Villeneuve joins Button, Chadwick as Williams F1 ambassador

Williams has signed 1997 System 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve as an envoy for the 2025 season.

Villeneuve, who stays the latest driver to win a title for Williams, will be a part of Jenson Button and Jamie Chadwick in serving to “strengthen the connection between the workforce’s celebrated historical past and its bold future”.

The British workforce didn’t present any particulars about Villeneuve’s position as an envoy, however it’s more likely to embody a number of public appearances at occasions such because the Goodwood Pageant of Pace.

Villeneuve made his much-anticipated F1 debut with Williams in 1996 because the reigning IndyCar champion and received the European Grand Prix on the Nurburgring in simply his fourth weekend within the collection.

He then led Williams to a dominant title double in his sophomore marketing campaign in 1997, successful seven of the 17 races within the Renault-powered FW19.

He remained at Williams the next 12 months, earlier than departing the squad in 1999 in favour of a transfer to British American Racing (BAR).

Nonetheless, Villeneuve by no means achieved the identical success after leaving Williams, and retired from the collection after 2006 following a two-year stint at Sauber/BMW.

“Williams has been a vital a part of my life, stuffed with fond reminiscences,” mentioned the Canadian, now 53.

“I’m ecstatic to be a part of the household once more, and to assist have fun the workforce’s heritage whereas supporting its future.”

Williams additionally introduced that it had retained each 2009 F1 champion Button and three-time W Collection title winner Chadwick as driver ambassadors.

Like Villeneuve, Button made his F1 debut with Williams, in 2000, and this 12 months marks the twenty fifth anniversary of that landmark second. He rejoined Williams in 2021 as a senior advisor, 5 years after retiring from F1 as a driver.

Chadwick, in the meantime, first joined Williams as a growth driver in 2019 and obtained her first alternative to check an F1 automobile two years in the past, when she drove Keke Rosberg’s FW08C at Goodwood.