Jacques Villeneuve takes his final Formula 1 podium

Jacques Villeneuve’s final Formula 1 podium did not arrive during a title campaign or in a front-running car. It came from 12th on the grid at Hockenheim, where attrition, persistence and a BAR that stayed intact carried the 1997 world champion back into the top three.

The 2001 German Grand Prix began with a major start-line accident involving Michael Schumacher and Luciano Burti, followed by a restart. The race then developed into another test of the old Hockenheim’s severe demands on engines and brakes.

Juan Pablo Montoya had the pace to control the race from pole, but his Williams-BMW retired with an engine failure. Team-mate Ralf Schumacher inherited the lead and won at home, ahead of Rubens Barrichello’s Ferrari.

Third from the sixth row

Villeneuve started 12th in the BAR-Honda. As faster cars retired, he kept the car in contention and moved through to third. The finish gave BAR its second podium of the season after Villeneuve had also placed third in Spain.

For Villeneuve, it was podium number 23 and the last of his Formula 1 career. His earlier total had been built rapidly with Williams: four victories as a rookie in 1996, seven more wins and the championship in 1997. The BAR project that followed was slower, more political and far less productive.

He remained with BAR through 2003, returned briefly with Renault in 2004 and completed his final seasons with Sauber and BMW Sauber. None produced another top-three finish. Hockenheim therefore became the final podium photograph of a career whose most successful period had ended four years earlier.