Former F1 Champion Jacques Villeneuve Describes the Major Failure That Put His Daytona 500 Participation in Danger

Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula 1 champion, made all the headlines after he qualified for the Daytona 500 with Team Hezeberg. The Canadian, who is 50-years-old, will be the second oldest driver on the field for Sunday’s race.

However, for a brief moment leading up to the main event, Villeneuve and his team’s heart sank as they saw their contention for the Great American Race in doubt.

This was right before the field formation at the Duel as Villeneuve’s No. 27 Mustang wouldn’t fire up, leaving him stranded on the pit road. According to the rules, even if a team in the Open slot was to fall back on the qualifying team, they still needed to compete in the Duel.

But fortunately for Team Hezeberg and the former F1 driver, the problem was fixed and he took part in the event. However, the problem wasn’t entirely gone, as Villeneuve described in an interview afterward.

“They fixed it just before we got going, but not fully, because I was only getting 60-percent throttle the whole race,” he said. “Which means the car is not really that slow.”

Villeneuve continued, “When I stopped the first time for the pits, the throttle stayed stuck at low revs. The second time around it just died. There was just no more throttle. So, something funky there.”

Jacques Villeneuve credits crew chief for instilling a calm amongst the anxiety

For all the natural reasons, when the No.40 Mustang wouldn’t fire up in the pit road, Jacques Villeneuve and his team were anxious. But just then, crew chief Josh Reaume jumped in and added more focus, more calm in the otherwise chaotic environment.

This was something the former Williams F1 driver praised Reaume for. “He’s good. He’s really good under stressful situations, obviously,” Villeneuve emphasized.

“He can put everybody in place and calm them down and tell them what to do. So, that was really good. That was necessary today.”

For now, Jacques Villeneuve and Team Hezeberg are set to take part in the main event on Sunday, the Great American Race. But while their spirits will be high as they’ll go for the win, they’d also have one eye on the throttle issues.

Because nothing would be more heartbreaking than making it all the way to Sunday and then going home without even leaving the pit road.

Also Read: Jacques Villeneuve Finally Explains the Story Behind His ‘Embarrassing’ NASCAR Champion Patch at Daytona 500