Family Background

Johnny's personality

Johnny is known as one of the most cheerful and bouncy characters in F1, but has he always been like that?

"This might come as a surprise to those of you who think of me as a mild-mannered Clark Kent figure - but when my father Bob and I used to go kart racing, our caravan had a sticker strategically placed on the side. It covered the hole made by the screwdriver I'd thrown at him. I've grown up a lot since then..."

At the end of 1998, in an intriguing insight into what it takes to be a top racing driver, Johnny told F1 Racing that his personality changed after the F3000 accident in 1988:

"Before the accident, I had got a reputation for not talking to anyone else, of being a little bit miserable and stuck-up. That was because I was super confident. I felt invincible - I could take on anybody, in any car, any time, anywhere and beat them.

"After the accident, the way I dealt with the pain and discomfort was to laugh it off, to say, 'Look, I'm fine'. I was bubbly on the outside because it made me feel better on the inside. As time went on, I recovered, but I kept the same good attitude. If I hadn't had the shunt, I'd probably be the way I was before.

"This doesn't mean I'm any less committed, but it's slightly different from the 'invincible' feeling. The way I was is how Michael [Schumacher] is now. In the wet, in the dry, he believes he's the best. We all think we are, but Michael knows it. That gives a driver something extra, a special feeling. There's usually only one guy on the grid at a time who feels it. I lost a bit of that mentality because of the shunt, but I'm just as focused today as I was back then."

There's no doubt that Johnny has had more than his fair share of bad luck. He's gained an unenviable reputation for finishing races early - usually through no fault of his own - but he always seems to remain even tempered:

"I'm told I'm unusually calm even when people have accidentally had me off - like Eddie Irvine did at Monza in 1994 or in Melbourne [in 1997]. I've always looked at it that if you have a confrontation, after somebody has done something stupid, it never does anyone any good. I think the last time I had anything remotely like that was when I went from junior to senior karts racing at Tilbury, and we both ended up getting banned!"

In 1994, respected motorsport writer David Tremayne summed up Johnny thus:

"It's hard to find people in F1 who don't like him, such is his bubbly personality, even though at times he has been known to launch himself playfully at somebody and bite their nose, Hannibal Lecter-style. His most endearing aspects are his naivete and his candour. He speaks as he sees, without political subterfuge. Being honest with himself comes easy...

"...He is one of the most popular racing drivers in the world. Nobody in the F1 pit lane has a bad word for him. He is bright, bouncy, ready with a laugh. He hasn't changed a bit since he won the Formula Ford Festival in 1985."

When Johnny won his first Grand Prix, his home event at Silverstone in July 1995, the other drivers on the podium, Jean Alesi and David Coulthard, spontaneously lifted him on to their shoulders in celebration. That David bore him no ill will was remarkable, given that the race could so easily have seen the Scot's own first F1 victory. Though Johnny's relationship with Jean Alesi soured later when they were team-mates at Sauber in 1998, everyone was happy for him after that first win.  

And, after a decade in F1, Johnny remains one of the most popular personalities in the paddock.

Early motor racing career

Every effort is made to ensure factual accuracy but
no responsibility is accepted for this information.
Last updated 9th April 1999. All rights reserved.