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Gilles Villeneuve enters F1

Short but sweet

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Although Gilles was synonymous with Ferrari, he did one race for McLaren: his F1 debut was in an M23 at Silverstone, 1977.

Everything in Villeneuve’s life was conducted at 200mph. Maximum attack. Whether that was skiing, racing snowmobiles, flying helicopters, driving speedboats… or playing Monopoly. “Some evenings in the winter we used to play [the property trading game] and even then he handled himself as if he was driving his Formula 1 car,” said his close friend, Patrick Tambay. “He was very decisive, never hesitating, taking risks, going forward, forward, all the time. Once his mind was made up – he would go for it.”

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