F1 | Canada: Ferrari boxes in red in memory of Gilles Villeneuve

The pole position of the Canadian Grand Prix did not end up in the hands of a Ferrari driver. As we know, Charles Leclerc will start from the penultimate square of the grid for having mounted a completely new power unit – the fourth of the season – thus ending up in penalties. Carlos Sainz Jr. in yesterday’s qualifying did not go beyond the third time, also beaten by the Alpine of a timeless Fernando Alonso. But it doesn’t matter.

Although the pole position of the Canadian GP will be occupied by Max Verstappen’s Red Bull RB18 number 1, at the start of the ninth round of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship the starting squares of the Ferraris from which the race to be held in Montreal will start. have been painted red.

The reason is very simple: this year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the death of Gilles Villeneuve, one of the greatest and most famous racing drivers that Canada has been able to show in its history. Same goes for Ferrari.

The tribute to Gilles Villeneuve

Photo by: Ferrari

Gilles won little, just 6 races, but his imprint in Formula 1 was, to say the least, irrepressible, so much so that many fans of the Villeneuve Fever became “sick” between the end of the 70s and the beginning of the following decade.

On 8 May 1982 Villeneuve tragically died from the consequences of a terrible accident which occurred during the qualifying session for the Belgian Grand Prix, which was then held in Zolder. His Ferrari 126 C2 hit Jochen Mass’s March after a misunderstanding at the Terlamenbocht corner and from there, a few moments after the tragedy, the myth was born.

Next to the box of the two Ferraris, the organizers of the Grand Prix – which, moreover, is held on the Montreal track, dedicated to Gilles Villeneuve itself – have also affixed a sentence on both sides: “We will always remember Gilles Villeneuve. 1950 – 1982”.

40 years after his death, Gilles continues to be alive in the memory of many fans. And today’s initiative is further confirmation of this.

Gilles Villeneuve, Ferrari