Villeneuve v Pironi

I just saw the Villeneuve Pironi documentary... its very good... and I think pretty fair... I've always been a Villeneuve fan... so love it

 

I loved watching Gilles win but Didier was my hero, I was in my teens he was from my town, the gutsy brainy yet wild Ferrari star...and then he had his Hockhenheim crash...the day after I got my driver's licence I took the train back from Paris to Burgundy that morning, the Champagne was ready.... but when I got off on the platform my mother looked ashen...I said what's wrong...

Celebration cancelled....what a destiny....

There has always been a huge pro Gilles bias in the Anglo saxon press about the 82 drama so I hope this is AT LAST a fair review.

 

Haven't seen the doc, but I can't help thinking even the fairest review will still tilt toward Gilles...

 

Where can this be watched?

 

Sky/Now TV in the UK
I think they financed the film so it may stay within the Murdoch group of media companies

 

Pironi the villain, Gilles the good.
Prost the Villain, Senna the good.
French drivers are so representative of French behaviors against the world !

 

Saw it at least four times.
Very balanced and fair to my taste.
Main culprit for 1982 disastrous was already team management..
Some things never change..

 

You said it right!

 

For us North Americans, anywhere we can stream this? Would love to watch this

 

Didier knew what he was doing, and so did Picininni....if Mauro was on the wall that day things would have been different.

 

I think the film was fair - Pironi clearly felt inferior to Villeneuve and went for it.... Piccinini was pro Pironi because of the family banking ties in Monaco - the film does not go into that... but that is the link. At that time in F-1 France had the most drivers, and was producing some very, very good racers... At the end I think Joann Villeneuve was very kind about the whole thing. Pironi clearly screwed Villeneuve at Imola... no question. however Villeneuve did not have to go crazy at Hockenheim ... that one decision is what killed him. his desire to be the faster of the two. Perhaps if he had lived - he would have been world Champion .. the car was clearly very good, but fragile. who knows. in my mind Rosberg who won the championship, just lasted longer than any of the others... sometimes that is what it takes.

 

I got a link from a friend - sadly I cant share it...

 

True
Unfortunately in the end Ferrari lost WDC.
Pironi was a smart guy, Gilles a bit more naive.

 

I thought the accident occured at Zolder.

 

Zolder indeed.

 

I acted a bit unscrupulous this evening and got my hands on the documentary. It was very well done, compelling and balanced, and I consider it required viewing for every serious Formula 1 fan.

I loved all of the old racing and interview footage as well as the commentary from the racing legends who are still with us today. I also have to say, Joann is one classy and gracious woman. The documentary didn’t change my opinion on the topic, so I am still very much in the Gilles camp.

One thing that wasn’t mentioned that I read somewhere, was that after Imola, Gilles vowed to never to speak to Didier ever again. When he next saw Didier at Zolder, Didier greeted Gilles and he reciprocated. After the encounter, Gilles became incensed at himself for breaking his vow.

 

True, there are alot of thing most people don't know about the story, many came to light last year, trough Jonathan Giacobazzi. Simple fact is, before the rece there were two meetings between Ferrari and Renault, including the 4 drivers from bothn teams.
It was agreed between them (they knew because of the strike from the Foca teams they wouldn't be chalenged by anyone else) to fight as best they could untill half the race, after that, in order to preserve fuel and ensure they would all finish, the order would remain unchanged, no one would attack anyone else. They all agreed on this. Prost's car broke in the first laps, the other 3 kept on fighting, mostly Gilles and Arnoux. After René retirement Gilles was in front, after lap 20 or half the race, Gilles was in front, Didier broke the agreement, and he knew it, but his ambition was stronger than his word...i think he really liked Gilles, and he felt bad about the whole thing, and i think he felt very remorsefull after Zolder. But this is just my opinion...

 

I feel like I also read that Gilles thought Didier was just playing cat and mouse with him in order to put on a show for the crowd, so he went along with it. Unfortunately, when Gilles realized Didier was out for blood, it was too late...

 

Sorry- yes - Zolder for Villeneuve - Hockenheim for Pironi... got them confused.

Pironi was faster than Villeneuve by a couple of tenths and he could not accept that... and went out...

 

Again team management was horrendous this day.
Similar problem between Prost and Arnoux in France 1982.

 

A bit diferent that was, as it seems nobody told rené he had to give the win to Prost, and everyone at Renault partied hard with René after the win, even the bosses.
René and Alain tell a very diferent story of the events. aparentely Prost asked rené if he would let him by if that was the case, and renés said "sure"! but speaking with irony....henever really meant it, Prost believed it, and René says he wa sjust being sarcastic that if Prost believed it it was his problem, that at any time did the team asked him to give the place to Alain.

 

Yes, that is true, Gilles big, big mistake was when he passed him the last time, he should never have slowed down again!

 

just watched it, the additional info from @spirot regarding Piccinini is very helpful and I think should've been added to the documentary as it's actually really important, but maybe not at second thought, they didn't want to make it about conspiracy theories I guess.


Very well done documentary, both deaths in the end so unnecessary.

 

Marco Piccininni (AKA Il monsegnori) was a snake, nobody liked him, a pure political and burocrat, who knew nothing about racing. He was poison, and his part is the whole affair is a big one.....Brenda vernor has some nice words about him!

 

Is this the "only the good die young" race car driver version ??