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Wonder if Jacque Villeneuve has changed his tune about Lance Stroll?!

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Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
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I have found it somewhat odd that Jacque has been so vociferous about Lance Stroll since he began running in Formula 1 , since the two drivers both went into the ultimate racing series with similar pressures. Jacque had the legendary success and image of his super popular father Gilles, who had a meteoric career cut short by his horrific accident and death at Zolder in 1982. Living up to a father who is an icon in the Country of your birth and trying to equal or exceed his success is a task fraught with unknown pressure. Jacque obviously struggled internally but corralled his talent and went on to win the Formula 1 Championship in 1997 and arguably became and even more established and talented driver than his father.

With all this in mind , it has been perplexing how he constantly condemned Lance as being without talent, even in one case calling him the worse driver Formula 1 had ever seen. The lack of empathy and understanding perplexed me because it is so easy ( and often heard ) to criticize Lance because his father is a Billionaire, and he even owns the Racing Point Team. The pressure Lance comes under from numerous sides , Jacque being right at the forefront, just because his father is rich, is so similar to the pressure Jacque must have felt with his father's shadow constantly over him in his early racing career . One suspected the strong placing by Lance in Azerbaijan a few years back might have changed his mind, or the decent placing Stroll has in the driver's placing this year , but I wonder what Lance landing on the pole had on Villeneuve's perceptions?

First Canadian to be on the Pole in Formula 1 since 1997 ( and that was Jacque of course ) , still early in his F1 career , and in the worse track conditions of 2020. The track in Turkey was treacherous and it showcased the talent of all the drivers and yes there were some surprises.

I guess the reason I like Lance is because money may have helped him get into a Formula car, but loonies do not drive the machine, or help one pass other cars , or get one on Pole. Time for Jacque to take a deep breath and realize there may be another Canadian with talent to drive and eventually win in Formula 1 , who had a different , but just as difficult pressure situation to overcome.

Many of the drivers in F1 had advantages that helped get them into racing, money is likely one of the top ones, but talent is the only thing that keeps them there. Best of luck to Lance in the coming years, as he is the only North American Driver in Formula One and many of us in Canada and the United States wish him well.
 
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The politics at that level are unbelievable, and everyone is a robot. I remember trying to get a job on a prototype team once and was informed that I needed an "English accent". Glad I didn't get it. I worked for an Indy winning crew chief for a few races once and was miserable. Everybody was under intense pressure, the pro driver didn't get along with the team owner, the engineer's word was virtually the 10 commandments, no input wanted, and even pulling the car off the transporter was over scrutinized, and critiqued, the power tools had to be lined up on the workbench and all cords and nitrogen lines had to be rolled and in their place AT ALL TIMES. I get the professional thing, but at some point, someone will have to work on the car.. it was horrible. I only lasted 2 races and a few track days.
Unlike in America, those F1 guys usually have gobs of money... or.. they start out in karts and gradually move up the FIA Formula K classes, then Formula 3 up to F1. In many cases they keep their sponsors along for the ride. Lake Speed was the only Formula K world champion from America in recent history and for all the good it did him, it might have been first place in a basket weaving contest. His kid also had potential along with Michael Andretti, but they were never really allowed to succeed. The only guy I can think of in America who came close to this was Scott Pruett, he ran Margay karts and Bridgestone tires for years, won the kart race at Longbeach and still had to buy his way into Trans Am. Finally Bridgestone got him a ride in one of the Roush Fords at Riverside and he started last, finished first. He tried to parlay that into Indy car, then NASCAR, and he was stuck with some real junk in both series. Finally Firestone (now owned by Bridgestone) hired him to do all their IndyCar development work. He won some races, but was finally ousted in the search for a high roller (read $$$$) driver. He finished his career in Grand Am, IMSA, sadly, he wasn't hired to run the Ford GT cars at Lemans, and retired thereafter.
In any case, racing at that level, IMO you'll need lots of $$$, be politically connected and lastly, some talent.
 

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