40 Facts About Jacques Villeneuve

1. Jacques Villeneuve was one of several celebrity Canadians who carried the Olympic flag into Vancouver Olympic Stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the 21st Winter Olympic Games.

2. Jacques Villeneuve voiced a racing announcer in the European and Canadian French versions of animated film Cars 2.

3. Jacques Villeneuve appeared briefly in the 2001 Sylvester Stallone action movie Driven as himself.

4. Jacques Villeneuve has appeared in various TV commercials for Honda when he was driving for the BAR team.

5. On February 19, 2007, Jacques Villeneuve released his first album entitled Private Paradise.

6. Jacques Villeneuve apparently designed his helmet while doodling on a drawing pad.

7. Jacques Villeneuve finished the season in 37th place with 8 points.

8. Jacques Villeneuve raced the No 27 car of the Oro Racing team and finishing the race in the 16th place.

9. Jacques Villeneuve made his return to the Cup Series in 2013 in the 51 car for Phoenix Racing at Sonoma Raceway.

10. Jacques Villeneuve was then tabbed to drive the No 32 car in Montreal and at Road America in 2010.

11. In 2009, Jacques Villeneuve had two starts in the Canadian Tire Series.

12. Jacques Villeneuve took part in the Nationwide race in Montreal for Braun Racing.

13. Jacques Villeneuve lost his ride in Bill Davis Racing's No 27 car due to a loss of sponsorship, two days after he caused a pileup in his qualifying race, when his car got loose, then slid back up the track, colliding with another car.

14. Jacques Villeneuve stated he was still looking for further opportunities in Formula One in 2010 and 2011.

15. Jacques Villeneuve was close to signing with Stefan GP for the 2010 Formula One season, and undertook a seat fitting, but the FIA did not certify Stefan GP for competition in 2010.

16. Jacques Villeneuve scored seven points during the first twelve rounds of the season.

17. Jacques Villeneuve continued training and made a special appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed driving his late father's Ferrari.

18. Jacques Villeneuve was criticized by the media for being outpaced by his inexperienced teammate and before the final round in Japan, the Canadian was replaced by former British Formula 3 Champion Takuma Sato.

19. From this point on, Jacques Villeneuve felt less comfortable at the team.

20. Jacques Villeneuve scored five points less than the previous season, but finished on the podium twice in Spain and Germany.

21. Jacques Villeneuve was involved in a crash at the Australian Grand Prix, the first race of the season, when he hit the back of Ralf Schumacher's Williams.

22. In 1999, Jacques Villeneuve joined the newly founded British American Racing team, co-founded and partly owned by Villeneuve's personal manager, Craig Pollock, and by Adrian Reynard.

23. Jacques Villeneuve finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship with 21 points, 79 points behind Champion Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren-Mercedes.

24. Jacques Villeneuve came out on top and won the World Championship in only his second season, but the race was remembered for a collision between himself and title rival Schumacher.

25. Jacques Villeneuve became the first driver in Formula One history to finish second in his first championship season.

26. Jacques Villeneuve won a further three races and managed to take the title to the final round at Suzuka.

27. Jacques Villeneuve won his first Formula One race at the fourth round at the Nurburgring despite coming under pressure from the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher.

28. Jacques Villeneuve started the 1995 campaign strongly, winning the first race on the streets of Miami.

29. Jacques Villeneuve competed in the Italian Formula Three series from 1989 through 1991, but failed to make an impression.

30. At the age of seventeen, Jacques Villeneuve was too young to obtain a racing license in both his native Canada and Italy and so, with help from the Canadian Automotive Federation, got a license from Andorra.

31. Jacques Villeneuve owned a nightclub and restaurant in Montreal called Newtown, but he sold it in 2009.

32. Jacques Villeneuve was named Canada's Athlete of the Year, receiving the Lou Marsh Trophy in 1995 and 1997.

33. In June 2012, Jacques Villeneuve married Camila Lopes, with whom he has had two more sons, Benjamin and Henri.

34. Jacques Villeneuve married his Parisienne girlfriend Johanna Martinez on May 29, 2006, at a civil ceremony in Switzerland.

35. Jacques Villeneuve was engaged to Australian singer Dannii Minogue in the late 1990s and was once engaged to American ballerina Ellen Green.

36. Jacques Villeneuve has a sister Melanie and a half sister Jessica.

37. Jacques Villeneuve was born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, to aspiring Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve and his wife Joann and raised in Monaco.

38. Jacques Villeneuve was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998.

39. Jacques Villeneuve won the 1995 CART Championship, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and the 1997 Formula One World Championship, making him only the third driver after Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi to achieve such a feat.

40. Jacques Villeneuve is the son of Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle, who was a racer.