The premiere of the film about Gilles Villeneuve took place in Maranello

“They say that when you are 15-18 years old, you are capable of recklessness, and then you calm down, but I am not in a hurry to do it yet,” these words, once said by Gilles Villeneuve about himself, are heard in a new documentary about the legendary Canadian racer, which will be shown on Italian TV on May 8, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his tragic death.

But the premiere of this work by the Italian director Giangiacomo di Stefano has already taken place – it took place on Saturday evening in Maranelo. According to the film’s author, “I wanted to show Gilles as a rock star.”

This is not to say that this is just “another” biographical film, as the director’s focus is only on one day of Gilles Villeneuve’s career. On November 21, 1981, at the wheel of his Ferrari number 27, he encountered a duel with the F104 fighter of the Italian Air Force on the runway of the airport of Istrana – and of course he was faster.

A 100,000-strong crowd watched the duel of a race car and a jet fighter, and of course everyone was cheering for Gilles.

Those who have already seen the new film, which lasts two hours, will notice that it is very easily perceived, because in fact it consists of various historical anecdotes and funny stories about a dashing Canadian. The main themes of the film are Villeneuve’s love for racing, the fans’ love for him and, most importantly, the warm feelings the great Enzo Ferrari had for his racer.

“He loved him, and this affection was even somewhat exaggerated,” recalls Mauro Forghieri, who was Ferrari’s technical director at the time. – It was explained by the fact that Gilles reminded him of the French driver Guy Moll, who had known Ferrari in his youth. There was both love and hate in their relationship, as when Villeneuve made a mistake on the track, the cry of the Commendatore rang out at the far end of the factory.

The film also features an interview with Mattia Binotto, who runs the Scuderia today: “A poster with a portrait of Villeneuve hung on the wall in my room. Fortunately I don’t have to work with such a driver now, because my drivers are very disciplined, they know how to save tires, they stick to tactical schedules, but Gilles embodies the spirit of Ferrari with his passion. He’s only won six races, but no one has done more to support the Scuderia legend.”

The movie is called Gilles Villeneuve. Aviator”. When the Canadian was still on his way to fame, he got this nickname because he had a tendency to crash into rival cars and fly over them a bit. The word stuck with him in 1978 after the US-West Grand Prix in Long Beach, when his Ferrari encountered Clay Regazzoni’s Shadow.Although it all started a little earlier, at the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix…

At the same time, the film contains such memories of a contemporary of Villeneuve: “Enzo Ferrari forgave him everything and at one point asked Forghieri to stop criticizing Gilles, because if he changed his approach, he would no longer be himself.”