Gilles Villeneuve, youth at 100 miles an hour

This article can be found in our Collector Gilles Villeneuve. 104 pages that retrace the Canadian's career! It is available on newsstands and in the online store in paper and digital version.

Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve was born on the morning of January 18, 1950 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, 40 km southeast of Montreal. Later, the Canadian would change his year of birth, making himself two years younger, because he feared that his true age would be perceived as an obstacle to his automotive career. Son of Seville Villeneuve, itinerant piano tuner, and Georgette Villeneuve, née Coupal, young Gilles was joined by a little brother, Jacques, on November 4, 1953.

The father's long professional journeys force Georgette to often raise her two children alone. Gilles' childhood does not seem to have suffered from it