Johnny Herbert | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Herbert in 2016 | |
| Born | John Paul Herbert (1964-06-25)25 June 1964 (age 60) Brentwood, Essex, England |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  British |
| Active years | 1989–2000 |
| Teams | Benetton,Tyrrell,Lotus,Ligier,Sauber,Stewart,Jaguar |
| Entries | 165 (160 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 3 |
| Podiums | 7 |
| Career points | 98 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| First win | 1995 British Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1999 European Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2000 Malaysian Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1990–1992,2001–2004,2007 |
| Teams | Mazda,Champion,Audi,Bentley,Aston Martin |
| Best finish | 1st(1991) |
| Class wins | 1(1991) |
John Paul Herbert (born 25 June 1964) is a British formerracing driver and broadcaster, who competed inFormula One from1989 to2000. Herbert won threeFormula One Grands Prix across 12 seasons. Inendurance racing, Herbert won the24 Hours of Le Mans in1991 withMazda, as well as the12 Hours of Sebring in2002 withAudi.
Herbert competed in Formula One forBenetton,Tyrrell,Lotus,Ligier,Sauber,Stewart andJaguar. He finished fourth in the1995 World Championship with Benetton. Upon his retirement from motor racing, Herbert became apundit forSky Sports F1 from 2012 until 2022.
Winning theFormula Ford Festival atBrands Hatch in 1985, Herbert caughtEddie Jordan's attention, and together they won the 1987British Formula 3 title.
At the end of August 1987, Herbert (and fellow future F1 DriverBertrand Gachot[1]) guested in the ESSO MG Metro Turbo Challenge. He took pole and led most of the race, until a clutch failure forced him to retire with a lap to go.[2][3] He and Gachot would later go on to win Le Mans in 1991 with ex-Rial F1 DriverVolker Weidler.
Herbert suffered career-threatening injuries in 1988, as a then championship hopeful inInternational Formula 3000 when he was caught up in a major accident at Brands Hatch, whenGregor Foitek nudged the side of his vehicle at Pilgrim's Drop, causing Herbert to slam into the wall head-on, then bounce across the track and slam head on again into the opposite barrier, sustaining severe ankle and foot injuries after yet more multiple collisions with the barriers. The threat of amputation loomed but it eventually passed after multiple surgeries and months of physiotherapy, though the extent of Herbert's injuries would permanently hinder his mobility, leaving him unable to run and forcing him to change his driving style.[4]
Despite his immobility, Herbert returned to racing at the beginning of 1989 in Formula 1, scoring points on his debut at theBrazilian Grand Prix in Rio de Janeiro driving for theBenetton team, then managed by his long-time mentor and friendPeter Collins. Herbert finished 4th in Brazil, only 10.5 seconds behind the race winningFerrari ofNigel Mansell and only 1.1 seconds behind the 3rd placedMarch-Judd ofMaurício Gugelmin and only 2.6 seconds behind the 2nd placedMcLaren-Honda of then double World ChampionAlain Prost. Herbert's teammate, the highly rated ItalianAlessandro Nannini, finished in 6th place, 7.7 seconds behind Herbert.[5]
However, Herbert's performances could not keep up to that standard (he reportedly found it hard to press the brake pedal, which adversely affected his lap times), and with the Benetton team under new management he was dropped after failing to qualify for theCanadian Grand Prix (after having finished 5th in the previous round inPhoenix) and was replaced byMcLaren's test driverEmanuele Pirro. Herbert returned to Formula 3000, this time in the highly regardedJapanese series. It was not long before he received another call from Formula One, this time withTyrrell. From 1990 to 2000, Herbert was a fixture in Formula One, switching to the dwindlingLotus team, now managed by Peter Collins. His first race for the Norfolk-based team came at the1990 Japanese Grand Prix afterMartin Donnelly suffered a career-ending crash inJerez.
In1991, he returned to the team at theCanadian Grand Prix following the departure ofJulian Bailey. He had to relinquish his seat toMichael Bartels while Grands Prix clashed with Japanese F3000 meetings. His first points finish in almost three years came at the1992 South African Grand Prix when he drove his two-year old Lotus chassis to sixth place. He repeated this result inFrance, by which time Lotus had introduced the more competitive107. Poor reliability and bad luck cost him the chance to add to his points tally but Herbert showed well against his highly rated teammate, future-World ChampionMika Häkkinen. In the 24 races the two drove alongside each other at Lotus, Herbert outqualified the Finn 14 times.1993 was his most successful season with Lotus, finishing in fourth place three times. But1994 was a disaster as the team was blighted by financial woes. He utilised an upgradedMugen Honda introduced for theItalian Grand Prix to qualify a magnificent fourth but hopes of a strong finish were quashed when he was involved in a multi-car collision at the first corner. Lotus' lack of resources meant he had to use the spare car with the old-spec Mugen engine, which didn't last long before it expired. His final race for Lotus came at thePortuguese Grand Prix.
During 1991, he also drove two rounds of the Fuji Long Distance Sports Car Series, co-driving aMazda 787B, finishing fourth both times.[6] His decision at the July round to stop his car and aid a fellow competitor who had suffered a puncture at high speed would earn him the Sportsman Award at the 1991Autosport Awards.
After three years of frustration, Herbert had his Lotus contract bought out byTom Walkinshaw in late 1994,[7] joiningLigier and then Benetton for the last few races of the season. Although he failed to score any points in 1994, he was retained asMichael Schumacher's teammate for 1995. As Benetton's number-two driver he found life at the team difficult with theB195 specifically designed around Schumacher's driving style. The World Champion also forbade Herbert from viewing his telemetry. He achieved his first podium finish with a second place inSpain as Benetton scored their first one-two finish since 1990. He then took his first victory at theBritish Grand Prix afterDamon Hill and Michael Schumacher collided. Prior to the race rumours were abound that he was about to be dropped in favour of test-driverJos Verstappen. He followed this with a win in similar circumstances atMonza and finished 4th in the championship.
After being dropped by Benetton, Herbert drove for Swiss teamSauber in 1996–1998, scoring two podium places, the first of the two being in the1996 Monaco Grand Prix, which were his only points of that season, and the other being in the1997 Hungarian Grand Prix. That year would be Herbert's most successful at Sauber, scoring several times. Moving toStewart Grand Prix in 1999, he was routinely outqualified by his younger teammateRubens Barrichello but scored his third and final Grand Prix win in the rain-affectedEuropean Grand Prix. At theMalaysian Grand Prix he finished fourth in a race which he would later describe as his strongest performance since his pre-accident days. Staying at Stewart after the team was purchased byFord and becameJaguar, Herbert endured another frustrating and pointless season, ending the year being stretchered off atMalaysia after a suspension failure caused him to crash heavily.
In 2001 he was employed byArrows F1 team ownerTom Walkinshaw, to act as the team developmental/test driver.[8]
On Monday, August 13, 2001, the day after theIndy Racing League’sBelterra Resort Indy 300 atKentucky Speedway, he tested theDallara purchased byMecom Racing Team fromTarget Chip Ganassi Racing and driven byTony Stewart at the2001 Indianapolis 500, with the car being set up byJeff Ward, recording a fastest lap time that would have split the front row for the race.
Since retiring from Formula One racing, Herbert has concentrated onsports car racing, trying to repeat hisLe Mans 24 Hours overall win of 1991. Recent years have seen him as one of the front runners in theAmerican Le Mans Series (ALMS), where he won several events and was a challenger for the 2003 crown.
In 2004, Herbert, along withJamie Davies won theLe Mans Series championship at the wheel of anAudi R8 winning the races atMonza andSpa along the way.
In 2005, Herbert was appointed to the post of Sporting Relations Manager atJordan Grand Prix, which was then renamedMidland F1 for the 2006 World Championship. However, in September of that yearSpyker Cars bought the team, and renamed itSpyker MF1. One of the new owners' decisions was to not renew Herbert's contract.
In 2007, Herbert entered theLe Mans 24 Hours driving for the factoryAston Martin team at the wheel of theAston Martin DBR9 in the GT1 class. Herbert, along withPeter Kox andTomáš Enge drove the 007 numbered car to a 9th placed overall finish and 4th in the GT1 class.
In 2008, Herbert won the first season of theSpeedcar Series.
In 2009, Herbert made his debut in theBritish Touring Car Championship forTeam Dynamics at the wheel of aHonda Civic at round eight of the championship,Silverstone. He qualified 17th for the first race, and after moving up the order, finished in 13th. In the second race, he finished inside the points in eighth place, scoring three points. In the final race of the day, a reverse starting grid is operated. The first six, seven, eight, nine or ten cars to finish race two, start race three in reverse order. This is decided by the winner of race two drawing a number between six and ten out of a hat. For the final race of the day, the top 9 finishers were reversed, meaning Herbert started from second. He was running well, and was holding 4th, but was forced to retire on lap 13, after contact withJason Plato. Herbert went on to compete in the final two rounds of the season.
Herbert also runs a charity event called the Johnny Herbert Karting Challenge every year for charities like the halow project which is now held atCapital Karts in London. This event invites celebrities and professional racing drivers to compete in indoor go karting and is now in its 20th year.
From 2012 to 2022, Herbert was a regular contributor to theSky Sports F1 channel. He was an occasional presence as one of the insiders in "Sky Race Control" during practices, qualifying sessions, and races alongsideAnthony Davidson,Damon Hill,Nico Rosberg, andPaul Di Resta.
In 2013 and 2014, Herbert mentored six contestants in a primetimeITV4reality series, with the aim of taking players of theGran Turismo videogames to theDubai 24 Hour race as real drivers.[9] Other countries in Europe had heats mentored by driversVitantonio Liuzzi andSébastien Buemi.[10]
† As Herbert was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Eddie Jordan Racing | VW | A | SIL C | THR 1 | BRH 1 | SIL 3 | THR 1 | SIL 1 | BRH 2 | THR Ret | SIL 1 | ZAN 9 | DON Ret | SIL 4 | SNE 3 | DON 19 | OUL 2 | SIL 7 | BRH 5 | SPA DNS | THR 3 | 1st | 79 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Jordan Racing | JER 1 | VAL Ret | PAU | SIL 7 | MON 3 | PER Ret | BRH Ret | BIR | BUG | ZOL | DIJ | 8th | 13 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)
† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Team LeMans | SUZ 19 | FUJ 10 | MIN Ret | SUZ Ret | SUG 7 | FUJ Ret | FUJ 5 | SUZ 6 | FUJ Ret | SUZ Ret | 16th | 3 | |
| 1991 | Team LeMans | SUZ 5 | AUT 7 | FUJ Ret | MIN 2 | SUZ Ret | SUG Ret | FUJ Ret | SUZ 7 | FUJ C | SUZ Ret | FUJ 6 | 10th | 9 |
Source:[15] | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 |  Mazdaspeed |  Volker Weidler Bertrand Gachot | Mazda 787 | GTP | 148 | DNF | DNF |
| 1991 | Mazdaspeed | Volker WeidlerBertrand Gachot | Mazda 787B | C2 | 362 | 1st | 1st |
| 1992 | Mazdaspeed Oreca | Volker WeidlerBertrand Gachot Maurizio Sandro Sala | Mazda MXR-01 | C1 | 336 | 4th | 4th |
| 2001 |  Champion Racing | Didier TheysRalf Kelleners | Audi R8 | LMP900 | 81 | DNF | DNF |
| 2002 | Audi Sport North America |  Christian PescatoriRinaldo Capello | Audi R8 | LMP900 | 374 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2003 | Team Bentley | Mark Blundell David Brabham | Bentley Speed 8 | LMGTP | 375 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2004 | Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx | Jamie DaviesGuy Smith | Audi R8 | LMP1 | 379 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2007 | Aston Martin Racing |  Peter Kox Tomáš Enge | Aston Martin DBR9 | GT1 | 337 | 9th | 4th |
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Champion Racing | LMP900 | Audi R8 | Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 | TEX | SEB | DON | JAR | SON 4 | POR 3 | MOS Ret | MID 5 | MON 2 | PET 3 | 8th | 113 | [18] |
| 2002 | Audi Sport North America | LMP900 | Audi R8 | Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 | SEB 1 | 4th | 206 | [19] | |||||||||
| Champion Racing | SON 2 | MID 8 | AME 3 | WAS 5 | TRO 3 | MOS 2 | MON 2 | MIA 5 | PET 2 | ||||||||
| 2003 | TeamBentley | LMGTP | Bentley Speed 8 | Bentley 4.0L Turbo V8 | SEB 3 | 4th | 160 | [20] | |||||||||
| ADTChampion Racing | LMP900 | Audi R8 | Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 | ATL 1 | SON 2 | TRO 2 | MOS 4 | AME 1 | MON 3 | MIA 1 | PET 1 | ||||||
| 2004 | Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx | LMP1 | Audi R8 | Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 | SEB 3 | MID | LIM | SON | POR | MOS | AME | 8th | 64 | [21] | |||
| ADTChampion Racing | PET 2 | MON 1 | |||||||||||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | Chassis | No. | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Duesenberg Brothers Racing | Dallara | 32 | Chevrolet | HMS | PHX | FON | NAZ | INDY DNQ | TXS | PPIR | RIR | KAN | NSH | MCH | KTY | GAT | CHI | TXS | NC | 0 | [22] |
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Dallara | Chevrolet | DNQ | Duesenberg | |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Car | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx | LMP1 | Audi R8 | Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 | MNZ 1 | NÜR 2 | SIL 3 | SPA 1 | 1st | 34 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position – 1 point awarded just in first race) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap – 1 point awarded all races) (* signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap – 1 point awarded all races)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Team Dynamics | Honda Civic | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | BRH 3 | THR 1 | THR 2 | THR 3 | DON 1 | DON 2 | DON 3 | OUL 1 | OUL 2 | OUL 3 | CRO 1 | CRO 2 | CRO 3 | SNE 1 | SNE 2 | SNE 3 | KNO 1 | KNO 2 | KNO 3 | SIL 1 13 | SIL 2 8 | SIL 3 Ret | ROC 1 Ret | ROC 2 10 | ROC 3 7 | BRH 1 Ret | BRH 2 Ret | BRH 3 14 | 19th | 8 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Motorzone Race Car | Chevrolet Lumina CR8 | MNZ 1 Ret | MNZ 2 6 | IMO 1 2 | IMO 2 DNS | ALG 1 DNS | ALG 2 Ret | HOC 1 14 | HOC 2 3 | CPR 1 3 | CPR 2 15 | VAL 1 Ret | VAL 2 Ret | KYA 1 1 | KYA 2 Ret | 7th | 66 | [24] | ||
| 2011 | Romeo Ferraris | Mercedes C63 AMG | MNZ 1 10 | MNZ 2 Ret | VNC 1 6 | VNC 2 18 | ALG 1 15 | ALG 2 18 | DON 1 2 | DON 2 6 | MIS 1 4 | MIS 2 2 | SPA 1 3 | SPA 2 9 | MUG 1 5 | MUG 2 3 | VAL 1 Ret | VAL 2 5 | 6th | 96 | [25] |
| 2012 | Swiss Team | Maserati Quattroporte | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | IMO 1 | IMO 2 | DON 1 3 | DON 2 7 | MUG 1 2 | MUG 2 Ret | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | VAL 1 | VAL 2 | PER 1 | PER 2 | 12th | 36 | [26] |
Herbert's helmet design was red with white line going from the rear going through the sides and on the mouthplate, black stripes on the lower sides a black stripe on the rear (in a similar fashion to Depailler's helmet), in 1999, when he drove for Stewart, the stripes on the lower sides were changed to green and on the top of the helmet was added a drop with the union jack. In 2000, when he drove for Jaguar, the green areas became blue.[citation needed]
Media related toJohnny Herbert at Wikimedia Commons
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Formula Ford Festival Winner 1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | British Formula Three Champion 1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1991 With:Volker Weidler &Bertrand Gachot | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Formula One Indoor Trophy winner 1992 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Inaugural | Le Mans Series Champion 2004 With:Jamie Davies | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Inaugural | Speedcar Series Champion 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by | Autosport National Racing Driver of the Year 1987 | Succeeded by |
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