Villeneuve joins Button, Chadwick as Williams F1 ambassador

Williams has signed 1997 Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve as an ambassador for the 2025 season.

Villeneuve, who remains the most recent driver to win a title for Williams, will join Jenson Button and Jamie Chadwick in helping “strengthen the connection between the team’s celebrated history and its ambitious future”.

The British team didn’t provide any details about Villeneuve’s role as an ambassador, but it is likely to include several public appearances at events such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Villeneuve made his much-anticipated F1 debut with Williams in 1996 as the reigning IndyCar champion and won the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in just his fourth weekend in the series.

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

He remained at Williams the following year, before departing the squad in 1999 in favour of a move to British American Racing (BAR). However, he would never achieve the same success after leaving Williams, and retired from the series after 2006 following a two-year stint at Sauber/BMW in 2005-06.

“Williams has been a crucial part of my life, filled with fond memories,” said the Canadian, now 53. “I am ecstatic to be part of the family again, and to help celebrate the team’s heritage while supporting its future.”

Jenson Button, Williams FW14B

Photo by: Williams

Williams also announced that it had retained both 2009 F1 champion Button and three-time W Series title winner Chadwick as driver ambassadors.

Like Villeneuve, Button made his F1 debut with Williams, in 2000, and this year marks the 25th anniversary of that landmark moment. He rejoined Williams in 2021 as a senior advisor, five years after retiring from F1 as a driver.

Chadwick, meanwhile, first joined Williams as a development driver in 2019 and got her first opportunity to test an F1 car two years ago, when she drove Keke Rosberg’s FW08C at Goodwood.