Gilles Villeneuve

Circuit Zolder, May 8th, 1982.

Gilles Villeneuve

Nobody expected it. These were just qualifying laps, the day before a Grand Prix, and besides they were already finished, the drivers had all eased up on the gas pedal. Except one, Gilles Villeneuve. The accident had just happened. In the press room, the journalists had stood up. From the silent screens, they followed every move of the first-aid team, sure that they would pull the young pilot back up onto his feet. The seconds ticked by. Too many. And, like a shadow, a thought rears its head, one that is refuted. As if to block it or unmask it, I seize this instant, this tipping point, when we already know but cannot yet believe. When the unimaginable imposes itself and grips you by the throat. One girl has understood, the first. She has turned her back to the screens and brought her hand to her mouth.