Gilles Villeneuve was a Canadian racing driver who participated in Grand Prix for six years, winning six races. He started his racing career with snowmobile racing in his native city of Quebec. He then moved on to single seaters and won the US and Canadian Formula Atlantic championships in 1976. Post this, he was offered to participate in ‘Formula One’ with the ‘McLaren’ team at the 1977 ‘British Grand Prix.’ Thereafter he was taken by Ferrari for the end of the season, and from 1978 to his death in 1982, he drove for the Italian team. He died in a fatal crash in 1982 while racing for the ‘Belgian Grand Prix’ qualifiers at Zolder. He collided with Jochen Mass while driving at a speed of 140 mph. Villeneuve was quite popular amongst his fans and a respected racer amongst his peers. In his brief career, he was one of Canada’s best high-speed racers. His son, Jacques Villeneuve, followed his father’s footsteps and became the only Canadian to win ‘Formula One’ world championship in 1997.