Johnny Herbert’s 10 greatest drives

Johnny Herbert started 160 Formula 1 races, took three grand prix victories and finished on the podium at the Le Mans 24 Hours four times. It’s 25 years since his final GP victory so Autosport sat down with him to pick out his finest drives.

Herbert was a star in the junior single-seater ranks before his terrible F3000 crash at Brands Hatch in 1988, and demonstrated his versatility outside of F1, so the 60-year-old’s best races come from a variety of categories.

For this list, we’ve looked at the circumstances of the races, the equipment he had at his disposal and the views of Herbert and others.

10. 1987 Monaco F3 GP

On his first time at Monaco, Herbert impressed under the eye of the F1 paddock

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Car: Reynard 873
Started: 4th
Result: 3rd

Already the class act in British Formula 3 in 1987, Herbert’s trip to Monaco against European opposition didn’t start well. Aside from having to learn the circuit and different tyres to his usual crossply Avons, he had the wrong set-up. A spooled differential and locked rear-end had “worked brilliantly” at Snetterton and Thruxton, but created massive understeer around the tight streets. The result was 22nd in the first qualifying session.

“The general consensus was that Johnny was making the wrong move,” reported Autosport. “Sitting pretty in England, why go and get blown away by French and Italians on an unfamiliar circuit and unaccustomed Michelin radials?”

But Eddie Jordan Racing engineer Dave Benbow sorted the diff’ for Friday’s running and Herbert leapt to fourth, heading the Reynard charge. “Remembering that Herbert had not been to Monaco before, a second row slot was pure class,” reckoned Autosport.

Come the race, Herbert was held up by Alberto Apicella’s Dallara before making it into third when the Italian spun at Rascasse. By then, Didier Artzet’s KTR Ralt and the ORECA Dallara of Jean Alesi were too far ahead, but finishing on the podium was still a fine result.

“He was behind a circuit specialist and the ORECA team leader,” added Autosport. “What says more about him than anything, though, is that he was disappointed. It was written all over his face. This man is a winner.”

Today, Herbert thinks it was a key moment: “It was the first time I’d done a good job in front of the F1 paddock.”

9. 2003 Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta

Leading every lap of an endurance race and beating the factory-backed Audis - it doesn't get much better than that

Photo by: Rick Dole / Motorsport Images

Car: Audi R8
Started: 3rd
Result: 1st

Herbert scored many successes in Audi’s legendary R8, including taking the 2004 Le Mans Endurance Series title with Jamie Davies, but it’s arguably one of his ‘easier’ victories that means the most. It’s not often that one car leads an entire race lasting nearly 10 hours…

Herbert and JJ Lehto were a constant threat in their Champion R8 during the 2003 American Le Mans Series but it was normally the Joest-run factory car of Frank Biela/Marco Werner that led the way. The Germans duly went to the Petit Le Mans finale as favourites to wrap up the crown, but it was Herbert and Lehto who had an event to remember.

Werner took pole at Road Atlanta, ahead of the Dyson Lola-MG of James Weaver. Lehto qualified ‘only’ third but was leading inside a lap. Both he and Weaver dived ahead of Werner at the getaway, and when Weaver was told to drop behind the polesitter for jumping the start, Champion moved into a lead it was never to lose.

Weaver, sharing with Andy Wallace and Butch Leitzinger, soon hit electrical issues and the car was never again in contention. When Biela crashed in the second hour, requiring a new rear-end and front suspension on his silver R8, Lehto and Herbert comfortably outpaced the field.

Autosport described the subsequent performance as “flawless”. Herbert and Lehto led every one of the 394 laps!

“Beating the works team was a nice weekend,” says Herbert, who twice finished second at Le Mans in R8s. “And that was in the days of pushing absolutely flat-out, threading your way through the traffic. That was brilliant.”

It wasn’t enough for Lehto to snatch the title. Despite Biela and Werner having further offs, they limped home third, nine laps behind, which was enough to clinch the crown.

But that doesn’t overshadow Herbert’s memories of the event: “It was with JJ and [team boss] Dave Maraj and the small Champion team – builders, woodworkers, electricians. They all came together for that weekend and it was a wonderful environment to be part of.”

8. 1997 Hungarian GP, Hungaroring

Herbert was able to look after his Goodyear tyres better than Schumacher in the Ferrari to reach the podium

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Car: Sauber C16
Started: 10th
Result: 3rd

The Sauber-Ferrari C16 was a decent F1 car and Herbert was a consistent points contender on his way to 10th in the standings. The highlight was third at the Hungaroring, where Damon Hill’s Bridgestone-shod Arrows would have won but for a late hydraulic problem.

While Jacques Villeneuve’s Williams overtook Hill on the final lap to win, the Arrows staggered to second, 11.4 seconds ahead of Herbert, who beat Michael Schumacher to be the second Goodyear runner home.

“We’d had a good year,” confirms Herbert. “It was quite a competitive car and it performed very well in qualifying in Hungary.”

Herbert had qualified 10th but key to his race was being able to look after the soft-compound Goodyears that most runners, including polesitter Schumacher’s Ferrari, blistered. “On the long runs we did, the car was so driveable,” adds Herbert, who jumped to eighth on the opening lap.

“Blistering tyres was a big issue and I was able to manage it. The pace was really strong and we were able to race Michael for a little bit and outrace them. It was an enjoyable ride because the car was doing everything I wanted it to do on a tricky track.

“It was a lovely race that gave me a lot of good feelings because it was a thoroughly enjoyable performance from my point of view and it was nice to be on the podium with Jacques and Damon – we’re all good friends.”

PLUS: Damon Hill’s greatest races

7. 1995 British GP, Silverstone

Herbert's home win is one of the most popular of recent times

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Car: Benetton B195
Started: 5th
Result: 1st

“I was screaming in the car. A few laps before, I knew it was going to come. I’d been trying to do left-foot braking, so I did one lap left, two right, one left, two right and I did that for the last 16-18 laps.”

The 1995 British GP is largely remembered for the clash between title rivals Schumacher and Hill. That shunt, which removed both, and a penalty for David Coulthard gave the impression that Herbert’s first F1 win was fortuitous. But there’s no doubt he earned it given the pain he had to go through in the closing stages, as he usually did thanks to the terrible foot injuries he sustained in his 1988 F3000 crash.

And Herbert was in the mix from the start at Silverstone, despite a nasty accident on Saturday, qualifying fifth and running there early on. He then jumped both Coulthard’s Williams and the Ferrari of Alesi during the first round of pitstops.

After 45 of the 61 laps, Schumacher and Hill were three-quarters of a minute ahead of Herbert, but their crash handed him a narrow lead over Coulthard. The Williams attacked the Benetton and made it by on lap 49, but Herbert already knew the contest was over: DC had to serve a stop/go penalty for speeding in the pits. Herbert’s fight with his pain continued to the flag, which he took 16.5s clear of Alesi.

“I did most of my races knowing that, with about 15 laps to go, my toe on my left foot would get super-sensitive and painful,” adds Herbert.

“That’s a special one because it was the first win, the home GP in front of the home fans, on a track I’d driven thousands of miles on.”

Autosport’s Nigel Roebuck summed it up at the conclusion of his report: “It was a lovely drive, devoid of mistakes, and a result richly enjoyed in the pitlane, as well as in the stands.”

6. 1991 Le Mans 24 Hours

Herbert was part of the surprise Mazda Le Mans 24 Hours win - but missed the podium in the medical centre

Car: Mazda 787B
Started: 19th
Result: 1st

“It wasn’t the quickest thing on Earth,” recalls Herbert of the Mazda 787B that has become something of a Le Mans icon. “Yes it had a cracking sound, but it wasn’t the most enjoyable car to drive – it did porpoise a lot and bounced through the Porsche Curves.”

F1 drivers Herbert and Bertrand Gachot were placed with Volker Weidler to spearhead Mazda’s attack on the greatest sportscar race. Thanks to a rules break, the rotary-engined machine enjoyed a 170kg advantage over the other fuel restricted ‘Category 2’ machines, such as the Mercedes C11 and Jaguar XJR-12. Weidler qualified 12th fastest, but the car only started 19th as the new 3.5-litre naturally aspirated cars lined up at the front.

“I was racing F1 and me and Bertrand did it to make a bit of money,” says Herbert. “Did we go into it thinking we were going to win? No!”

But the works Mazda became more and more of a threat as the race developed. After the new Peugeots had enjoyed a short spell at the front, the Sauber-Mercedes team stamped its authority on the race. Showing fine pace and fuel economy, the Mazda climbed the order, proving faster than the Jaguars and avoiding the troubles that befell the best Porsches.

“It was possibly the very early days of flat-out Le Mans,” adds Herbert. “The only thing we did, though we still pushed, was easing off in the latter part of the straight just to save fuel.

“Volker was probably the quickest of the three and was also the best on the fuel, so our aim was to get faster and use less fuel. And that’s exactly what we did – we all improved, getting faster and faster, and saved fuel.”

Although the ORECA-run Mazda established itself in the top five in the first quarter of the race, the three C11s looked out of reach. That was until a weakness with an alternator bracket made itself known. When the leading car of Jean-Louis Schlesser/Jochen Mass/Alain Ferte succumbed while sitting three laps clear with three hours to go, the screaming Mazda moved to the front.

Top 10: Sportscars never to win Le Mans

Herbert completed the final two-hour stint to record the first victory in the 24 Hours for a Japanese manufacturer, ahead of a Jaguar 2-3-4. But so exhausted was he that he required medical attention and missed the podium.

“It was tough, there was no power steering and it was very hot inside,” he recalls. “I learned a big lesson that weekend – I didn’t eat enough. Because of nerves, I suppose, I could only eat small, easy food like noodles with no nutrition whatsoever. So what I did learn after that was to have more fatty food, which aided my performance.”

5. 1999 European GP, Nurburgring

Perfect pitstop calls and mistakes by rivals opened up the opportunity for a memorable win

Photo by: Sutton Images

Car: Stewart SF3
Started: 14th
Result: 1st

“Herbert the hero,” shouted Autosport after one of the most dramatic races in the championship’s history.

Herbert outqualified team-mate Rubens Barrichello for the first time in 1999 – at round 14 – but that was only good enough for 14th on the grid at the Nurburgring as the Stewart SF3 had one of its less competitive Saturday showings. But the race was all about playing the changeable conditions and keeping the car on the road.

After Pedro Diniz’s spectacular first-lap crash and ensuing safety car period, Herbert ran 13th while Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s Jordan, the McLarens of Mika Hakkinen and Coulthard, and Ralf Schumacher’s Williams battled up front.

An early burst of rain sent Hakkinen to the pits for wets, only for the track to dry. As others made their scheduled stops, Herbert rose to fifth on his harder-compound Bridgestones before his own pit visit.

Elsewhere, calamity reigned. Hakkinen returned to the pits for dry rubber, Eddie Irvine’s stop was comedic as Ferrari appeared to forget that his F399 required a right-rear wheel, Frentzen’s Jordan suffered an electrical failure as he rejoined and Coulthard threw it off the road while leading. Crucially, Herbert had decided on his in-lap to go for wets as the rain returned.

“Normally when you talk about rain you don’t see it coming, it just appears,” he says. “But on this occasion going down to the hairpin I’d see this wide, teardrop cloud coming from Spa. I watched this cloud and, as it came, it never deviated and was coming dead straight over the track. It was quite a dark colour and I thought, ‘When that hits it’s going to be an absolute deluge’.

“I was very lucky because I got the radio call to pit and as I got down to the hairpin it absolutely chucked it down, so I got on the radio and said, ‘Wets’. When Rubens came in [two laps later] the team decided to leave him on slicks.”

Most chose slicks at this point, giving Herbert a big advantage. “It was absolutely sodden, slicks almost impossible and cars whizzing off all over the place,” he recalls. “It was a crazy race to be in!”

At two-thirds distance, Schumacher led while Herbert was with second-placed Giancarlo Fisichella’s Benetton. Schumacher then pitted and, with the track drying once again, Herbert came in for dry tyres on lap 47 of 66.

That left Fisichella in the lead, but he threw away his chances and then Schumacher’s Williams suffered a puncture. Suddenly Herbert found himself with a 16.4s lead over Jarno Trulli’s Prost with 16 laps to go. He kept clear while Trulli successfully battled to hold off a charging Barrichello and gave Stewart its only F1 win by 22.6s.

“I’m glad I was able to make that call to put wets on at exactly the right time,” says Herbert. “If I hadn’t, I’d never have been in that position. It was a special one because it was Sir Jackie and Paul’s only win, and it was at the venue where Jackie took his last F1 win.”

PLUS: Jackie Stewart’s greatest drives

4. 1989 Brazilian GP

Herbert doesn't hugely rate his grand prix debut but it remains a memorable feat just months after his career-threatening crash at Brands Hatch

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Car: Benetton B188
Started: 10th
Result: 4th

The man himself doesn’t rate the drive – “it’s not one of my best races, the Rio circuit suited the condition I was in” – but those who know what he had to deal with on his F1 debut do.

Just seven months after his horrific Brands crash, Herbert probably wasn’t fit to drive in a GP and doesn’t believe it would be allowed today. But Benetton manager Peter Collins kept the faith and so Herbert partnered Alessandro Nannini to drive the previous year’s B188.

Herbert beat Nannini to 10th on the grid, but had already had to overcome a major hurdle, which he largely kept to himself. “There was a big bump at the last right-hander before the back straight [Nonato],” he recalls. “My left foot was like a melon, really swollen and sensitive. Every time I went over the bump it would jar my foot and hurt like hell.

“Eventually I learned to let it hang in the monocoque, when it hit the bump my foot would slam against the side, I’d scream my head off but it overcame the pain. That crack allowed me to continue. I had to do it on the first lap of any session and that made it a lot easier – I had to find ways around the problem I had.”

A first-corner clash involving Gerhard Berger’s Ferrari, Ayrton Senna’s McLaren and the Williams of Riccardo Patrese helped Herbert climb to eighth on the opening lap, though Nannini nipped by. When Thierry Boutsen’s Williams suffered engine failure, Herbert ran seventh. He then made an early stop for fresh tyres and moved forwards as others pitted.

When Patrese retired with 10 laps to go, Herbert ran fourth. And he was closing on Mauricio Gugelmin’s March and Alain Prost’s McLaren, struggling on old rubber and with an inoperative clutch. Herbert duly finished fourth, 2.7s covering the trio.

Herbert thinks that remarkable result could have been better: “I worked to get in close to Mauricio for that last lap possible lunge and as I got close to him going across the line to start that last lap, the chequered flag came out! I’d be given the wrong information.

“I don’t know if I’d have finished second or not but reckon I probably could have done.”

Herbert would struggle more at subsequent tracks with heavier braking demands and was dropped by Benetton. He would have to wait until the end of 1990 and Lotus – again thanks to Collins – before being able to gather some F1 career momentum via a stint in Japan.

3. 1985 Formula Ford Festival, Brands Hatch

From the back of his heat with a penalty to winning the final - this event put Herbert on the map

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Car: Quest FF85
Started: 3rd (in final)
Result: 1st

“It was an important weekend for my career because up until that point every race I seemed to be up against Damon Hill in a Van Diemen, Mark Blundell, who was in a Van Diemen, Bertrand Gachot, who was in a Van Diemen… I was more or less the lone Quest. I’d been competitive during the year but was always beaten by a Van Diemen.”

The 1985 Brands Hatch Formula Ford Festival put Herbert on the map, partly because his event started so badly in qualifying: “I remember going out, looking up at Druids and thinking it was a bit damp, so I’ve got to wait for the track to start to dry. And on my first flying lap into Paddock the back end stepped out very quickly and the next thing I knew I was wrapped up in the catch fencing!”

The result was that Herbert had to start at the back of his heat – these were the days of 150+ entries – with a 10s penalty. “I remember thinking, ‘I’m only racing, Damon, Mark, Bertrand, Paulo Carcasci and Jonathan Bancroft’ – five guys,” he says. “Everybody else, not a problem. I think that mindset enabled me to get through the heats, quarter-final and semi-final and get myself in the perfect place on the outside of the front row for the final.

“The Quest was a very short wheelbase compared to the Van Diemen. It was more darty and reacted a much closer way to the karts I was used to. It suited me.”

Having carved repeatedly through the pack in the races beforehand (to sixth in his heat, fourth in his quarter-final and second in his semi), Herbert had a different job to do in the finale, though his cause had been aided by Gachot and Carcasci dramatically crashing out in their semi-final. Herbert led into Paddock, chased by Bancroft.

“He tried to pass me once into Druids but I always thought, ‘He’s not going to commit’, so I never really had any worry,” recalls Herbert. “I knew I could outrace and outfox him. Because of the way the heats and other races had gone my confidence was pretty good. There was momentum.”

And beating Bancroft and Hill provided career momentum for Herbert, who would soon be in British F3: “Winning the hard way was a damn powerful thing for my career because there was a wow factor about it and even today people still have good memories of that day.”

2. 1988 Monza F3000

Herbert tore through the field after car changes during a red flag

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Car: Reynard 88D
Started: 10th
Result: 3rd

Herbert’s F3000 campaign had gone awry and he didn’t know why. After winning the Jerez opener in his Eddie Jordan Racing Reynard, he hadn’t scored a point as the circus headed to Monza in June. “I’d been struggling for the last couple of races,” remembers Herbert. “The speed we’d had earlier in the season had been a little bit more difficult to do.”

The struggles continued at Monza. Herbert qualified 10th, 0.61s off polesitter Roberto Moreno’s similar Reynard, and “wasn’t going anywhere” early in the race. But then there was a red flag following an enormous crash involving Fabien Giroix and Massimo Monti after 13 laps. The long stoppage gave the team a chance to try something different.

Herbert asked if anything had changed. Eventually the Zytek engine guys admitted they’d changed the fuelling. “They said it made no difference at all, but I said to go back on what we did, to try it.”

The car was transformed. Despite having to start at the rear of the now 18-car field as his engine initially refused to fire, and being delayed by more chaos, Herbert became the driver to watch: “I was one second a lap quicker than anyone else. The car became alive again and the pace was unbelievable. I was rally banging over the kerbs.”

“All eyes were now on Herbert,” reported Autosport’s Marcus Pye. “Johnny was driving a blinder, his car control a joy to behold. The crowd loved it, going wild every time he appeared.”

With the result decided by the aggregate of the two parts, Herbert had no chance of victory, but he charged to third on the road and put enough distance between himself and his pursuers to take the same spot overall. Only Moreno and the March of Marco Apicella remained ahead.

“Suddenly everything came together, I came alive,” recalls Herbert. “Every input made sense to me and it was so, so easy to do it, but bloody good fun. I got a call from Enzo Ferrari’s PA wanting to meet me, but he died in August.

“That was my last ‘best’ race before Brands. Bar one race it’s the last time I remember it being a doddle…”

1. 1999 Malaysian GP, Sepang

It might not have been a victory, but Herbert picks the 1999 Malaysian GP for how he felt both physically and in the car

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Car: Stewart SF3
Started: 5th
Result: 4th

The number one race is a great example of driver insight helping see through the obvious. The headlines around the penultimate round of the 1999 F1 season concerned the controversial championship fight between Irvine and eventual champion Hakkinen, but Herbert rates the Malaysian GP as the one time in an F1 car he felt like he did prior to his F3000 accident.

“Everything I’d done up until that crash at Brands I totally believed I could beat anybody, anywhere, any car, any condition,” he says. “Everything I did on track was very simple. I found it so easy to get speed out of the car.”

With consistent pain at the end of GPs and a lack of sensitivity with his left foot, Herbert found things came less naturally after 1988. But on F1’s first visit to hot and humid Sepang, things were different.

Herbert committed to a one-stop strategy on a day most opted for two-stoppers. With a heavy fuel load, he fell to sixth early on – behind the Ferrari and McLaren duos, plus Stewart team-mate Barrichello – but kept himself in range while the returning Michael Schumacher tried to orchestrate things up ahead.

“I felt I could look after the tyre,” adds Herbert. “My pace with one-stop fuel was pretty much as good as the two-stoppers. I’d won at the Nurburgring and the confidence you get from winning a race carried on.”

After Schumacher handed team-mate Irvine the lead, he tried to delay the McLarens, though Coulthard found a way through swiftly. Coulthard then lost fuel pressure after 14 of the 56 laps, promoting Herbert to fifth. As others pitted, Herbert briefly rose to second before making his own stop.

Once Barrichello had made his second stop, Herbert found himself in a lonely fourth – lonely until Hakkinen made his second stop and emerged behind the Stewart. On ageing rubber, Herbert almost held off the Finn for the final podium spot before making a small error with just three laps to go and allowing the faster car through.

“Unobtrusively excellent” was how Autosport described Herbert’s race.

For a while, Herbert was classified second after the Ferraris were thrown out for an aerodynamic bargeboard infringement. But Ferrari’s appeal was upheld and the record books show Herbert classified fourth, nearly 15s clear of Barrichello.

The only thing that frustrates Herbert is that he never worked out why things felt different that day. “I was really consistent and it was easy,” he says. “It was exactly like I felt before. I only had that once and I do not know why. I wish I bloody did know! All the senses that I’d lost came back. It was my best race.”

Frustratingly for Herbert, his sensations from that race never returned

Photo by: Andre Vor / Sutton Images

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