F1 champ Villeneuve ties the knot in Las Vegas GP wedding

F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has tied the knot with partner Giulia Marra in a wedding within the Las Vegas F1 paddock.

In typical Vegas fashion, a chapel has been set up in the circuit with fans about to ‘Race to the Altar’ with special F1 wedding packages available.

Villeneuve was among those to take up the option, with his wedding observed by his 1997 F1 championship-winning engineer Jock Clear as best man.

Now 52, Villebeiuve burst onto the Formula 1 scene in 1996 following victory in the 1995 IndyCar World Series, a campaign that included success in that year’s Indianapolis 500.

He finished second in the Australian Grand Prix, his first race in F1, leading his Williams team-mate Damon Hill for much of it.

His first win came in just his fourth start, with three more in his debut season as he finished second to Hill in the title fight.

Villeneuve went on to win the championship the following year, succeeding over Michael Schumacher in what proved to be a controversial climax to the season.

At the final race of the year, and with Schumacher a point ahead, the pair clashed when the Ferrari driver attempted to close the door as Villeneuve took the inside line for the Dry Sack hairpin.

The resulting contact saw the German spin out of the race while Villeneuve nursed his wounded Williams to the flag in third to claim the championship.

Though he remained in F1 until 2006, he never recaptured the same success and only stood on the podium on four more occasions, and never better than third.

He went on to race sportscars, finishing second at Le Mans with Peugeot in 2008, alongside appearances in NASCAR and Supercars.

Villeneuve is the son of legendary Ferrari driver Gilles, who lost his life following a crash in qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix – his rivalry with Didier Pironi the feature of a documentary announced last year.