Johnny Herbert
John Paul "Johnny" Herbert is a retired British racing driver and television announcer. He raced in Formula One from 1989 to 2000, for 7 different teams, winning three races and placed 4th in the 1995 championship. He also raced sports cars winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991 driving a Mazda 787B. He enjoyed much success in lower-level motor racing.
Career
Early career and entry to Formula One
Winning the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch in 1985, Herbert caught Eddie Jordan's attention, and together they won the 1987 British Formula 3 title. Herbert suffered career-threatening injuries in 1988, as a then championship hopeful in International Formula 3000 when he was caught up in a major accident at Brands Hatch, when Gregor Foitek hit him from behind, causing Herbert to slam into the wall cockpit-first, sustaining severe ankle and foot injuries after 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.Despite his immobility, Herbert returned to racing at the beginning of 1989 in Formula 1, scoring points on his debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Rio de Janeiro driving for the Benetton team, then managed by his long-time mentor and friend Peter Collins. Herbert finished 4th in Brazil, only 10.5 seconds behind the race winning Ferrari of Nigel Mansell and only 1.1 seconds behind the 3rd placed March-Judd of Maurício Gugelmin and only 2.6 seconds behind the 2nd placed McLaren-Honda of then double World Champion Alain Prost. Herbert's teammate, the highly rated Italian Alessandro Nannini, finished in 6th place, 7.7 seconds behind Herbert.
. He finished eleventh.
However, Herbert's performances could not keep up to that standard, and with the Benetton team under new management he was dropped after failing to qualify for the Canadian Grand Prix and was replaced by McLaren's test driver Emanuele Pirro. Herbert returned to Formula 3000, this time in the highly regarded Japanese series. It wasn't long before he received another call from Formula One racing, this time with Tyrrell. From 1990 to 2000, Herbert was a fixture in Formula One, switching to the dwindling Lotus team, now managed by Peter Collins.
to victory at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans.
During 1991, he also drove two rounds of the Fuji Long Distance Sports Car Series, co-driving a Mazda 787B, finishing fourth both times. 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 1991 Autosport Awards.
Ligier and return to Benetton (1994–1995)
After 3 years of frustration, Herbert left Lotus in mid-1994, joining Ligier and then Benetton for the last few races of the season. Although he failed to score any points in 1994, he was retained as Michael Schumacher's teammate for 1995. At the British Grand Prix, he inherited a Grand Prix win after Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher collided. He followed this in similar circumstances at Monza, finishing 4th in the championship.Sauber, Stewart and Jaguar (1996–2000)
After being dropped by Benetton, Herbert drove for Swiss team Sauber in 1996–1998, scoring two podium places, the first of the two being in the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix, which were his only points of that season, and the other being in the 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix. That year would be the only of his three seasons at Sauber where Herbert would score several times because he also finished 4th twice, 5th on two further occasions as well as 6th in Japan. Moving to Stewart Grand Prix in 1999, he was routinely outqualified by his younger teammate Rubens Barrichello but scored his third and final Grand Prix win in the rain-affected European Grand Prix. Staying at Stewart after the team was purchased by Ford and became Jaguar, Herbert endured another frustrating and pointless season, ending the year being stretchered off at Malaysia after a suspension failure caused him to crash heavily.After Formula One
In 2001 he was employed by Arrows F1 team owner Tom Walkinshaw, to act as the team developmental/test driver.Since retiring from Formula One racing, Herbert has concentrated on Sports Cars, trying to repeat his Le Mans 24 Hours overall win of 1991. Recent years have seen him as one of the front runners in the American Le Mans Series, where he won several events and was a challenger for the 2003 crown.
In 2004, Herbert, along with Jamie Davies won the Le Mans Series championship at the wheel of an Audi R8 winning the races at Monza and Spa along the way.
In 2005, Herbert was appointed to the post of Sporting Relations Manager at Jordan Grand Prix, which was then renamed Midland F1 for the 2006 World Championship. However, in September of that year Spyker Cars bought the team, and renamed it Spyker MF1. Another of the new owners' decisions was to not renew Herbert's contract.
In 2007, Herbert entered the Le Mans 24 Hours driving for the factory Aston Martin team at the wheel of the Aston Martin DBR9 in the GT1 class. Herbert, along with Peter Kox and Tomáš 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 the Speedcar Series.
In 2009, Herbert made his debut in the British Touring Car Championship for Team Dynamics at the wheel of a Honda 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 with Jason 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 at Capital Karts in London. This event invites celebrities and professional racing drivers to compete in indoor go karting and is now in its 20th year.
Sky Sports F1
Herbert is a regular contributor to the Sky Sports F1 channel. He is an occasional presence as one of the insiders in "Sky Race Control" during practices, qualifying sessions, and races alongside Anthony Davidson, Damon Hill, Nico Rosberg, and Paul Di Resta.GT Academy
In 2013 and 2014, Herbert mentored 6 contestants in a primetime ITV4 reality series, with the aim of taking players of the Gran Turismo videogames to the Dubai 24 Hour race as real drivers. Other countries in Europe had heats mentored by drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Sébastien Buemi.Racing record
Complete International Formula 3000 results
| 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 |
Complete Formula One results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | WDC | Pts. |
| Benetton Formula | Benetton B188 | Ford V8 | BRA 4 | SMR 11 | MON 14 | MEX 15 | USA 5 | CAN DNQ | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | 14th | 5 | ||||||||
| Tyrrell Racing Organisation | Tyrrell 018 | Ford V8 | BEL Ret | ITA | POR DNQ | ESP | JPN | AUS | 14th | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Camel Team Lotus | Lotus 102 | Lamborghini V12 | USA | BRA | SMR | MON | CAN | MEX | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | ESP | JPN Ret | AUS Ret | NC | 0 | ||
| Team Lotus | Lotus 102B | Judd V8 | USA | BRA | SMR | MON | CAN DNQ | MEX 10 | FRA 10 | GBR 14† | GER | HUN | BEL 7 | ITA | POR Ret | ESP | JPN Ret | AUS 11 | NC | 0 | ||
| Team Lotus | Lotus 102D | Ford V8 | RSA 6 | MEX 7 | BRA Ret | ESP Ret | 15th | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Team Lotus | Lotus 107 | Ford V8 | SMR Ret | MON Ret | CAN Ret | FRA 6 | GBR Ret | GER Ret | HUN Ret | BEL 13† | ITA Ret | POR Ret | JPN Ret | AUS 13 | 15th | 2 | ||||||
| Team Lotus | Lotus 107B | Ford V8 | RSA Ret | BRA 4 | EUR 4 | SMR 8† | ESP Ret | MON Ret | CAN 10 | FRA Ret | GBR 4 | GER 10 | HUN Ret | BEL 5 | ITA Ret | POR Ret | JPN 11 | AUS Ret | 9th | 11 | ||
| Team Lotus | Lotus 107C | Mugen-Honda V10 | BRA 7 | PAC 7 | SMR 10 | MON Ret | NC | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Team Lotus | Lotus 109 | Mugen-Honda V10 | ESP Ret | CAN 8 | FRA 7 | GBR 11 | GER Ret | HUN Ret | BEL 12 | ITA Ret | POR 11 | NC | 0 | |||||||||
| Ligier Gitanes Blondes | Ligier JS39B | Renault V10 | EUR 8 | NC | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Mild Seven Benetton Ford | Benetton B194 | Ford V8 | JPN Ret | AUS Ret | NC | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Mild Seven Benetton Renault | Benetton B195 | Renault RS7 3.0 V10 | BRA Ret | ARG 4 | SMR 7 | ESP 2 | MON 4 | CAN Ret | FRA Ret | GBR 1 | GER 4 | HUN 4 | BEL 7 | ITA 1 | POR 7 | EUR 5 | PAC 6 | JPN 3 | AUS Ret | 4th | 45 | |
| Red Bull Sauber Ford | Sauber C15 | Ford Zetec-R V10 | AUS Ret | BRA Ret | ARG 9 | EUR 7 | SMR Ret | MON 3 | ESP Ret | CAN 7 | FRA DSQ | GBR 9 | GER Ret | HUN Ret | BEL Ret | ITA 9† | POR 8 | JPN 10 | 14th | 4 | ||
| Red Bull Sauber Petronas | Sauber C16 | Petronas V10 | AUS Ret | BRA 7 | ARG 4 | SMR Ret | MON Ret | ESP 5 | CAN 5 | FRA 8 | GBR Ret | GER Ret | HUN 3 | BEL 4 | ITA Ret | AUT 8 | LUX 7 | JPN 6 | EUR 8 | 10th | 15 | |
| Red Bull Sauber Petronas | Sauber C17 | Petronas V10 | AUS 6 | BRA 11† | ARG Ret | SMR Ret | ESP 7 | MON 7 | CAN Ret | FRA 8 | GBR Ret | AUT 8 | GER Ret | HUN 10 | BEL Ret | ITA Ret | LUX Ret | JPN 10 | 15th | 1 | ||
| Stewart Ford | Stewart SF3 | Ford V10 | AUS DNS | BRA Ret | SMR 10† | MON Ret | ESP Ret | CAN 5 | FRA Ret | GBR 12 | AUT 14 | GER 11† | HUN 11 | BEL Ret | ITA Ret | EUR 1 | MAL 4 | JPN 7 | 8th | 15 | ||
| Jaguar Racing | Jaguar R1 | Cosworth V10 | AUS Ret | BRA Ret | SMR 10 | GBR 12 | ESP 13 | EUR 11† | MON 9 | CAN Ret | FRA Ret | AUT 7 | GER Ret | HUN Ret | BEL 8 | ITA Ret | USA 11 | JPN 7 | MAL Ret | 17th | 0 |
Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
Complete Japanese Formula 3000 Championship results
| 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 |
24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete American Le Mans Series results
Complete IndyCar Series results
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Rank | Points |
| 2002 | Duesenberg Brothers Racing | Dallara | Chevrolet | HMS | PHX | FON | NAZ | INDY DNQ | TXS | PPIR | RIR | KAN | NSH | MCH | KTY | GAT | CHI | TXS | NC | 0 |
Indianapolis 500 results
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
| 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 |
Complete International Superstars Series results
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points |
| 2010 | Motorzone Race Car | Chevrolet Lumina CR8 | MNZ R1 Ret | MNZ R2 6 | IMO R1 2 | IMO R2 DNS | ALG R1 DNS | ALG R2 Ret | HOC R1 14 | HOC R2 3 | CPR R1 3 | CPR R2 15 | VAL R1 Ret | VAL R2 Ret | KYA R1 1 | KYA R2 Ret | 7th | 66 | ||
| 2011 | Romeo Ferraris | Mercedes C63 AMG | MNZ R1 10 | MNZ R2 Ret | VNC R1 6 | VNC R2 18 | ALG R1 15 | ALG R2 18 | DON R1 2 | DON R2 6 | MIS R1 4 | MIS R2 2 | SPA R1 3 | SPA R2 9 | MUG R1 5 | MUG R2 3 | VAL R1 Ret | VAL R2 5 | 6th | 96 |
| 2012 | Swiss Team | Maserati Quattroporte | MNZ R1 | MNZ R2 | IMO R1 | IMO R2 | DON R1 3 | DON R2 7 | MUG R1 2 | MUG R2 Ret | HUN R1 | HUN R2 | SPA R1 | SPA R2 | VAL R1 | VAL R2 | PER R1 | PER R2 | 12th | 36 |