IndyCar veteran Jacques Villeneuve announced earlier this week that he will be back behind the wheel in this year’s Indianapolis 500 as part of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ line-up. Villeneuve last raced in the event in 1995.
In getting ready for the even, Villenueve says that he’s looking forward to getting back behind the wheel with the speed that Indianapolis Motor Speedway offers and being on the edge in traffic.
“It’s something that hasn’t been reciprocated in any other form of racing. That was a level of excitement that was crazy. Also, it’s the biggest race event in the world,” he commented.
Villeneuve said the opportunity to do this came up a couple weeks ago in conversation with Sam Schmidt and it didn’t take too long from there.
“The discussions happened at the right time because I’d been watching the IndyCars last year, and it looked extremely exciting with the new cars, to the point where I was angry and jealous that I wasn’t racing. So that got me going again,” he commented. “I’ve been active ever since leaving IndyCar in ’95, anyway, with Formula One. I did some NASCAR racing, some other forms of racing, in Australia, different places. I just wasn’t considering going back to something I’d already done mostly because there’s been a few dark years for IndyCar.
“But the whole group behind the series have been working really hard and done a tremendous job because it’s getting back to the glory days with the races exciting and also the field of drivers is becoming more and more impressive every year again.”
Sam Schmidt has been building on success each year, including a third place finish in points last year with Simon Pagenaud after winning a pair of races.
“It’s really a representation of the guys and how hard they’ve been working, how the program has really come along quite nicely,” Schmidt commented. “I think having somebody of Jacques’ caliber is an incredible statement and we’re really looking forward to it.”
Co-owner Ric Peterson added that it is special to have Villeneuve as part of the team due to being a fan of him.
“I watched Jacques’ career from Toyota Atlantics to Formula One, was always a fan myself,” he said. “We actually have a few other Canadian employees on our team, and they’re also very excited about having Jacques, as is the whole team. But the Canadians have a little extra excitement about it.”
Villeneuve and team haven’t decided how much testing they will do before the month, but Villeneuve said that they will try to find some time to test between now and May.
“The good thing is there’s still plenty of laps to get done during the month of May, which is good. I’ve been on that racetrack,” he added. “Even though it was a long time ago, it feels like it was yesterday. I hope I remember it well.”
The race will reunite Villeneuve with one of his rivals, Juan Pablo Montoya, as Montoya looks to tackle the full schedule. The pair put one of the biggest shows in 1995 when Villeneuve won after Montoya had led 167 laps in the race.
“I got to know him better actually the few races I did in NASCAR than F1,” Villeneuve commented. “We didn’t get along so much in F1. The few races I did in NASCAR, he became a different person. I guess North America and pure racing suits him. He’s very talented. He’s going back there to win. He’s not going there just to have fun.
“That’s what also makes it fun, is to be able to go in that race after so many years and racing against guys that deserve to win races, deserve to be at the highest level of motorsports.”
Beyond Indianapolis, there are Canadians that would love to have the Quebec native at the only Canadian stop of the IndyCar season – the Honda Indy Toronto. Villeneuve says he isn’t sure if that’s in the cards as it’s a very hard race track to run.
“You don’t get the mileage like you do at Indy. So to just arrive there on the weekend without having driven the car would not be very constructive. It would make the result quite negative,” he added. “It’s not something you just jump into unless you’re working on doing the full season the following year and building something up. Just as a one-off, the Indy 500 is the one race that stands out. It is the biggest race in the world. You can focus on that.
Honestly, I didn’t even look at the schedule. I think I have only four or five weekends free this year so I’m not sure it would fit in the schedule.”
