Jacques Villeneuve Sr.

Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve (4 November 1953 - Present): Canadian racing driver nicknamed 'Uncle Jacques' who started racing snowmobiles before moving into saloon racing in Canada, winning a Honda Civic series and many races from 1976 to 1978. He made his Formula One debut at the 1981 Canadian Grand Prix driving for Arrows and participated in three Grands Prix overall. In 1982 he won the World Championship Snowmobile Derby taking home over $50,000 in cash and prizes, though the year was difficult after his brother Gilles Villeneuve died in May. He narrowly failed to qualify a RAM for the 1983 Canadian Grand Prix, his final F1 attempt.

In 1983 he took the Can-Am title and had a one-off drive at the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1984 he returned to CART ranking 15th overall after taking pole position at the Phoenix round, competing in his only Indianapolis 500 appearance. After his CART season, Villeneuve scaled back his motor racing activities but regularly returned for occasional drives in CART, Formula Atlantic, and IMSA while remaining highly active and successful in snowmobiling and branching out to powerboat racing. He was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2001.

His nephew Jacques Villeneuve Jr. became the 1997 Formula 1 World Champion.