7 replies to this topic

[tom]

i've read a few quotes from him in old books, and they were all interesting, i like his quotes better than the other drivers, it shows his competitivness, none of this, "congratulations to my teammate" bullshit, [which we all know is lies].

i'd like to hear some more , anybody got some ?

and i don't want dumbasses to start making them up either , thats just dumb, cheers

[Henry C]

From http://www.gillesvil...o.uk/quotes.htm


Quotes from Gilles Villeneuve.
"If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari..."

"I never think that I can hurt myself.. not seriously. If you believe it can happen to you how can you do this job? If you’re never over eight tenths, or , what ever because you are thinking about a shunt, you’re not going as quick as you can and if you are not doing that you’re not a racing driver. Some guys in Formula one.... well, to me they’re not racing drivers. They drive racing cars, that’s all. They’re doing half a job and in that case, I wonder why they do it at all...."

"Every winter, you would reckon on three or four big spills - and I'm talking about being thrown on to the ice at 100 mph. Those things used to slide a lot, which taught me a great deal about control. And the visibility was terrible! Unless you were leading, you could see nothing, with all the snow blowing about. Good for the reactions - and it stopped me having any worries about racing in the rain."

"I think I've proved that, in equal cars, if I want someone to stay behind me... well, I think he stays behind..." speaking after Imola in 1982 when Didier Pironi stole the win from Gilles against team orders.

"I knew what had happened even before the car had begun to spin., because I heard the thumping of the flat tyre. I knew where I was, how close the wall was and everything, and I thought, `This one is going to hurt.' Everything went black when I hit the wall and I could not see for maybe thirty seconds. I could hear the cars going by and I thought I was thrown in the middle of them. I was afraid someone would hit me and thats why I raised my arms, so they could see me." Gilles talking about the crash he had at Imola on the corner that would later bear his name.

"If you don't get through a few chassis in a season, you're not trying"

"Those few laps were just fantastic for me - out braking each other and trying to race for the line, touching each other but without wanting to put the other car out." Speaking about one of the most famous grand prix laps of all time. Dijion 79.

"I will drive flat out all the time. I love racing."

"This year, I have to be very good to go get only a sixth position. And the more you go fast, the more it’s difficult. You break harder, you take your curves faster, and you have less time to correct a mistake. I think I can outsmart some defaults of my Ferrari if I try harder. The problem is that It isn’t always easy to see who is trying harder. When I won some races last year, people often said : "What a fantastic driver!" Today, they don’t even notice that I’m trying even harder." Speaking about the 1980 season. From Gilles Villeneuve: The Life of the Legendary Racing Driver, Donaldson.

"The championship means little to me. Moss didn't win it."

"I love the smell of burning rubber."

"By the time I stop racing my son will be seventeen and he will know so many girls in Monaco there’s no way he will be allowed to leave."

"I know that someday I am going to have a really big crash.""I don’t think of dying but I accept that it’s a part of the job."

"Enzo Ferrari himself called me and said, "Are you ready to drive for us?" And I said of course I am ready!"

"I said to myself, that's Scheckter and that Andretti and I can keep up with them. I was well pleased."

" I left the road several times. But I really enjoyed myself and won seventy percent of the time."

" I don't have any fear of a crash. No fear of that. Of course, on a fifth gear corner with a fence outside, I don't want to crash. I'm not crazy. But if its near the end of practice, and your trying for pole position ...maybe, I guess... you can squeeze the fear ... "
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Quotes from others speaking about Gilles.
Nelson Piquet
"He’s somewhat crazy, but surely a phenomenon. he’s able to do things which nobody else could achieve"

Eddie Cheever
"Everyone agrees that Gilles always risking more than any other driver. That was how he made his career."


Jody Scheckter
"Gilles was always wanting to prove himself, for every lap. I never knew him to say "I will take it easy now." It was always the maximum."

Nigel Roebuck, F1 Journalist
"The crowds loved him because he, of all the men there, was so clearly working without a net"

Alan Jones
"Oh, it’s typical of old Gilles. You’ve got o give him credit because the guy never stops trying."

Niki Lauda
"He was the craziest devil I ever came across in Formula 1...The fact that, for all this, he was a sensitive and lovable character rather than an out-and-out hell-raiser made him such a unique human being"

Enzo Ferrari
"Some people described him as 'The Aviator,' and there were those who thought him a madman. From the day he began racing he received a lot of criticism, and even though I compared him with Nuvolari, I was criticized for hiring Gilles. But in the flamboyant way he drove cars, he showed us what a driver needed to do to be able to defend himself in difficult and unexpected situations. He was a champion, a real fighter. He was a gift to the world, and brought much glory to Ferrari. I loved him. "

Enzo Ferrari
"My past is scarred with grief ...father, mother, brother, sister, wife ...my life is full of sad memories. I look back and I see my loved ones ...and among my loved ones I see the face of this great man: Gilles Villeneuve."

Keke Rosberg
"There is no doubt that Gilles was extraordinarily courageous: he was the worst bastard against you could race I met, but totally fair. A great driver ! "

Enzo Ferrari
"Destiny take away from us a great champion. My life was full of pain and sad memories: my mother, my father, my brother and my son. Now, when I look back I see all the people I loved. And with them there is this great man, Gilles Villeneuve. I loved him. He maneged to remind the legendary Tazio Nuvolari.

" Jackie Stewart
"Physically and mentally Gilles Villeneuve was the epitome of a modern Grand Prix driver."

Jaqcues Laffite
"He's different from the rest of us, on a separate level ..."

Jody Scheckter
"Gilles was the fastest driver in the history of motor racing. But more important for me is that he was the most genuine person I have ever known."

Rene Arnoux
"It was terrible when Gilles died. I cried that day and the next one, too, even though I had to race ...and I remember the feeling that we were all starting equal, from now on. Villeneuve was gone. We all knew he had a talent beyond our reach."

Harvey Postlewaithe
"He was a totally uncomplicated non-political guy with no hangups whatsoever. He was totally and completely honest. If he were testing, and the car was rubbish, he'd come in and say 'Look, it's rubbish; I don't mind, don't get me wrong, I'll drive it all day and love every minute of it, but I thought that you ought to know the car's rubbish.' The Old Man (Ferrari) loved him for this."

Niki Lauda
"I think Gilles was the perfect racing driver. He had the best talent of all of us."

Niki Lauda
"Gilles was the perfect racing driver who knew where to take which advantage where ...(sic)"

Niki Lauda
"Villeneuve had the best talent of all of us. Whatever car that you put him in he would have been quick."

Alan Henry (Journalist and friend to Gilles.)
"Niki Lauda always said that Villneuve was the best of their era. ... Behind the wheel of a racing car he was fearfully quick, never stopped trying, and could extracticate himself from the most precarious situations with deft brilliance."

Harvey Postlewaithe
"He also never drove anywhere at anything less than an absolutely flat-out pace, be it on the road or the track..."

Juan Manuel Fangio
"He will remain as a member of the family of the truly great drivers in auto racing history. Mr. Enzo Ferrari, who is an authority on these matters, has compared Villeneuve to Tazio Nuvolari. Nuvolari in my younger days was the great idol. All drivers wanted to equal the great Nuvolari. They struggled to match but could only imitate him. To be compared to Nuvolari is to receive the highest praise. "

Juan Manuel Fangio
"Villeneuve did not race to finish, he did not race for points. He raced to win. Although small in stature he was a giant."

Jean Sage (Renault's team manager.)
"Gilles was extraordinary. Everyone of us, every team would have loved to have a Gilles. The mastery he had, the ability. He could do absolutely anything he wanted to do with his car. Most considered him the best competitor of Formula (One) cars of our time."

Enzo Ferrari
"People used to say that one day he'll quit Ferrari but I never believed it because Gilles and I had formed such an affection for each other we were like father and son."

Jackie Stewart
"His car control was extraordinary, ever compared with the many talented drivers I have had the opportunity to drive against over the years. He drove a Grand Prix car to the absolute limit of its ability." Jody Scheckter
"I was at home in Monaco that Sunday. A friend of mine called from Zolder and said 'Gilles has had a big accident, and it doesn't look good at all.' So I phoned Joann, and shot up to her place very quickly. From then on it was chaos and disaster. You don't want to think about it."

Eddie Cheever
"In a situation like that I know I would have been scared stiff. But I am sure that when Gilles felt his Ferrari take off, his last thought was anger, plain and simple, because he knew that he has spoiled that one perfect lap."

Alan Henry (Journalist and friend to Gilles.)
"His death signifed the passing of a certain approach. He was the last person who had the totally un-inhibited joy of driving a racing car."

Nigel Roebuck (Journalist)
"Quite seriously, I've never felt anything like the same about racing ever since. I nearly packed it up."

Jaqcues Laffite
"I know no human being can do a miracle, no one commands magical properties or anything but Gilles made you wonder... he was THAT quick."

Enzo Ferrari
"..he was the High Priest of Destruction... but his driving showed us what we had to create..."

Joann Villeneuve
"For Gilles finishing third or fourth could be as satisfying as winning as long as it was a hard race.... or scrapping it out man to man..."

Enzo Ferrari
"He had a talent from taking anything mechanical and utterly destroying it...."

Crazy Canucks. (Famously mad Canadian skiers from 70's)
"..this lunatic on a snowmobile turned their well-groomed hill into shreds." From Gilles Villeneuve: The Life of the Legendary Racing Driver, Donaldson.

Niki Lauda
"I always love Gilles Villeneuve. I liked all about him, even if I blame all the risk he was chasing. He was the craziest man I met in F1."

Ronnie Peterson
"That man is a public danger ....."

[Williams]

"I know there's danger - but it's not in the front of my mind, it's in the back. I didn't want to walk too close to Ronnie's accident. I didn't know at the time if he was dead or alive, but there was a bunch of people around and everything was taken care of. I always avoid looking too closely at this kind of thing, in case it will hurt me psychologically and I'll start thinking about it after that. It's my job not to think of that so I try to avoid everything. Even if I had known he was dead I don't think it would have changed a thing in my driving. It may sound cruel and heartless to people when they hear me say that. But it's part of the job and I accept that one of these days I will hurt myself very, very much. I don't think of dying, but I accept the fact that it's part of the job."
-Gilles Villeneuve
After Ronnie Peterson's accident, and subsequent unexpected death.

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"What makes you think I'll be around next year ?"
-Gilles Villeneuve
Fateful words to his manager Gaston Parent, while discussing whether to by a new helipcopter, just six months before the his final qualifying run at Zolder.

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"This is the happiest day of my life !"
-Gilles Villeneuve
After taking his first victory at his home race, Montreal 1978.

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"There are races if you don't run a risk you'll never win. I agree I am rash and impetuous sometimes. That's the way I am. Obviously if I had taken the Bosch Kurve more slowly I would not have gone off the circuit. But if I had gone slowly I would not have been a Formula One driver. I would not have been Gilles Villeneuve."
-Gilles Villeneuve
On his off at Austria '81.

[Williams]

Some quotes about GV:

"Motor racing was a romantic thing for him, you see. We were close friends, doing the same job for the same team, but we had completely opposite attitudes to it. My preoccupation was keeping myself alive, but Gilles had to be the fastest on every lap - even in testing. He was the fastest racing driver the world has ever seen. If he could come back and live his life again, I think he would do exactly the same - and with the same love."
-Jody Scheckter

"Villeneuve still makes some ingenious mistakes, but is a man who wants to come out on top at all costs. He has been justifyably criticised, but we mustn't forget that his enthusiasm and passion have a predecessor: Tazio Nuvolari. In 1935 Nuvolari won the Brno Grand Prix in Czechoslovakia driving on three wheels."
-Enzo Ferrari
Talking about the "three wheel incident" at Zandvoort, when Gilles tried get his mangled Ferrari 312T4, minus it's left rear wheel, back onto the track.

"Gilles was always wanting to prove himself, for every lap. I never knew him to say, 'I will take it easy now.' It was always the maximum."
-Jody Scheckter

"Gilles liked this image he had of being a crazy guy and he worked at it...when we got to 10 km from Marenello he became a madman, wheels spinning, skidding around and so on...When he came flying into the the carpark at the factory he would do a 360-degree wheelspin and the mechanics would all cheer. And I just sat back, it gave me a relaxing feeling to see him do that because I felt that if a guy does this kind of thing on the road, he's going to make too many mistake in the races, and that's how I can beat him."
-Jody Scheckter

"Villeneuve's approach to motor racing is possibly too passionate - too instinctive and immediate - to ever bring him a world championship, but it does explain why he is worshipped across the world like not other driver."
-Nigel Roebuck

"My preoccupation was keeping myself alive, but Gilles had to be quickest on every lap - even in testing."
-Jody Scheckter

"Gilles wanted to win laps. He didn't really want to win the championship. He was very intelligent, but he wanted the wrong things out of racing. One of the things that made me think I had a chance of winning the championship against Gilles was some of the stupid things he did. In the beginning of my career I think I was as crazy as he was but...you aren't goin to win championships doing that...Gilles was so big on fastest laps that in the race when he felt his tires going off he would dive into the pits, put on new tires, and get fastest lap. I would argue with him, saying you should stay out there with an old set of tires because that's the way you're going to get the best result in the end."
-Jody Scheckter

"Although I don't particularly agree with his daredevil style, he has done more for Grand Prix racing this year then all the other drivers combined. "
-Frank Williams
After Williams driver Alan Jones's win in his superior Williams, at Montreal 1979, just barely holding off the tenacious and spectacular Villenueve.

"I just couldn't believe it. That guy just would not accept that he was beaten. I sweated like hell pulling out a couple of seconds on him, relaxed a fraction through a couple of cornersm and there he was in my mirrors again. That bloody red ****-bucket was all over me ! I just had to keep running flat-out all the way to the finish, because I knew if I let him past there would be no second chance to get ahead again ! "
-Alan Jones
After his win in his superior Williams, at Montreal 1979, just barely holding off the tenacious and spectacular Villenueve.

"Gilles was the one bloke who made you go and look for a good corner in practice because you knew that where everybody else would go through as if on rails Gilles would be worth watching. That day in the rain at Watkins Glen was almost beyond belief! It truly was. You would think he had 300 horsepower more than anybody else. It just didn't seem possible. The speed he was travelling didn't bear any relation to anybody else. He was 11 seconds faster! Jody was next fastest and couldn't believe it, saying he had scared himself rigid! I remeber Laffite in the pits just giggling when Gilles went past and saying, 'Why do we bother? He's different from the rest of us. On a seperate level.' "
-Nigel Roebuck

"The duel with Gilles is something I'll never forget, my greatest souvenir of racing. You can only race like that, you know, with someone you trust completely, and you don't meet many people like him. He beat me, yes, and in France, but it didn't worry me - I knew I'd been beaten by the best driver in the world."
-Rene Arnoux
Rene Arnoux on his classic battle with Gilles Villeneuve at Dijon, France, 1979.

The most interesting quote about Villeneuve IMO:

"Gilles was the thoughest son of a bitch, he was really hard to fight against. But he was fair, he would have never pushed anyone out on purpose. That is why I get so pissed off today when somebody compares him to Senna. He was on another level, he was a true racer."
-Keke Rosberg

[_Hink]

Thanks for that last on Rosberg and Williams. I was just looking for that one.

[Williams]

Another one I like is from a recent autosport, by Frank Dernie concerning Alan Jones:

"Jones was just a real tough cookie. He thought Carlos (Reutemann) was a wus. In fact he thought they all were; the only driver he had a grudging respect for was Gilles Villenueve; the rest he thought were girls' blouses."

[Ross Stonefeld]

Mario Andretti on Dijon 79

"it was only two young lions scrapping at each other"

[tom]

good stuff lads,

haVEN'T EVEN HEARD 1/4 OF THEM BEFORE, THEY WERE GREAT, ------never mind the capital's , i didn't realise that caps lock was on.