Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve was a Canadian racing driver who spent six years in Formula One racing for Ferrari, winning six Grands Prix and earning widespread acclaim for his performances.
The Canadian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports car event, before alternating between Mosport and Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, after Formula One took over the event. After 1971, safety concerns led to the Grand Prix moving permanently to Mosport. In 1978, after similar safety concerns with Mosport, the Canadian Grand Prix moved to its current home at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Notre Dame Island in Montreal, Quebec.
The San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One championship race which was run at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, near the Apennine mountains in Italy, between 1981 and 2006. It was named after nearby San Marino as there already was an Italian Grand Prix held at Monza. In 1980, when Monza was under refurbishment, the Imola track was used for the 51st Italian Grand Prix.
Riccardo Paletti was an Italian motor racing driver. Paletti was killed when he crashed on the start grid in his second Formula One start, only two days before his 24th birthday.
The 1981 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 21 June 1981 at the Circuito Permanente del Jarama, Jarama, Spain. It was the seventh race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.
The 1981 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 13 September 1981. It was the thirteenth race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.
The 1982 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 25 April 1982 at the Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy. It was the fourth race of the 1982 Formula One World Championship.
The 1982 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on 13 June 1982. It was the eighth race of the 1982 Formula One World Championship. This was the first Canadian Grand Prix to be held in June, the organisers having moved the race from the autumn to allow for warmer weather; it has been held in June ever since.
The 1982 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on 18 July 1982. It was the tenth race of the 1982 Formula One World Championship.
The 1982 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 36th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It comprised two competitions run concurrently over the course of the year, the 33rd Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 25th Formula One World Championship for Manufacturers. The championship featured sixteen races contested between 23 January and 25 September. The Drivers' Championship was won by Keke Rosberg and the Manufacturers' Championship by Ferrari.
The 1981 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 35th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1981 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1981 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a fifteen-race series that commenced on 15 March and ended on 17 October. Formula One cars also competed in the 1981 South African Grand Prix, although this was a Formula Libre race and was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
The 1979 Formula One season was the 33rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors which were contested concurrently over a fifteen-round series which commenced on 21 January 1979, and ended on 7 October. The season also included three non-championship Formula One races. Jody Scheckter of Scuderia Ferrari won the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers while Scuderia Ferrari won 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors. Gilles Villeneuve made it a 1–2 for Ferrari in the championship, concluding a successful second half of the 1970s for Ferrari. Alan Jones finished the season strongly for Williams, finishing third in the championship and with teammate Clay Regazzoni scoring Williams's first ever Grand Prix win as a constructor. Scheckter's title was Ferrari's last drivers' title for 21 years, before Michael Schumacher won five consecutive titles for the team between 2000 and 2004.
Didier Joseph Louis Pironi was a French racing driver. During his career, he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, driving for Tyrrell (1978–1979), Ligier (1980) and Ferrari (1981–1982), but his F1 career ended after a practice crash at the 1982 German Grand Prix. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978 driving a Renault Alpine A442B.
Patrick Daniel Tambay was a French racing driver, commentator, and politician, who competed in 123 Formula One races between 1977 and 1986, securing five pole positions and winning twice.
The 1981 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One motor race held on March 15, 1981, at Long Beach, California. It was the opening race of the 1981 Formula One World Championship.
The 1982 Detroit Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 6, 1982, in Detroit, Michigan.
The 1982 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One motor race held on April 4, 1982, at the temporary street circuit at Long Beach, California.
The 1979 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 7, 1979 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was the fifteenth and final race of the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors. This event was also referred to as the United States Grand Prix East in order to distinguish it from the United States Grand Prix West held on April 8, 1979 in Long Beach, California.
The Ferrari 126C is the car with which Ferrari raced in the 1981 Formula One season. The team's first attempt at a turbocharged Formula 1 car, it was designed by Mauro Forghieri and Harvey Postlethwaite and used between the 1981 and 1984 seasons. The engine chief engineer was Nicola Materazzi.
John Watson 
