Scuderia Ferrari had two stars in the house for the 1982 F1 season. It was definitely the year that either Gilles Villeneuve or Didier Pironi were supposed to be world champion. The little French-Canadian had shown in the previous year’s his exuberant driving style, his car control, his never-say-die attitude and his uncomplicated approach. Some, luckily not to many, considered him irresponsible and over-rated.
Villeneuve’s first full season was 1978, when the Ferrari 312T flat12 engine and no ground-effect was certainly no Lotus 79. Gilles took an emotional first GP win in front of his home crowd in Montreal after JP Jarier's Lotus expired. In 1979 he started with a win at Kyalami and Long Beach, but the better 313T4 was not always a match for the venturi equipped machines like the Williams FW07 or the Ligier JS11. His teammate Scheckter won the title. The 1980 T5 was a hopeless car, driving Scheckter into retirement.
In October 1980. Didier Pironi tested for Ferrari, the first Frenchman to do so after Jean Behra. He got the test because Enzo Ferrari was highly impressed by his stunning Ligier drive in Brands Hatch. And more, the Pironi name had some roots in tn the Frioul region of northern Italy. Enzo had a soft spot for that region after they freely rebuilt the tomb of his son Dino after a vandal attack. But it was still a surprise that Didier took the Ferrrari seat instead of Ligier. Pironi was quick, massive ambitious and had a burning ambition to become the first French World champion. And he realized that a Turbo engine and Maranello were the way to go.
In 1981 stepping into the 126CK was for Pironi a reality-check. The new turbo engine showed a large turbo lag, the chassis had a rock-hard suspension and had the tendency to slide on the turn-in. And he was immediately involved in a battle with Villeneuve. Gilles was a magician with that car. He won at Monaco having blasted inside Alan Jones on the short straight. And at Jarama, where he had four cars behind him and everybody was thinking he would make a mistake, he dominated the entire race. But after these 18 points, he did only score 7 more points and ended seventh in the championship. Pironi was 13th with nine points.
The 126C2 for 1982 was the real thing. The car set some ominous pre-season testing times and Pironi escaped unhurt from a big shunt at Paul Ricard.
Gilles qualified third in South Africa and second in Brazil (Pironi sixth and eight) but retired both times and then he was disqualified at Long Beach for the rear-double wing.
Then came Imola. Cosworth runners could not use water ballast anymore and Piquet and Rosberg were thrown out of the Brazilian GP result. The upshot was that the British FOCA teams boycotted the race at San Marino. It meant that there were only 14 cars entering the race. The qualifying session was as expected dominated by the Renault and Ferrari turbo engine cars.
The Italian public was massive present on Sunday because they expected the usual breakdown of the French cars and a Ferrari win.
Pole-man Arnoux got away perfectly and had an immediate lead of 200 meters over Villeneuve and Pironi. Prost had a bad start and was already behind followed by Alboreto and the two Alfa Romeo drivers, De Cesaris and Giacomelli. The race went on the way the crowd wanted. Both Ferrari drivers, racing close together, got close behind Arnoux in lap 7. Prost was already out, engine problems. Gilles Villeneuve tried for 13 laps to pass the Renault and then it was Pironi who took over the attack. Rene Arnoux masterly held off both red cars, even when he lost the lead to Gilles from lap 27-30. Gilles overtook him again in lap 31. But in lap 44, the expected happened. The yellow car went spitting out fire and flames and the two Ferrari’s, Villeneuve again in front of Pironi, came in the lead. Still fifteen laps to go!
Everybody thought there were some team orders and that this would be the finish order. But not for Pironi. He launched his attack on the #28 car. And in the final lap with the finish line in sight, he passed Villeneuve and crossed the line as the winner. Villeneuve clearly was not anticipating Pironi’s move on the last lap. For the fans, it was a Ferrari victory, but Villeneuve was furious. He thought that Imola was his race because he was in front when Arnoux dropped out and he had outpaced Pironi all weekend. Pironi believed he was entitled to fight because Gilles had earlier in the race made a mistake and had briefly gone off the track. It was at that moment that Didier already was briefly leading the race.
What exactly happened will never be known. Team boss Marco Picchini stated years later that both drivers had a private agreement. That was however not so detailed that it stated what would happen if one of them made a mistake. There was also the mentioning of a ‘slow’ sign from the pit wall, but that was around lap 30 and supposed to be a fuel warning.
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What is certain is that 13 days later, Gilles Villeneuve had a fatal crash at the Zolder circuit. He had not spoken to Didier since Imola and had determined to be quicker on every lap, everywhere,..
On Saturday may 8th there were 15 minutes left in the official qualifying session. Gilles was firmly strapped into his seat and concentrated while the mechanics cooled the tyres for the last attempt. The pole-position was not within reach, but the 15/100th that separated him from Pironi was what bothered him. He slowly left the pits and would do a slow lap to bring the tyres in the temperature window. With 10 minutes left, he started his flying lap.
But that lap would never be finished. After the incline at Zolder, on the way down to the chicane there is a spot where you cannot see what is in front of you. And there was the slow driving March of Jochen Mass. He was cooling down his tyres and watched his rear view mirrors. He saw Gilles coming at high speed just in the moment when Gilles spotted the slower March. Jochen had two choices: to the left and let Gilles take the outside track or to the right, the ideal position to attack the chicane. He chose to go right at the split second that Gilles also decided to go to the right. The left front tyre of the Ferrari touched the right rear tyre of the March and was projected into the air at 260km/h. The car dived nose down first in the sand next to the track, bounced on the guard rail and slided back onto the track. The front of the car had exploded and Gilles was thrown out of the car, his helmet gone. The marshals were very quick and did everything what was possible. His injuries were too severe to survive this impact and at 21.12 Gilles Villeneuve was declared dead.
Ferrari withdrew from the race as mark of respect. When Pironi won the Canadian GP, he paid tribute to Gilles amid a highly charged atmosphere.
Didier Pironi went on to score a podium in Detroit and a great victory at Zandvoort after passing Alain Prost in the third lap. He was a way behind the cool and calm diving Lauda at Brands Hatch and finished after both the Renaults at Paul Ricard. He was the definitve leader in the championship before the race at Hockenheim. Here, in a rainy free practice run he had a crash causing his career-ending multiple leg injuries. He still finished second in the drivers‘ championship.
Publication: 20/03/2024Back to overview
