5. Villeneuve’s fall to mediocrity
Jacques Villeneuve, son of the legendary Gilles Villeneuve, entered the F1 scene in 1996. With his signature blonde hair and natural speed, he became a world champion with Williams in only his second season.
However, after his 1997 title, he spent two miserable seasons racing in an underpowered Williams car. In 1999, the Canadian soon moved to a new multi-million dollar team called British American Racing (BAR), run by his personal manager Craig Pollock.
This was not meant to be however, as he retired from the first 11 races during his first season. In his 5 seasons with the team, the best results were two third places in 2001. His glorious start of the career soon faded from the memory of fans.
It is best if we stop here and not even mention his sad 2006 season with the Sauber F1 team…
