Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve, son of legendary F1 driver Gilles Villeneuve, is the talk of the F1 world this year as he attempts to become the first successful Indycar transplant since Mario Andretti. His meteoric rise through motor racing's ranks culminated last year when he became the youngest ever, and first Canadian, PPG Indycar champion.

His career began in Italian Group N Saloons in 1988. He quickly moved on to F3 in Italy in 1989 where he stayed for three seasons. In 1992 he moved to Japanese F3 and finished the season in 2nd place. In '93 he moved to the American Toyota Atlantic Championship and had a very impressive season being named Rookie of the Year. In 15 races he had seven poles and five wins and finished third in the championship. Villeneuve moved with Team Green to Indycar in '94. He finished the season with a win, 2nd at the Indianapolis 500 and 6th place in the championship earning him Rookie of the Year honors. He fulfilled his potential in 95 winning the championship with four wins including the Indianapolis 500.

In his F1 debut he took pole and was only prevented from winning when a slight off caused an oil leak and he had to slow and allow team-mate Hill to pass him for the win. He went onto win four races and took the championship all the way to the last race although a poor start had almost guaranteed Hill the championship before a lost wheel took him out of the race altogether. He stays with Williams for the 97 season and is the clear favourite to win the championship.