GILLES VILLENEUVE – MONACO 1981 Original-Oil-Painting, Ferrari, F1, Formula-One, Monaco,

No one but Gilles Villeneuve could have taken such a beastly car as the Ferrari 126CK to the front of an F1 grid, as second place, Alan Jones put it:

“Know what I remember most about Gilles? I was behind him in the early laps at Monaco in ’81, me in the Williams FW07 and him in that shitbox Ferrari turbo. He was holding me up a bit, and we both knew it. Now, most guys in that situation will just sit there, and be bloody-minded about it, but Gilles was smarter than that. That old tank of his was heavy as hell, and he knew that if he stayed ahead of me he soon wasn’t going to have any brakes. So he let me by into Mirabeau — by which I mean that he left me a gap about an inch wider than my car! He didn’t make it easy, but it was there if I wanted it — and I absolutely knew that the gap wouldn’t close once I was into it. Which wasn’t true of someone like Piquet. I had trouble later in the race, and Gilles re-passed me and won — and the greatest compliment I can pay him is to say that, while I wasn’t exactly delirious with joy, if it had to happen, I was glad that he was the one to benefit from it. The guy just never gave up. A lovely bloke, and a fantastic racing driver — the best I ever raced against…”

Gilles utilized deft touch and mechanical ease to guide the 126CK to a wonderfully exciting Grand Prix of Monaco victory in 1981.

Part of the “Podium Lounge Singapore” art exhibit at the F1 Night Race in Singapore.

©Alex Wakefield - Motorart 27