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

A blind masterclass at Canada

We stay in the 1981 season, this time at Gilles Villeneuve’s home around at a wet and soggy Canada circuit. The Ferrari 126C still was a dog which had to be dragged around, but Villeneuve was still giving the fans what they wanted: entertainment.

Villeneuve had a minor incident — I, too, am shocked to read that — early in the race, causing slight damage to his basic front wing. Since the damage did not seem to be too bad, he decided not to get it repaired, instead opting to stay out and risk it.

The wing eventually flew up by the air into Villeneuve’s sight, blocking his vision for the most part. Somehow, he was able to direct his vision to his sides, while keeping control of the car and maneuvering his Ferrari around the track for a number of laps, losing only a handful of positions.

The vibrations caused the wing to depart from his line of sight eventually, just before the final hairpin. A snap of oversteer led to another snap of oversteer, but Villeneuve somehow kept control of his vehicle with sublime skill and awareness.

He showed his skill throughout the race with overtakes on eventual world champions Nelson Piquet and Alain Prost. By the way, he managed to secure third place on the rostrum as well through all of this.