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For Jacques Villeneuve, the debate on a possible GOAT in F1 is irrelevant
Jacques Villeneuve, F1 consultant. © Eric Alonso / DPPI
Have you ever found yourself in a heated discussion with friends, trying to determine who among Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer was the GOAT (Greatest of all time) of tennis? Have you ever tried to determine who among Messi, Maradona, Pelé, Cruyff or Cristiano Ronaldo could be considered the best footballer in history? Heated sports debates obviously affect the Formula 1 also.
To determine the identity of the best driver in history, some put forward statistics and in particular world titles, to the advantage of Michael Schumacher et Lewis Hamilton, while others focus on the mark left in history, citing Ayrton Senna instead. Jacques Villeneuve, 1997 world champion and now F1 consultant, is known for having his own opinions.
Asked by Action, to whom he granted an interview, the Canadian refuted the relevance of such a debate in a sport as complex and evolving as F1. "There will never be a best of all timehe says. Cars evolve too much, they are too different" he assures. The former pilot Williams supported his point by giving some examples.
"If you take someone like Jackie Stewart, he's impressive because he won three championships at a time when two, three or five drivers were dying or getting seriously injured every year, and his cars were breaking down in half the races. And yet he managed to win a lot. Same thing with Fittipaldi, etc. In a way, three championships back then is probably more impressive than five or six today."
And the Canadian continued. “Also, when you have a better car, you end up winning almost 24 races instead of 15, because the calendar has 10 more races than before. So the numbers are also skewed. The same if you look at the total number of points you get; a win is worth 25 points. Before, it was 8, then 9, then 10. That also skews the numbers. You can't compare eras.” And you, do you consider that a particular driver should be considered the GOAT?
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Jeremy Satis
Deputy Digital Editor & F1 Reporter
vincent moyet
21/01/2025 at 12:26 a.m.
...or rather the scapegoat! He is absolutely right, and his father is proof that what remains in the memories is the charisma, the attitude. I am not sure that Max Vestappen will be remembered for as long as Gilles Villeneuve.
TOK258
19/01/2025 at 09:33 a.m.
Ah, I was afraid that we would name the F1 drivers' goat!
Yves-Henri RANDIER
19/01/2025 at 06:26 a.m.
Gilles' son doesn't always make relevant comments in my opinion, but I share his opinion this time! The different eras of F1 are so different, the single-seaters are no longer comparable at all and the calendars have increased inversely proportionally to the risks involved, there is no point in trying to designate a GOAT ... in any motor sport for that matter!
Jeff
19/01/2025 at 05:34 a.m.
It's hard for me to name a GOAT in F1, even if Stewart has a small nostalgic advantage and if Prost and Senna had a meteoric rise and dominated their era! On the other hand, outside F1, Jackie Ickx and Sebastien Loeb are above the fray!
Hilton Leon
19/01/2025 at 04:17 a.m.
FANGIO of course, given his 5 titles and his age when he wins.