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F1 Champ Jacques Villeneuve Got Trapped in an Airport Toilet Last Weekend
The 1997 F1 drivers' champ eventually had to kick his way out of the stall after airport security couldn't help him escape. The post F1 Champ Jacques Villeneuve Got Trapped in an Airport Toilet Last Weekend appeared first on The Drive.
The long winter is coming to an end, and the world’s press is making its way to Australia for the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season next weekend. Among them is 1997 drivers’ champion Jacques Villeneuve, who should be in Melbourne by now after spending a half hour trapped in an airport bathroom stall against his will.
Let’s take a short view back to the past: On Sunday, the former Williams star posted a selfie on Instagram from Milano Malpensa Airport. By that time, Villeneuve had spent 20 minutes in the stall and, to add insult to injury, estimated that the automatic toilet he was stuck with had flushed about 40 times over that span. “Very impressive,” he wrote. One commenter compared the experience to his first year on the British American Racing team in 1999, to which the Canadian replied, “The BAR broke down faster. Never got stuck in it for that long.”
Security apparently couldn’t get Villeneuve out, but he didn’t let that stop him. About 10 minutes later, Villeneuve said he broke the door down with his legs. This apparently also caused a panel from the ceiling to fall and strike him in the head, but thankfully it seems he wasn’t too busted up, judging from the fact Villeneuve shared the whole aftermath on social media.
If you know Jacques, you know he’s a polarizing figure in the F1 world. He’s never afraid to speak his mind, as demonstrated last year when he went after former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo at the Canadian Grand Prix, following a string of underwhelming performances for the Aussie. “Why is he still in F1?” Villeneuve said. “We’re hearing the same thing now for the last four, five years—we have to make it better for him, poor him. It’s been five years of that. Sorry, no, you’re in F1.”
Ricciardo has many fans, and Villeneuve, perhaps, many detractors. Dutch racing driver Tom Coronel asked Villeneuve during the toilet saga who might’ve locked him in; the Williams ambassador and Sky Sports pundit replied, “Wondering how many enemies I have before the 1st GP.”
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The post F1 Champ Jacques Villeneuve Got Trapped in an Airport Toilet Last Weekend appeared first on The Drive.
