Johnny Herbert

Johnny Herbert
Johnny Herbert
Born	June 25, 1964 (age 62); United Kingdom
Occupation(s)	Racing driver, commentator
Years active	1989–2000 (Formula One)
Known for	Formula One racing driver, 3 Grand Prix wins, 24 Hours of Le Mans winner

John Paul Herbert (born 25 June 1964) is a retired British racing driver and commentator who participated in Formula One from to . Throughout his 12-season career, Herbert claimed three victories in Formula One Grands Prix. In endurance racing, he triumphed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in with Mazda and won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2002 driving for Audi.

Herbert's Formula One tenure included stints with Benetton, Tyrrell, Lotus, Ligier, Sauber, Stewart, and Jaguar. His highest championship standing was fourth place in 1995 while racing for Benetton. Following his retirement from competition, Herbert served as an analyst for Sky Sports F1 between 2012 and 2022.

Formula Ford and Formula 3

Herbert's victory at the 1985 Formula Ford Festival held at Brands Hatch caught the eye of team owner Eddie Jordan, leading to their partnership and culminating in Herbert securing the 1987 British Formula 3 championship.

MG Metro Turbo Challenge

In August 1987, Herbert joined future F1 competitor Bertrand Gachot in the ESSO MG Metro Turbo Challenge at Silverstone. He earned pole position and led much of the race before a clutch malfunction forced retirement on the final lap. Later, Herbert, Gachot, and former Rial F1 driver Volker Weidler teamed up to win the 1991 Le Mans.

Ford Escort Celebrity Race

In October 1987, Herbert raced in a celebrity event featuring the Ford Escort at Brands Hatch alongside Bobby Gee, finishing third overall.

Formula 3000

During an International Formula 3000 event at Brands Hatch in 1988, Herbert sustained serious injuries following a crash that resulted in multiple direct impacts against barriers. Despite facing potential amputation, he underwent surgeries and rigorous rehabilitation, though residual mobility issues compelled him to adapt his driving technique.

Herbert returned to competition early in 1989, making his Formula One debut with the Benetton squad under the guidance of mentor Peter Collins. He earned points by finishing fourth at the Brazilian Grand Prix, closely trailing elite drivers like Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost. Nevertheless, persistent physical difficulties hampered his performance, culminating in failure to qualify for the 1989 Canadian Grand Prix, after which he was replaced.

Subsequently, Herbert competed in Japanese Formula 3000 before rejoining F1 with Tyrrell. From 1990 through 2000, he maintained a steady presence in Formula One, including joining the financially troubled Lotus outfit managed by Collins. His Lotus debut occurred at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, filling the seat left vacant by Martin Donnelly’s career-ending accident.

In 1991, Herbert returned to Lotus partway through the season, sharing driving duties due to scheduling conflicts with Japanese F3000 events. He scored his first points after nearly three years at the 1992 South African Grand Prix, followed by another points finish at the 1992 French Grand Prix, demonstrating strong competition against teammate and future World Champion Mika Häkkinen. Over their 24 races together, Herbert qualified ahead of Häkkinen on 14 occasions. The 1993 season marked Herbert’s peak performance with Lotus, securing three fourth-place finishes. However, financial difficulties afflicted the team throughout 1994; despite qualifying fourth at the 1994 Italian Grand Prix powered by an upgraded Mugen Honda engine, a collision on the opening lap ended his race prematurely. His final race with Lotus was at the 1994 Portuguese Grand Prix.

During 1991, Herbert also participated in two rounds of the Fuji Long Distance Sports Car Series co-driving a Mazda 787B, achieving fourth place on both occasions. His exemplary conduct during one event earned him the Sportsman Award at that year’s Autosport Awards.

Ligier and Return to Benetton (1994–1995)

Following three challenging years, Herbert’s contract with Lotus was purchased by Tom Walkinshaw toward the end of 1994. This transition led him to race for Ligier before moving to Benetton for the season’s concluding events. Although he did not accumulate points in 1994, Herbert was retained as Michael Schumacher's teammate for the 1995 season. Positioned as Benetton’s secondary driver, he found it difficult to adapt to the B195, a car tailored to Schumacher’s driving preferences, who also limited Herbert’s telemetry data access. Herbert secured his first podium by finishing second at the Spanish Grand Prix, contributing to Benetton’s first one-two finish since 1990. He achieved his maiden victory at the 1995 British Grand Prix following a collision between Damon Hill and Schumacher, amidst speculation about his potential replacement by test driver Jos Verstappen. Herbert replicated this success with a win at Monza under comparable circumstances and concluded the season in fourth place overall.

Sauber, Stewart, and Jaguar (1996–2000)

After parting ways with Benetton, Herbert joined the Swiss outfit Sauber from 1996 through 1998, where he earned two podium finishes: at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix and the 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix. His most effective season with Sauber was 1997. In 1999, he transitioned to Stewart Grand Prix, often being outqualified by teammate Rubens Barrichello, yet he claimed his third and final Grand Prix victory at the rain-soaked 1999 European Grand Prix. He also achieved a notable fourth place at the 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix, which he regarded as his best performance since before his serious accident. Continuing with Stewart after its acquisition by Ford, which rebranded the team as Jaguar, Herbert endured a disappointing 2000 season without scoring points, culminating in a severe crash caused by suspension failure during the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Post-Formula One Career

In 2001, Herbert served as a development and test driver for the Arrows F1 squad under Tom Walkinshaw’s ownership. Soon after, he tested a Dallara IndyCar for Mecom Racing Team, posting a fastest lap time that would have qualified him on the front row at the Indianapolis 500.

Following his Formula One tenure, Herbert concentrated on sports car racing with ambitions to replicate his overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991. He emerged as a leading competitor in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), securing multiple wins and vying for the championship in 2003. In 2004, partnering with Jamie Davies, he clinched the Le Mans Series title driving an Audi R8, capturing victories at both Monza and Spa.

Herbert was appointed Sporting Relations Manager at Jordan Grand Prix (later Midland F1) in 2005; however, after Spyker Cars took over and renamed it Spyker MF1 in September of that year, they opted not to renew his contract.

Returning to Le Mans in 2007, Herbert competed with Aston Martin’s factory team in the GT1 category, finishing ninth overall and fourth within his class. In 2008, he secured the championship title in the inaugural Speedcar Series season.

Herbert made his British Touring Car Championship debut in 2009 with Team Dynamics behind the wheel of a Honda Civic. Starting from 17th position at Silverstone, he scored points by finishing eighth and continued competing through the final rounds despite retiring from one race due to collision damage.

Additionally, Herbert organizes the annual Johnny Herbert Karting Challenge charity event held at Capital Karts in London. Now celebrating its 20th year, this event brings together celebrities and professional drivers competing to support charitable initiatives such as the halow project.

Sky Sports F1

Between 2012 and 2022, Herbert consistently appeared on the Sky Sports F1 channel, providing insider analysis within "Sky Race Control" during practice sessions, qualifying rounds, and races. He collaborated with specialists including Anthony Davidson, Damon Hill, Nico Rosberg, and Paul Di Resta.

GT Academy

During 2013 and 2014, Herbert served as a mentor to six participants on a primetime ITV4 reality show designed to convert Gran Turismo players into actual racing drivers competing in the Dubai 24 Hour event. Other European qualifying rounds were overseen by drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Sébastien Buemi.

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1985	Formula Ford Festival		1	1	0	?	1	N/A	1st
1986	British Formula 3 Championship	Mike Rowe Racing / Intersport Racing	6	0	0	0	0	8	15th
1987	British Formula 3 Championship	Eddie Jordan Racing	18	5	7	5	10	79	1st
1987	Macau Grand Prix	Eddie Jordan Racing	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	18th
1988	International Formula 3000	Eddie Jordan Racing	6	1	2	1	2	13	8th
1988	World Sportscar Championship	ADA Engineering	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC

^† As Herbert participated as a guest driver, he was not eligible to earn championship points.

Complete British Formula Three Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Engine	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	DC	Pts
1987	Eddie Jordan Racing	Volkswagen (VW)	A	Silverstone Circuit C	Thruxton Circuit 1	Brands Hatch 1	Silverstone Circuit 3	Thruxton Circuit 1	Silverstone Circuit 1	Brands Hatch 2	Thruxton Circuit Ret	Silverstone Circuit 1	Circuit Zandvoort 9	Donington Park Ret	Silverstone Circuit 4	Snetterton Circuit 3	Donington Park 19	Oulton Park 2	Silverstone Circuit 7	Brands Hatch 5	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps DNS	Thruxton Circuit 3	<style="background:#FFFFBF;">1st</style>	<style="background:#FFFFBF;">79</style>

Full International Formula 3000 Results

(key) (Events highlighted in bold denote pole position) (Events in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Final Position	Points Scored
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 Race Results

(key) (Pole positions are shown in bold)

... (subsequent years continue, with non-scoring events summarized or omitted)

Year	Team	Chassis Model	Engine Type	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Championship Ranking	Points
Template:F1	Benetton Formula	Benetton B188	Ford V8	BRA 4	SMR 11	MON 14	MEX 15	USA 5	CAN DNQ	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN							14th	5
Template:F1	Tyrrell Racing	Tyrrell 018	Ford V8											BEL Ret	ITA	POR DNQ	ESP	JPN	AUS	14th	5
Template:F1	Camel Team Lotus	Lotus 102	Lamborghini V12	USA ... (races without points or finishes have been excluded for brevity)		NC	0

Driver did not complete the race but was classified, having covered more than 90% of the total distance.

Full Japanese Formula 3000 Championship results

(legend) (Races shown in bold denote pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Final Position	Points
1990	Team LeMans	SUZ 19th	FUJ 10th	MIN Retired	SUZ Retired	SUG 7th	FUJ Retired	FUJ 5th	SUZ 6th	FUJ Retired	SUZ Retired		16th place	3
1991	Team LeMans	SUZ 5th	AUT 7th	FUJ Retired	MIN 2nd	SUZ Retired	SUG Retired	FUJ Retired	SUZ 7th	FUJ 'C'	SUZ Retired	FUJ 6th	10th place	9

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Vehicle	Category	Completed Laps	Overall Result	Category Result
Template:24hLM	Template:Country data JPN Template:Namespace detect showall Mazdaspeed	Germany Volker Weidler Template:Country data BEL Template:Namespace detect showall Bertrand Gachot	Mazda 787	GTP class	148 laps	DNF (Did Not Finish)	DNF
Template:24hLM	Template:Country data JPN Template:Namespace detect showall Mazdaspeed	Germany Volker Weidler Template:Country data BEL Template:Namespace detect showall Bertrand Gachot	Mazda 787B	C2 category	362 laps completed	Winner	Winner
Template:24hLM	Template:Country data JPN Template:Namespace detect showall Mazdaspeed / Template:Country data FRA Template:Namespace detect showall Oreca	Germany Volker Weidler Template:Flagicon:BEL Bertrand Gachot Template:Flagicon:BRA Maurizio Sandro Sala	Mazda MXR-01	C1 class	336 laps finished	4th place overall	4th in class
Template:24hLM	Template:Flagicon:USA Champion Racing	Template:Flagicon:BEL Didier Theys Template:Flagicon:DEU Ralf Kelleners	Audi R8	LMP900 category	Completed 81 laps	DNF (Did Not Finish)	DNF
Template:24hLM:2002	Template:Flagicon:DEU Joest Racing	Template:Flagicon:ITA Christian Pescatori Template:Flagicon:ITA Rinaldo Capello	Audi R8	LMP900 class	Total of 374 laps completed	2nd place	2nd place
Template:24hLM:2003	Template:Flagicon:GBR Team Bentley	Template:Flagicon:GBR Mark Blundell Template:Flagicon:AUS David Brabham	Bentley Speed 8	LMGTP category	Finished 375 laps	Runner-up	Runner-up
Template:24hLM:2004	Template:Flagicon:GBR Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx	Template:Flagicon:GBR Jamie Davies Template:Flagicon:GBR Guy Smith	Audi R8	LMP1 class	Completed 379 laps	Second place	Second place
Template:24hLM:2007	Template:Flagicon:GBR Aston Martin Racing	Template:Flagicon:NLD Peter Kox Template:Flagicon:CZE Tomáš Enge	Aston Martin DBR9	GT1 category	Covered 337 laps \| 9th overall \| 4th in class \|

Complete American Le Mans Series Results

Year

Team

Full IndyCar Series Results

(key) (Entries shown in bold denote pole position)

Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final Position	Points Earned
2002	Duesenberg Brothers Racing	Dallara	32	Chevrolet	HMS	PHX	FON	NAZ	INDY DNQ	TXS	PPIR	RIR	KAN	NSH	MCH	KTY	GAT	CHI	TXS	NC	0

Indianapolis 500 Performance

Year	Chassis	Engine	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Team Name
2002	Dallara	Chevrolet	DNQ		Duesenberg

Full Le Mans Endurance Series Results

(key) (Pole positions are in bold; fastest laps are shown in italics)

Year	Team Entrant	Category	Vehicle	Engine Type	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Pos.	Total Points
2004	Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx	LMP1 Class	Audi R8	Audi 3.6L Turbocharged V8	MNZ 1st	NÜR 2nd	SIL 3rd	SPA 1st	Champion (1st)	34

Full British Touring Car Championship Results

(key) (Pole positions are highlighted in bold – one point awarded only for first race) (Fastest laps appear in italics – one point granted for every race) (* indicates the driver led at least one lap – one point awarded per race)

Year	Team	Vehicle	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	R16	R17	R18	R19	R20	R21	R22	R23	R24	R25	R26	R27	R28	Final Standing	Points Total
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 13th	SIL 2 8th	SIL 3 Retired	ROC 1 Retired	ROC 2 10th	ROC 3 7th	19th	8

Complete International Superstars Series Results

(Key) (Events shown in bold denote pole position) (Events in italics represent fastest lap)

Year	Team	Vehicle	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final Position	Points
2010	Motorzone Race Car	Chevrolet Lumina CR8	MNZ 1 Retired	MNZ 2 6th	IMO 1 2nd	IMO 2 Did Not Start	ALG 1 Did Not Start	ALG 2 Retired	HOC 1 14th	HOC 2 3rd	CPR 1 3rd	CPR 2 15th	VAL 1 Retired	VAL 2 Retired	KYA 1 1st	KYA 2 Retired			7th	66
2011	Romeo Ferraris	Mercedes C63 AMG	MNZ < br > 1 < br > 10th	MNZ < br > 2 < br > Retired	VNC < br > 1 < br > 6th	VNC < br > 2 < br > 18th	ALG < br > 1 < br > 15th	ALG < br > 2 < br > 18th	DON < br > 1 < br > 2nd	DON < br > 2 < br > 6th	MIS < br > 1 < br > 4th	MIS < br > 2 < br > 2nd	SPA < br > 1 < br > 3rd	SPA < br > 2 < br > 9th	MUG < br > 1 < br > 5th	MUG < br > 2 < br > 3rd	VAL < br > 1 < br > Retired	VAL < br > 2 < br > 5th	6th	96	-	2012	Swiss Team	Maserati Quattroporte					style = " background :#FFDF9F ;" \|Donington Park DON 1 Template:Small 3rd	style = " background :#DFFFDF ;" \|Donington Park DON 2 Template:Small 7th	style = " background :#DFDFDF ;"\|'Mugello Circuit MUG 1' Template:Small 2nd	style = " background :#EFCFFF ;"\|Mugello Circuit MUG 2 Template:Small Retired							12th	36	-

Helmet

Herbert's helmet displayed a red background with a white stripe running from the back, continuing along the sides to the mouthguard area, complemented by black stripes positioned on the lower sides and rear, similar to Depailler's style. While racing for Stewart in 1999, the black lower side stripes were replaced with green, and a Union Jack motif was added on top. In 2000, during his time with Jaguar, these green sections were altered to blue.

External links