Jacques raced in the Italian Formula Three series from 1989 until 1991. He ranked 6th overall, despite not winning a single race. He moved to the Japanese Formula Three in 1992, finishing runner up after winning three times. Moving to the North American Toyota Atlantic series, he won five times on tracks that he had never seen before.

He moved swiftly to Indy Car racing, and was rookie of the year in 1994. This same year saw him take second place in the Indianapolis 500 and the win at Road America, for the Forsythe team, ranking 6th overall for the season. 1995 saw him take the Indy title, as well as winning the Indianapolis 500.

Jacques made his Formula One debut with Williams in 1996, almost winning his first race, after qualifying in pole, but teammate Damon Hill took the victory. His first victory came at the European Grand Prix, followed by wins in Britain, Hungary, and Portugal. He chased his teammate all the way to the final round of the season, but an accident saw Jacques out of the race, and Damon Hill drive on to take the title.

In 1997, he won three out of the first six races, then a further four wins, saw him one point behind Michael Schumacher at the final race in Jerez. Controversy surrounded this race, but Schumacher retired, and Jacques drove the ailing Williams over the line in third, but it was enough to clinch the title.

Losing the Renault engine for 1998, Williams never seemed to be able to match the speed of their competitors, and the highest place Jacques finished was third, for both Germany and Hungary. He finished 5th overall with 21 points. 1999 saw him as the number one driver for the revamped Tyrrell team, BAR, where he hoped to reaffirm his status as World Champion for a second year, but things didn't go as he had hoped, with the majority of the season seeing him retiring from race after race. A few good qualifying sessions didn't follow through to fruition and he finished the season pointless.

The year 2000 saw him remain with BAR and together with the added power of the Honda engines in the new season, he had hoped to see victory once again. However, the domination of Ferrari and McLaren proved to be too strong and podium finishes for the Canadian still failed to eventuate. Despite the lack of wins, the team moved up to fifth in the constructor's championship and was regarded as the most improved outfit on the grid.

Partnered with old time friend, Olivier Panis for the 2001 championship, Jacques finally made it to the podium however wins were still far from coming. Toward the end of the year there were complaints that the car just wasn't up to scratch and the Canadian finished out the year hoping for better performances in 2002. However, on the eve of launching the new BAR004, long time friend and mentor, Craig Pollock stepped down from the outfit, leaving Jacques questioning his future with the Brackley based squad. Only four points were forthcoming in 2002 and although there were many rumours he was to follow Pollock's path and leave the Brackley based squad, Jacques remains for 2003 on what will be the last year of his contract alongside Jenson Button.