This year’s Indianapolis 500 will feature two former Formula 1 stars that also have their face on the Borg Warner trophy. Jacques Villeneuve, 42, will return to Indianapolis, driving a third car for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. The team will make the announcement official on Wednesday.
Villeneuve won both the Indy 500 and the CART title in 1995, then won the Formula 1 World Championship two years later. The popular Canadian driver will join Simon Pagenaud and rookie Mikhail Aleshin in May, but will likely test at Fontana or Texas in the coming weeks. Curt Cavin noted that the deal is believed to have been completed by Villeneuve’s manager, Rick Gorne.
With the addition of Villeneuve, there should be at least six former 500-winners in this year’s field. The other five are Castroneves, Dixon, Kanaan, Montoya, and Buddy Lazier. As if that weren’t enough, it appears that Kurt Busch is close to signing a deal to race in this year’s 500, likely with Andretti Autosport. An announcement could come in the next week.
