Johnny Herbert

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JohnnyHerbert2006.JPG
Johnny Herbert
Nationality 22px-Flag of the United Kingdom.png English
Years 1989 - 2000
Team(s) Benetton, Tyrrell, Lotus, Ligier, Sauber, Stewart, Jaguar
Races 165
Championships 0
Wins 3
Podiums 7
Poles 0
Fastest laps 0
First race 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix
First win 1995 British Grand Prix
Last win 1999 European Grand Prix
Last race 2000 Malaysian Grand Prix


John Paul Herbert (born June 25, 1964 in Romford, London, England) is a British former racing driver from England. He competed in Formula One, where he won three races, and more recently in sports cars. He enjoyed much success in lower-level motor racing but never managed to achieve the same level of performance at the top level of motorsport.

Herbert driving for Lotus at the 1994 British Grand Prix.

During the mid-1980s, Johnny Herbert was widely regarded as a coming man of motor racing, likened by some to the Scot Jim Clark. Winning the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch in 1985, Herbert caught Eddie Jordan's attention, and together they won the 1987 British Formula Three title. Disaster struck in 1988, though, as Herbert, then a championship hopeful in International Formula 3000 was caught up in a major accident at Brands Hatch, badly breaking his legs in a fearsome impact with the barriers. It was an act of huge bravery that saw him back in a racing car at the beginning of 1989, despite the fact he could barely walk. Even more remarkably, he was now in Formula 1, scoring points on his debut in Brazil driving for the Benetton team, then managed by his long time mentor and friend Peter Collins.

Johnny Herbert driving for Benetton in 1995

However, Herbert's performances could not keep up that standard, and with the Benetton team under new management, he was dropped after failing to qualify for the Canadian Grand Prix. Herbert returned to Formula 3000, this time in the highly regarded Japanese series. It wasn't long before he received another call from Grand Prix racing, this time Tyrrell. From 1990 to 2000, Herbert was a fixture in Formula One, switching to the dwindling Lotus team, now managed by Peter Collins. 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 team-mate for 1995. At the British Grand Prix, he inherited a hugely popular Grand Prix win after Michael Schumacher collided with Damon Hill. He followed this in similar circumstances at Monza, finishing 4th in the championship.

After being dropped by Benetton, Herbert drove for Swiss outfit Sauber in 1996-1998, scoring two podium places. Moving to Stewart Grand Prix in 1999, he scored his third and final Grand Prix win in a remarkable wet/dry European Grand Prix. Staying at Stewart as they 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.

Herbert driving for Audi in the 2004 Petit Le Mans.

Since retiring from Grand Prix racing, Herbert has concentrated on Sports Cars, trying to repeat his Le Mans 24 Hours win of 1991 in a Mazda. The last two years have seen him as one of the front runners in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), where he has won several events and was a challenger for the 2003 crown.

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.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Pts.
1989 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
1990 Camel Team Lotus Lotus 102 Lambourghini V12 USA
BRA
SMR
MON
CAN
MEX
FRA
GBR
GER
HUN
BEL
ITA
POR
ESP
JPN
Ret
AUS
Ret
NC 0
1991 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
1992 Team Lotus Lotus 102D Ford V8 RSA
6
MEX
7
BRA
Ret
ESP
Ret
15th 2
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
1993 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
1994 Team Lotus Lotus 107C Mugen-Honda V10 BRA
7
PAC
7
SMR
10
MON
Ret
NC 0
Lotus 109 Mugen-Honda V10 ESP
Ret
CAN
8
FRA
7
GBR
11
GER
Ret
HUN
Ret
BEL
12
ITA
Ret
POR
13
Ligier Gitanes Blondes Ligier JS39B Renault V10 EUR
14
Mild Seven Benetton Ford Benetton B194 Ford V8 JPN
Ret
AUS
Ret
1995 Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton B195 Renault 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
1996 Red Bull Sauber Ford Sauber C15 Ford V8 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
1997 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
1998 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
1999 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
2000 Jaguar Racing Jaguar R1 Ford 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
NC 0


External links

Johnny's website



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