in that Spanish Grand Prix on June 21, 1981, the great start that the Ferrari driver made to place third quickly increased his options.
At the end of the first lap Villeneuve managed to overtake Carlos Reutemann ‘s Williams, the championship leader, to move into second behind Alan Jones , who with Frank’s other team car seemed unattainable.
However, a mistake by Jones on the 14th of the planned 80 laps allowed Villeneuve to take the lead and start building the victory from there, taking advantage of the power of the Ferrari V6 Turbo engine on the main straight and withstanding the pressure of his rivals in the most twisty areas, taking care of the Michelin tires by adjusting the braking balance, on a hot summer day.
Villeneuve would arrive at the checkered flag with an advantage of just one second (1,240, specifically) between his Ferrari and the Lotus of Elio de Angelis , the fifth classified! In the middle, in less than a second, were Jacques Laffite (Ligier), John Watson (McLaren) and Reutemann.
Having achieved victory with a car that was not really the fastest on the grid, and which, according to the weigh-in that was done before the race, was the heaviest of the favorites, gave great value to this victory for the Canadian. For many, it was the best of his career.
Although for 1982 Villeneuve would have a single-seater to fight for the title, sadly fate had marked that in the fifth round of that year, during qualifying, he would lose his life on May 8 at the Zolder circuit.
He would leave in a rage, seeking to reverse the result of the controversial San Marino Grand Prix in which teammate Didier Pironi cruised to a victory Villeneuve believed was his due.
A pilot who did not win any world championship but whom Ferrari fans love and admire like few others.
Gilles Villeneuve’s F1 career in 70 photos
Pass the photos and enjoy. Click on ‘Full version’ at the end of the article if they do not appear
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Ferrari
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: Ferrari
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: Jean-Claude Loustau
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: David Phipps
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Actualfoto
Photo by: David Phipps
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: David Phipps
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: David Phipps
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: LBGPA
Photo by: Jean-Philippe Legrand
Photo by: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: LAT Images
Foto de: International Press Agency
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo de: Rainer Nyberg
Photo by: Ferrari
Photo de: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo de: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
