Johnny
Herbert

Johnny Herbert was born in Brentwood on 25 June 1964. He won the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch in 1985. The win caught the eye of Eddie Jordan, and the pair took the 1987 British Formula 3 title together. In 1988 Herbert was involved in a serious accident at Brands Hatch while racing in International Formula 3000. He was back on the grid at the start of 1989, this time in Formula One.

He made his debut for Benetton at the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix and finished fourth straight away. He also scored points with fifth place in Phoenix. After failing to qualify in Canada he lost his seat, went back to Formula 3000, this time in Japan, and then found a place with Tyrrell. From the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix he drove for Lotus. He rejoined the team at the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix, and when grands prix clashed with Japanese Formula 3000 meetings, Michael Bartels took his car. In 1992 he finished sixth in South Africa and in France, and in 1993 he ended the championship ninth. Across the 24 races alongside Mika Häkkinen, he out-qualified him fourteen times.

During 1994 Herbert moved from Lotus via Ligier to Benetton, and he stayed there in 1995 as Michael Schumacher's team-mate. He took his first podium with second place in Spain. At the British Grand Prix he scored his first win after Damon Hill and Schumacher collided. A second victory followed at Monza in similar circumstances, and he finished the championship fourth. From 1996 to 1998 he drove for Sauber, reaching the podium at Monaco in 1996 and in Hungary in 1997. In 1999, driving for Stewart, he won the European Grand Prix, a race affected by rain, for his third and final victory. He drove his last Formula One season with Jaguar in 2000. His career totals were 160 starts, 3 wins and 7 podiums.

Away from Formula One, Herbert won the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans with Mazda, sharing the car with Bertrand Gachot and Volker Weidler. That year he also stopped during a round of the Fuji long-distance sports car series to help a rival who had suffered a puncture, and he received the Sportsman Award at the Autosport Awards for it. After Formula One he worked as a test and development driver for Arrows in 2001, won the 12 Hours of Sebring with Audi in 2002, and took the 2004 Le Mans Series title with Jamie Davies. In 2007 he finished ninth overall at Le Mans for Aston Martin, and in 2008 he won the first season of the Speedcar Series. In 2009 he made his first appearances in the British Touring Car Championship in a Honda. From 2012 to 2022 he was a regular pundit on Sky Sports F1.

Source: Wikipedia, “Johnny Herbert”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.