Jacques Villeneuve: “IndyCar was a good school”

Guest of the weekly podcast of the F1, Jacques Villeneuve looked back on his first years in motorsport, and in particular his victorious passage across the Atlantic in CART, with his victory at Indianapolis in 1995.

A subject that is all the more topical with the rumors surrounding the possible arrival of Fernando Alonso in the American series after announcing his absence from F1 in 2019.

« THEIndyCar was a good school, because there was pressure, especially with Indy 500, impressive speeds, if you look at the ovals, so it was good preparation, especially with the work to be done on these heavy and fast cars, admits Villeneuve. There was a lot to do, development too.

There were also such different tracks, road layouts, in town, bumpy or not, ovals. So we had to think a little from the start. When I arrived in F1, this type of thinking often helped me. »

The Canadian, then moved to F1, with the 1997 coronation as the peak of his career, at the end of a fight that remained memorable with Michael Schumacher, also notes the differences between eras, particularly in terms of behavior on the track.

“You could also be more aggressive on the circuit. If a pilot blocked you, you gave him a piece of his hand, and that was the end of it. It was, man to man, action and reaction.

Michael Schumacher was the first to move on the straights. He had brought this from karting. But before, no one had done it. There was more respect, you did your maneuver or not, if you chose the interior, you stayed there.

At the end, you could get out of the car, “have a laugh,” and then have a cup of coffee. »