"That's why IndyCar racing died": When Jacques Villeneuve highlighted Bernie Ecclestone's ploy to save F1

Jacques Villeneuve once candidly spoke about the 1996 IndyCar split that was instrumental in destroying the stature and financial situation of American open-wheel racing, which was once booming. He stressed how former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone was a catalyst in that split in a bid to prevent F1's popularity from fading.

At the January 2017 Autosport International show in Birmingham, UK, Villeneuve spoke about his short two-year journey in IndyCar (1994 and 1995) before the series split into two and operated as separate series' 1996 onwards.

"At that point, I was thinking it would be great to make it to F1, but perhaps the rest of my career would be in the States. Remember that’s when Nigel Mansell went to Indy car (in 1994), and Indy car was starting to be bigger and bigger and bigger, and the viewership was starting to get super-strong. I guess that annoyed Bernie, and I think he was very instrumental in separating IndyCar so they would have separate championships. That’s why Indy car racing died – because it was starting to damage Formula 1," the 1995 IndyCar champ said via Motorsport.

The split came about as a result of IMS president Tony George wanting to sideline foreign driving talent for more American racers, and reduce road/street courses for more ovals. CART officials and teams couldn't come to terms with his suggestions.

In 1994, he announced the creation of a separate series, IRL, which would rival CART. However, the bigger teams like Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing, Newman-Haas Racing, and Team Rahal stayed loyal to CART, which was rebranded to Champ Car.

After 14 years of serving the same purpose in the same geographical location, the two series reunified in 2008 to what the world knows as the NTT IndyCar series today. The split had a major impact on American racing, as drivers like Jacques Villeneuve found themselves heading elsewhere.

Meanwhile, F1's popularity was steadily increasing with Ecclestone in command. Racing legends like Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Villeneuve, and Michael Schumacher brought a global spotlight to the series.

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How Jacques Villeneuve's mind games against IndyCar rival earned him his maiden Indy 500 win

Jacques Villeneuve celebrates after winning the 1995 Indy 500 - Source: Getty

Jacques Villeneuve's first and only Indy 500 victory was something straight out of a Hollywood movie. He qualified fifth on the grid for the race. During an early caution, he chose not to make a pit stop and stayed out to become the new race leader.

However, he was unaware that he was leading the race. As a result, when the pace car was deployed to lead the entire grid during the period of caution, he went past it twice. For this rule break, the officials handed him a severe two-lap penalty.

Despite this massive handicap, Jacques Villeneuve managed to reach the leading lap by the end of the race. During the final pace car period after a caution, he was in second place behind Scott Goodyear.

"As we were running behind the pace car, I pulled alongside him (Goodyear), and then slowed down a lot and then accelerated again. I was all over the place. He suddenly stepped on the gas and went for it at full speed. But the pace car was still running on the race track. He passed it while I jumped on the brakes. I knew the rule was very clear: you never pass the pace car. I was hoping the officials would penalize him like they had punished me. It worked. I gambled big and I won!" he said via Motorsport in October 2017.

In his second year with Team Green in IndyCar, Jacques Villeneuve won three more races besides the Indy 500 to win the title. In 1996, he switched to F1 with Williams, finished runner-up to Damon Hill, and won the F1 title in his second year in the series.