Johnny Herbert

Herbert in his Lotus overalls

**John Paul** "**Johnny**" **Herbert** (born 25 June 1964) is a British racing driver, currently competing for Lotus in Formula One.

## Early life and career

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 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.

## Formula One

### Tyrrell (1989)

Despite his immobility, Herbert’s talent was such that Tyrrell signed him to partner the experienced Michele Alboreto for the 1989 season. While Herbert would have some poor reliability in the first half of the season, he would soon secure race finishes and points scoring finishes with 6th place finishes at the French Grand Prix and German Grand Prix. The season concluded with Herbert placing 12th in the standings on two points.

### Arrows/Footwork (1990–1991)

For 1990, Herbert would partner Martin Brundle at Arrowswith hopes that the new Ilmor engines would supply the performance and reliability necessary to win races. There would still be reliability issues for Herbert in 1990, but when he made the chequered flag he scored points and was regularly on the podium. Herbert would secure the first podium at the Brazilian Grand Prix with third place and his best result would come at the Italian Grand Prix where he finished second behind Ayrton Senna's Ferrari. Herbert finished the season 5th in the standings on 36 points and six podium finishes.

With Footwork buying a majority stake in the Arrows team and the according rebranding, there were hopes of continuing success for 1991. However, the new chassis and engine did not offer a reliable package and Herbert would only see the chequered flag on four occasions. Herbert would at least gain two podium finishes, including second place at the Belgian Grand Prix behind Nigel Mansell. The season concluded with Herbert finishing 9th in the standings on 13 points and two podium finishes. Herbert's greatest success of 1991 came at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Alongside Bertrand Gachot and Volker Weidler, Herbert was a part of Mazdaspeed's unfancied attack at the legendary race. The Mazda 787B came home for a stunning victory, the first for a Japanese marque at Le Mans. Herbert was so dehydrated that he had to be assisted out of the car and taken to the circuit's medical centre. As a result, he was unable to make it to the podium, leaving Weidler and Gachot to take up the celebrations.

### Benetton (1992)

With the decline in the performance of Footwork and the loss of Ilmor engines, Herbert would join Brundle in transferring to Benetton for 1992. Benetton-Ford were a far more reliable package for 1992 and Herbert only missed out on points scoring finish on five occasions, and secured three third place finishes. despite a strong performance, Benetton would sign Michael Schumacher for the forthcoming year and so Herbert lost his seat for 1993.

### Lotus (1993–present)

With the loss of his seat at Benetton, Herbert would sign for Lotus for 1993, where he would be partnered by Alessandro Zanardi. The move to Lotus reunited Herbert with his mentor, Peter Collins, who is the team principal at the Hethel-based squad.

## Personal life

Herbert has dated girlfriend Rebecca since 1986.

## Formula One Statistical Overview

### Formula One Record

 1990 |  Footwork Arrows Racing
 1991 |  Footwork Grand Prix International
 1992 |  Camel Benetton Ford
 1993 |  Team Lotus

Notes

* \* – Season still in progress.

### Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in *italics* indicate fastest lap)

Notes

* † – Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
* \* – Season still in progress.

## Notes

1. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Sniffer (2013-09-02). "Race That Shook The World: Brands F3000 – 1988". Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 2017-05-20.