Formula 1: 5 times Gilles Villeneuve was the ideal entertainer of F1

That overtake on Alan Jones at Tarzan

Before the events of the previous point occurred, Gilles Villeneuve was actually having a good race, battling with Alan Jones of Williams. Turn one at Zandvoort is known as Tarzan, a very famous corner in the Formula 1 world — a very tough one at that, especially for the Formula 1 cars of 1979.

It took some serious skill to pull off a move around the outside of anyone at this corner, let alone a Williams of this time, but Villeneuve showed everyone how to do it.

So, Jones and Villeneuve crossed the line to start their 11th lap with Jones ahead and Villeneuve a couple of car lengths behind as they battled for the lead. Jones went on the defensive into turn one, leaving space on the outside, never expecting someone to try a move there.

The next thing he knows, the #12 Ferrari is storming around him on his left, with a kick of oversteer in the process, and away he goes. Nobody expected this kind of move to be pulled off at that type of corner in these cars. But we should have known that with Villeneuve, you should expect the unexpected.

Of course, he relinquished the lead to Jones later in the race with a fabulous, high-speed spin, which caused his tire failure and led to the events of the “Ferrari tricycle”. But it just goes to show that Villeneuve could provide entertainment on all fronts.