Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve was born in April 9, 1971 in Quebec, Canada. He is the son of the formula one driver Gilles Villeneuve. Villeneuve is known for winning the 1995 CART championship, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and the 1997 formula one championship. Alongside with Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi he is one of the drivers who achieved all three of these feats. When Jacques was eleven years old his father was killed during the qualifying session in the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. In 1985 Jacques mother Joann allowed her son to drive a 100cc kart at the kart track Imola. The owners of the track were impressed and after he proved himself in an 100cc machine he moved in 135cc in the same day, being allowed to drive into the Grand Prix circuit with a formula four car. In 1987 Villeneuve attended a racing school set up by former instructor Richard Spenard. In 1988 the seventeen year old Jacques Villeneuve got into the Alfa cup and against former formula one drivers like Johnny Cecotto and Mauro Baldi, he finished in the tenth place. Two weeks later, in Monza, Villeneuve was up against the likes of Ricardo Patrese and Nicola Larini.
A year later Villeneuve competed in the Italian formula three series from 1989 till 1991, but he failed to make an impression. In 1992 he competed in the Japanese formula three series winning three races and finishing the championship in second place. Soon he received an invitation by Craig Pollock to compete in the Trois Rivieres Formula Atlantic race. Villeneuve finished in third place in the race and Pollock was impressed, arranging for the Canadian to race in the North American Toyota Atlantic series for the upcoming season. In 1993 Villeneuve took seven pole positions and won 5 races from 15. He finished the championship in the third place, in his debut season. In 1994 he won his first race at Road America and also took close second place in the Indianapolis 500. He finished 6th in the championship and won the Rookie of the year award.
In 1995 he won the Indianapolis 500 and the CART championship and got the attention of Frank Williams, who signed him for his team in 1996. The contract was for two years with an option year available to him as well. Villeneuve impressed in his debut race in Australia after taking the pole position. He also got near in winning te race but a combination of oil leak and team orders forced him to slow down and Hill won the race in the end. But the Canadian manage to hold in second position. He won his first formula one race in Nurburgring. He also won three more races this season and managed to take th title to the final round in Japan. Villeneuve retired from the race on the 37th lap after his right-rear wheel came off.
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In 1997 Hill was dropped by Williams. Villeneuve's new team-mate was Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Villeneuve fought for the title again this year but instead of Hill, he was battling with Michael Schumacher. Like in 1996 Villeneuve took the title to the final round in Japan. As Villeneuve was about to overtake Schumacher, the German turn into the Canadian's car leaving him with a damaged sidepot. Villeneuve recovered and took the third place in the race and the title, while Schumacher retire and was disqualified from the championship. In 1998 Williams and Villeneuve could not compete with Hakkinen's Mclaren. Villeneuve failed to win a single race although he got to the podium two times. He finished his season with only 21 points and 79 points behind Mika Hakkinen who took the title that season.
In 1999 Villeneuve joined British American Racing better known as BAR, alongside with team-mate Ricardo Zonta. But the team and Villeneuve had a very poor performance in this season, as they retired from the first eleven races of the championship and did not score a single championship point. In 2000 the season was better. BAR replaced the Supertec engines with Honda engines. Villeneuve was able to score some points during the season. In 2001 the season was the same with th previous one. Villeneuve got in the podium two times and these were his last podiums in his formula one career. In 2002 the car was even less competitive and Villeneuve scored only four points.
In 2003 Jenson Button joined BAR as Villeneuve's team-mate, and replaced Olivier Panis who joined Toyota. Button was the second team-mate of Villeneuve to outscore him in the drivers championship. Villeneuve was critisized by the media for being outplaced by his inexperienced team-mate, and he was replaced by Takuma Sato before the final round in Japan. Villeneuve had no contract in 2004 but he returned to formula one to race for Renault in the final three Grand Prix. In 2004 he joined Sauber having Felipe Massa as a team-mate. In 2006 the team was renamed BMW Sauber. Felipe Massa left the team for Ferrari and he was replaced by Nick Heidfeld. Villeneuve scored seven points during the first twelve rounds, but he had an accident in the German Grand Prix and injured himself. He was replaced by Robert Kubica. Within days BMW and Villeneuve announced that they had parted company with immediate efect.
In 2007 Villeneuve decided to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He pledged to keep on competing in the event until he wins it. If he wins he will be the first driver ever to win the formula one championship, the champ car championship, the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Jacques Villeneuve's career in formula one ended with him racing in 165 races, 11 wins, 23 podium finishes, 13 pole positions, 9 fastest laps and one world championship.
