Jeremy Clarkson’s Favourite-Ever F1 Driver Never Won a World Championship

Jeremy Clarkson's favourite-ever Formula One driver never won the World Drivers' Championship, but he did leave a lasting legacy in the sport.

F1 superfan and former Top Gear presenter Clarkson, who was born in 1960, grew up watching the likes of Sir Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, Jim Clark and Niki Lauda do battle for world titles.

Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill would, at different points, hold the World Drivers' Championship during his first run as Top Gear presenter between 1988 and 1999.

Michael Schumacher would soon dominate the sport for years to come before the likes of Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen entered the scene.

All of the above are some of the biggest names in the sport and, of course, they will forever be recognised for their talents on the track.

But for Clarkson, none of them compare to former McLaren and Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve, the man regarded by many as one of the fastest drivers of all time.

Villeneuve, whose driving was defined by his fierce determination and aggression to set the fastest lap possible, entered Formula One in 1977 with an initial 11th place for McLaren at the 1977 British Grand Prix, before signing with Ferrari later that year.

He finished runner-up in the 1979 Drivers' Championship, winning three races, but finished seven points behind team-mate Jody Scheckter.

Then, after a disappointing 1980 campaign, Ferrari struggled with reliability issues in 1981, although such was his talent, Villeneuve managed to win two races.

The 1982 season was then meant to be Villeneuve's big opportunity to become world champion, despite two retirements from the opening two races and being disqualified from third place in the third Grand Prix.

Villeneuve in action at the Spar Circuit in Belgium. Image credit: Getty

He would soon record his first result of the season in San Marino – a second-place finish behind team-mate Didier Pironi – although there was controversy when Pironi defied a team order to overtake Villeneuve and win the race.

That incident was set to define the championship battle, but Villeneuve was killed two weeks later in a qualifying crash at Zolder in Belgium.

Gilles Villeneuve pictured in 1981. Image credit: Getty

The Canadian was attempting to improve on his time to beat Pironi to pole position, but smashed into the back of another car at around 120mph – launching his Ferrari into the air. He suffered a fatal neck fracture from the subsequent landing.

Clarkson spoke to F1's official website about his admiration for Villeneuve, as well as his tragic death.

"There was the 1979 French Grand Prix in Dijon," said Clarkson. "He was racing for second place with Rene Arnoux. How many times did they hit each other on that last lap, five times? They took it in turns to be knocked off and then came charging back on again.

"It was absolutely fantastic racing and I just thought, 'Okay, he's my favourite racing driver'. I've never really seen anyone race like him since."

"I definitely had pictures of his racing car on the wall. I bought a Ferrari because of Gilles Villeneuve, the 355 – I loved Ferraris because of Gilles Villeneuve," he added. "I know where I was [when he was killed]. Well, I was watching television.

"I can remember Gilles dying. I know where I was when Senna died: you remember those things for sure."