1971: Born April 9th in St-Jeansur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada.

1982: Father Gilles killed during qualifying for 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder when driving for Ferrari.

1986: Attended Jim Russell Racing Drivers School in Canada.

1987: Drove a Formula Ford 2000 at Spenard-David Racing School in Canada.

1988: Left boarding school in Switzerland to pursue racing career. Competed in three races in the Alfa Italian Touring Car Championship.

1989: Competed in Italian F3 Championship for Reynard.

1990: Finished 14th in Italian F3 Championship driving a Reynard Alfa Romeo.

1991: Finished sixth (20 points) in Italian F3 Championship in a Ralt-Alfa Romeo.

1992: Competed in Japanese F3 for Team Tom's Toyota, winning three times to finish second in championship. Finished ninth in F3 race in Monaco, third in the GP Player's Lee de Trois-Rivieres race in Canada.

1993: Finished third in Atlantic Series for Forsythe-Green Racing. Named Rookie of the Year after scoring five wins and seven pole positions.

1994: Switched to IndyCar series with Forsythe-Green, finishing sixth in championship with 94 points. First win at Elkhart Lake. Named Rookie of the Year for Championship and Indy 500, where he was second.

1995: Became youngest ever winner (and first Canadian) of IndyCar title with Team Green. Won Indy 500 (after being penalised two laps). Three other wins plus six poles and six track records. Signed for Williams Formula One team for following year after successful test session at Silverstone.

1996: Finished second in F1 championship with 78 points after losing out in final race to teammate Damon Hill. Maiden victory in European Grand Prix at Nurburgring. Also won in Britain, Hungary and Portugal. Took pole position on his debut in Australia.

1997: Won in Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Britain, Hungary, Austria and Germany (staging the Luxembourg GP), but it was his third place in final race that clinched first F1 title ahead of Michael Schumacher.