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Villeneuve and Zonta attack Eau Rouge 1999



During the Belgium Grand Prix of 1999, Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta, team mates at BAR, decided to dare each other to try take Eau Rouge without lifting the accelarator… the results you can see

47 Comments

  1. Zonta said in an interview that there was no personal competition between them regarding the Eau Rouge. It was just that their cars would hit the ground at the same spot in the corner and throw them away.

    I believe it was a car issue. Either design, tyre pressure or something, because otherwise it wouldn't happen to the same team twice. Too much of a coincidence.

  2. To those confused as to why both Jacques and Zonta both did the same thing, they jokingly made an agreement that they would both take Radillon flat out, something that was impossible at the time

  3. Not one of the 2021 drivers would get in a car if they thought this would happen, even if they were told they would walk away. It has been said that the safer the driver feels the more risks they take, not anymore and eventually the safety measures will result in the most danger a driver will face will be tripping over a mechanic in the pit lane. The spectacle of F1 is circling the drain (due to manufacturer dominance) and may soon disappear.

  4. if that happened nowadays, they were all scared as fuck and blaming for money/security/red flags opening a legal case on it.

  5. On a French F1 show, they said that Zonta and Villeneuve did a bet about the one who will be the fastest in Eau Rouge

  6. Just imagine….and these days when drivers do that they get ripped to shreds by the media. Just goes to show the level the current drivers are at. No mistakes allowed!

  7. The Team was laughing as both crashes were caused by a bet between Villeneuve and Zonta. They challenged eachother to take the eau rouge at full speed even if it was nearly impossible for that type of car. Somewhere there's the full story.

  8. Eau rouge is the kink at the bottom where the road crosses the little creek au rouge/ red water. Why cant no one get this fuckin right! They crashed at radilion

  9. Every year when it’s time for Spa I visit this video then have a right scream laughing, then usually hit the floor when jocky comes on for the last word. They did not need DTS then comedy wrote itself.

  10. "If Eau Rouge exists and you no longer take it flat-out, you're no longer a BAR driver" – Jacques Villeneuve, 1999 (probably)

  11. This is so funny. I can’t believe Zonta actually went for it after seeing Jacques’ crash lmao. Gotta respect his commitment

    They were so lucky to be uninjured from that tho, especially ricardo

  12. Craig Pollock's reaction is just priceless. Suspension failure (JV) on Friday, both cars wrecked in qualifying and the spare car being repaired, all on Saturday. Just a miracle prevented BAR to withdraw from the Belgian GP: they had two test chassis traveling from UK to Monza. They had to tell the truck driver to desviate his way and go to the Ardennes. At midnight, when the whole paddock was sleeping, the truck finally arrived and with no sleep whatsoever, the entire team managed to get both cars ready to the GP on Sunday. Zonta retired (gearbox, spun off) and Villeneuve saw the chequered flag (15°) for the first time in '99, after ELEVEN consecutive retirements.

    The midnight arrival of BAR's truck was captured and it's here:
    https://youtu.be/HrWb-ZNszZQ?feature=shared

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