During the 1979 Grand Prix of the Netherlands at Zandvoort, the left rear tire on Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari exploded. Against all odds, the Canadian made it back to the pits with his Ferrari 312T4 running on three, and sometimes on just two wheels!
Villeneuve was battling with Alan Jones (Williams) for the lead when the tire exploded. But nothing could stop Villeneuve. He rejoined the track and drove his Ferrari back to the pits at speed.
When he stopped at the Ferrari box, technical director Mauro Forghieri told Villeneuve that there was nothing left of the left rear suspension to attach the new wheel at! Villeneuve had nothing else to do but to sadly retire from the race.
Alan Jones was not impressed however: “Itwas nice of you (Villeneuve) to stay in the car, too, but had the brake line let go at the wrong moment, your rim would have hit the driver behind,” Jones told Auto123.com in a recent article.
Villeneuve was battling with Alan Jones (Williams) for the lead when the tire exploded. But nothing could stop Villeneuve. He rejoined the track and drove his Ferrari back to the pits at speed.
When he stopped at the Ferrari box, technical director Mauro Forghieri told Villeneuve that there was nothing left of the left rear suspension to attach the new wheel at! Villeneuve had nothing else to do but to sadly retire from the race.
Alan Jones was not impressed however: “Itwas nice of you (Villeneuve) to stay in the car, too, but had the brake line let go at the wrong moment, your rim would have hit the driver behind,” Jones told Auto123.com in a recent article.