LEGENDS: How Jacques Villeneuve shook up F1

LEGENDS: How Jacques Villeneuve shook up F1

From F1 Beyond The Grid by Formula 1

March 18, 2026 · 39 min

About this episode

Jacques Villeneuve reflects on his impactful debut season in Formula 1 and his racing career.

The son of a motorsport legend, a racer since childhood, Formula 1 was Jacques Villeneuve's destiny. In 1996, the young Canadian arrived at his first Grand Prix and immediately proved he belonged there by taking pole position. In his rookie season Villeneuve won races, went wheel-to-wheel with Michael Schumacher and took Williams teammate Damon Hill to a final race title-decider. 30 years on, he sits down with Tom Clarkson to remember how he shook up the sport. Jacques explains why he left IndyCar as reigning champion to join Williams in Formula 1, and how racing on ovals influenced how he drove Grands Prix. He talks about working with race engineer Jock Clear, and experimenting with his throttle pedal and steering wheel paddles to find extra performance. Tom asks Jacques about the highlights of his first year in F1: his first pole position, his first race win and the spectacular pass he made on Michael Schumacher - an overtaking move still regarded as one of the best in F1 history. F1 Nation + F1 Explains are together in 2026 Get race reviews + answers to your questions all in one place This episode is sponsored by: CarGurus: buy or sell your next car today at cargurus.com…

People in this episode

Host: Tom Clarkson

Guest: Jacques Villeneuve

Topics covered

  • Jacques Villeneuve
  • Formula 1
  • racing history
  • IndyCar
  • overtaking moves
  • motorsport legends

Keywords

  • Jacques Villeneuve
  • Formula 1
  • Michael Schumacher
  • Damon Hill
  • racing
  • overtaking
  • motorsport

Sponsors

CarGurus, Shopify, Saily

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Williams

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