The son of a motorsport legend, a racer since childhood, Formula 1 was Jacques Villeneuve's destiny. In 1996, the young Canadian arrived at his first Grand Prix and immediately proved he belonged there by taking pole position.
In his rookie season Villeneuve won races, went wheel-to-wheel with Michael Schumacher and took Williams teammate Damon Hill to a final race title-decider. 30 years on, he sits down with Tom Clarkson to remember how he shook up the sport.
Jacques explains why he left IndyCar as reigning champion to join Williams in Formula 1, and how racing on ovals influenced how he drove Grands Prix. He talks about working with race engineer Jock Clear, and experimenting with his throttle pedal and steering wheel paddles to find extra performance.
Tom asks Jacques about the highlights of his first year in F1: his first pole position, his first race win and the spectacular pass he made on Michael Schumacher - an overtaking move still regarded as one of the best in F1 history.
F1 Nation + F1 Explains are together in 2026
Get race reviews + answers to your questions all in one place
This episode is sponsored by:
CarGurus: buy or sell your next car today at cargurus.com
Shopify: sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/beyondthegrid
Saily: get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code grid at
checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/grid
