MONTRÉAL - Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette has named the late Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve a historic figure of Quebec.
Fréchette made the announcement Friday as the Canadian Grand Prix weekend kicked off in Montreal.
“It was a long-overdue gesture that had been eagerly awaited and which, fortunately, is finally coming to fruition today,” the premier said standing next to Villeneuve’s family near the F1 track named after the former racer.
The government names people as historic figures if they played a significant role in Quebec history and are part of the Québécois collective memory.
Villeneuve died at age 34 after a collision in a race to qualify for the Belgian Grand Prix in 1982. He first gained attention as a snowmobile racer and became a local sensation after he beat several F1 drivers during a Formula Atlantic race in Trois-Rivières, Que., in 1976.
