Salut Gilles: wishing the late Gilles Villeneuve a happy birthday

Sure he was a Canadian, which makes us biased and his success rate left much to be desired but without exception Gilles Villeneuve was the most entertaining driver to watch in history. In a sea of groomed robotic drivers, Gilles' flair and flamboyant style was evidenced at every turn by this scrappy former skidoo racer. His tactics developed him a worldwide following and a dedication to the Ferrari nameplate the world over. Born in 1950, Gilles would have been 62 years old today.

Gilles is widely considered to be one of the best drivers of all time by many including Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson. Despite the Formula One wins and championships that eluded him in his brief career, it was believed that had he (and Ferrari) continued to find their groove, the team would have made a dominant push in the 1980's versus rival McLaren. However, as every Canadian knows, his fascinating career was cut short on the Zolder circuit in 1982 when he was killed instantly during practice. But such was the life of Gilles, it was all on the line every second of every day and he left us with some of the greatest moments the racing world has ever seen.

"If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari..."

- Gilles Villeneuve

The height of any racing battle was during the 1979 French Grand Prix with Villeneuve in the Ferrari versus René Arnoux in the Renault. Any true racing fan will not dispute that this was the most passionate exchange between world-class drivers in history. In the hundreds of tributes for Gilles Villeneuve, it is widely regarded that the best tribute to the legendary Quebecer was his son Jacques Villeneuve winning the 1997 Formula One Grand Prix in the Williams Renault... something Gilles never accomplished.

So this year, as we do every year, we salute you Gilles. We hope the success and the admiration of our great Canadian racers today live up to the benchmark that you set so high and so long ago. Bonne fête.

Head past the jump for videos of memorable Villeneuve moments and the Top Gear tribute!

Image Credit: Allan de la Plante