Gilles Villeneuve on new cars

"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30) 04/25/2015 at 21:06 • Filed to: F1

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“I hate these cars. Two or three years ago I used to enjoy myself maybe 15 times each lap. Now it’s once every 15 laps! No-one outside of F1 can know what shit these things are to drive.

“There is a moment, going over a bump and turning into a corner at the same time, where you lose vision. Everything goes blurred. The g-forces are unbelievable and the steering is ridiculously heavy, like being in a big truck with the power steering not working. Sometimes you feel you don’t have the strength to pull it round a corner.

“And, of course, we have no suspension. You go over a bump and it’s like someone is kicking you in the back. Your legs are flung around against the steering rack. Your head constantly hits the back of the cockpit or the roll-over bar. After a while your sides ache, your head aches, and you become aware of not enjoying driving a racing car…”

- Gilles Villeneuve in 1982

desertdog5051 > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 04/25/2015 at 21:13

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“When men were men”? If he were racing today, I’m pretty sure he would have a different outlook. Watching the WEC race at Silverstone on Utube, I think he would have a different opinion.

tromoly > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 04/25/2015 at 21:35

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I imagine he’s complaining about the effect (no pun intended) that Ground Effect aero had on cars of the time.

f86sabre > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 04/25/2015 at 22:28

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The same as it ever was. Drivers complain. It's what they do.

tromoly > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 04/25/2015 at 23:19

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Sorry for the second reply, but I just noticed that the picture used is from the 1982 US GP West at Long Beach where Ferrari used two wings to circumvent the maximum wing width rule. Haven’t seen many pictures of that configuration, always neat to see it.