It's the 31 May 1981, it's my A-level physics exam the next day, time to take a break, the Monaco GP on TV. Villeneuve in second place, driving like a madman, his Ferrari hanging at wild angles only inches from the barriers. Leader Jones falters, Villeneuve is through in an instant with fractions to spare on either side, a brilliant win... It almost a year later, 7 May 1981, my first year at University, chatting to flat mate, someone else comes in 'Have you seen the news, a Grand Prix driver just bought it', 'Who?' 'Villeneuve'.
I always think of Gilles Villeneuve as one of the greatest drivers ever to drive a Grand Prix car, and his two wins in that final full season of 1981 as two of the best that I've ever seen. Reading this book 22 years on brought all the magic back again. I found the book captivating. Villeneuve is drawn warts very much and all, although obviously in awe of Villeneuve the driver, Gerald Donaldson also describes Villeneuve the man. Any sportsman capable of reaching such heights is not always going to be easy on those around him and in his unsensationalist way Donaldson does not hide this.
This is an excellent biography, highly recommended. And by the way, when Villeneuve first tested the F1 Ferrari he was four seconds slower than his team mate, even sublime talent needs to practice.
Virgin, 320 pages