Villeneuve: Vanwall Gateway to Full-Time Racing Return

Jacques Villeneuve said that his FIA World Endurance Championship program with Vanwall has allowed him to make a return to full-time racing after years of ‘just doing a race here and there.’

The 1997 Formula 1 world champion is set to make his WEC debut when he contests Friday’s 1000 Miles of Sebring aboard the No. 4 Vanwall Vandervell 680 alongside Tom Dillmann and Esteban Guerrieri.

The Canadian told Sportscar365 that the program with the Austrian-flagged squad has allowed him to fulfill the ambition of returning to full-time competition after years of running largely partial season schedules.

In recent years, Villeneuve notably competed in the Daytona 500 while also racing in the likes of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, Italian GT Championship and Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia.

“For years I’ve just been doing a race here and there,” Villeneuve said.  “Never championships, never working fully with a team. That’s what I’ve been wanting to do, to do it fully.

“When I was trying my hand at NASCAR, it was only a few races here and there and that always makes it a little bit different when you just jump in.

“It either suits you and you’re quick straight away or it’s not the way it should be, you don’t have time to work to get it the way you want. That’s why I was happy to get into a full program.”

Despite his extensive resume both in Formula 1 as well as in U.S. racing, the Indy 500 winner has no racing experience at Sebring International Raceway, admitting he’s jumping in at the deep end.

“I drove Sebring in IndyCar testing, but the older track with the tight hairpin and then there was a proper left-right chicane,” he explained.

“So I know that side of the track, but not the extra three or four corners for the endurance track. I just know it’s bumpy and it’ll be hot.

“You don’t have time to stress when you’re thrown in right away. But it’s okay, Tom and Esteban have driven the car lots so they’ll be able to have a good base.”

Despite Vanwall’s underdog status and cautious start to the season, having completed 147 laps during the Prologue, Villeneuve remains upbeat for his goals for the season ahead.

“I know what I want and what I want [is that] I want to be able to fight at the front,” he said. “The goal is the championship and Le Mans but I have no idea where we stand.

“If there are issues, we are a smaller team so it will be more difficult to react to issues compared to a bigger team.”

Vandervell 680 ‘Harder to Drive’ Than Alpine F1 Car

Villeneuve compared Vanwall’s Gibson V8-powered Hypercar to modern Formula 1 machinery, claiming it is a more challenging car to drive.

He tested the Alpine A521, the French marque’s 2021 Formula 1 car, during a test celebrating the 25th anniversary of his world title win late last year.

“The car is a handful to drive, which was exciting,” Villeneuve said of the Vandervall 680.  “I drove the Alpine F1 car in September and that was an easier car to drive than this. The F1 car was like driving a fast limo.

“It was super stable and when I jumped in the WEC car, that reminded me of the old F1 cars from the 90s.

“You were actually fighting the car the whole time, a little bit unstable, so it made it hard work. It meant it was a lot of work to do on the setup as well, which is fun.”

Villeneuve has been out of prototype racing for more than a decade, with his last outing coming when he secured an overall podium finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008 with Peugeot.

Despite the lengthy hiatus, he expects to get back up to speed relatively quickly in eight-hour season opener.

“It’s still similar races and cars,” noted Villeneuve. “My last big win in endurance was at Spa with Peugeot, the race before Le Mans.

“The memory just comes back, that’s what I noticed when I drove the Alpine.

“I was in an F1 car, get to the first corner and everything comes natural within a few seconds. I’m expecting the same thing.”