Formula 1 debut
 With incredible fighting spirit and the support of his family,
Johnny fought against the terrible injuries sustained in the horrendous F3000 accident at
Brands Hatch in August 1988, in an effort to regain full fitness for the start of the 1989
F1 season. Peter Collins, then with Benetton, honoured his commitment to Johnny, signing
him to partner to Alessandro Nannini.
But it almost didn't happen. This is how Mark Skewis, editor of Autosport,
recounts Johnny's return to the cockpit after that fateful accident, in April 1999...
It's a cold winter's day at Silverstone, 1988. Johnny Herbert's career
is on the line. Tension hangs as thick as the fog which envelops the deserted airfield.
Not four months have elapsed since the Formula 3000 shunt at Brands Hatch which shattered
the golden boy of British racing's legs. Nobody says it out loud, but everyone is asking
the same question as mechanics lower him into the Benetton: can he still do it?
He cruises round on an installation lap, then drives three more. All of them slow.
Worried glances are exchanged on the pit wall. The car tours into the pit lane and is
pushed back into the garage. Its occupant stays slumped inside. Team boss Peter Collins,
whose neck is also on the block, leans into the cockpit.
"What's the matter?" he asks. His blood chills with the reply.
"I don't think I can do it…"
"Will you give it another try?" implores Collins. Subdued, his driver agrees
to have another a go.
Bang, bang, bang, in come the lap times. The invalid hasn't just beaten the bogey lap
time. He's demolished it. The faces are brighter when the car rolls to a halt for a second
occasion. "Got yer!" says Herbert, with a triumphant beam.
Collins' had a sense of humour - just as well! He also had faith in Johnny and it was
amply repaid during that superb debut at the Autodromo Nelson Piquet in Rio de Janeiro,
where the plucky Brit qualified an excellent 10th, one place and 0.24 sec ahead of his
team-mate. Many regard Johnny's first F1 race as
amongst the most stunning drives ever by a Formula 1 newcomer. He finished in fourth
place, less than 11 seconds behind the victorious Nigel Mansell's Ferrari, within 3
seconds of Alain Prost's McLaren Honda and right on the tail of third placed local,
Mauricio Gugelmin.
The 1989/90 edition of Autocourse commented: "Not since Reine Wisell took
one of Colin Chapman's Lotus 72s to third place in the 1970 US GP at Watkins Glen has any
new driver produced as good a result on his debut as Johnny Herbert achieved at Rio. It
was hard to believe that Herbert had last completed a race as long ago as the Monza F3000
event the previous June. The strain of the 106° Brazilian heat left Johnny remarkably
unflustered, his only complaint being that his neck felt rather stiff towards the end of
the race."
Unfortunately, the result in Rio was deceptive. The characteristics of the Brazilian
circuit did not put too much stress on Johnny's ankles and helped to hide the fact that he
was not fully recovered from his injuries. By mid-season, Benetton "rested"
Johnny - and he wasn't to be seen in one of their cars again for over 5 years! But the
enforced absence gave Johnny the opportunity to make a full physical recovery. He worked
hard on his fitness and took advantage of a brief return to F1 with Tyrrell in Belgium to
show that he still had the pace.
Time out in Japan and the Le Mans 24 Hours
Johnny received several offers for 1990, but eventually chose to combine a testing
contract with Lotus, with a racing programme in Japan, competing in the All Japan Sports
Prototype Championship and the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship. Johnny was offered the
opportunity to drive for Mazda in the Le Mans 24 Hours, although the man who assembled
Mazda's squad, David Kennedy, admits that he encountered strong resistance when he
included Johnny in his line-up.
"Mr Ohashi, the big boss, was asking me, 'Are you sure he's OK?'," he
recalls. "I was saying, 'Yeah, yeah, of course', but if you saw him in the morning
– when it took Johnny half an hour to get out of bed, and another half-hour before he
could walk – you would have thought I was crazy. But whenever he was in the car, in
the tests or for the race, he flew."
After partnering Volker Weidler and Bertrand Gachot to the first win a Japanese
manufacturer had achieved in the French classic, Herbert collapsed on the car out of sheer
exhaustion.
"By then his eyes were sunk right back in his head, and he looked as if a feather
would knock him over," says Kennedy. "Mental and physical fatigue are your
biggest enemies at that race. I asked the girls in the team to take Johnny away from the
pits whenever he was out of the car, just to get his mind off things. He just thought he
was really popular!"
F1 debut number two...
Johnny's opportunity to return to the F1 circus unfortunately came about because of
another terrible accident. He replaced the injured Martin Donnelly at Lotus after Martin's
career came to a premature end when he crashed heavily in practice for the 1990 Spanish
Grand Prix. Johnny stood in for Martin in Japan and Australia during the season's closing
GPs, before going on to spend most of 1991 and all of the next three seasons
at Lotus.
Race Results - Formula 1 debut and return
1990 Circuit Grid Race Out (laps)
---------------------------------------------------------
4 Nov Adelaide (AUS) 18th DNF Clutch (57)
21 Oct Suzuka (JPN) 15th DNF Engine (31)
Lotus-Lamborghini. Team mate: Derek Warwick.
No Points. Did not compete before Japan.
Stood in for Martin Donnelly after his accident in Spain.
1989 Circuit Grid Race Out (laps)
---------------------------------------------------------
24 Sept Estoril (P) DNQ
27 Aug Spa-Francorchamps (B) 16th DNF
18 Jun Montreal (CAN) DNQ
4 Jun Phoenix (USA) 25th 5th
28 May Mexico (MEX) 18th 15th
7 May Monaco (MC) 24th 14th
23 Apl Imola (SM) 23rd 11th
26 Mar Rio de Janeiro (BR) 10th 4th
First year in Formula 1. 5 points. 14th= in Championship.
4th in F1 debut race at Rio.
Benetton-Ford to Montreal. Team-mate: Alessandro Nannini.
Last 2 races with Tyrrell-Cosworth. Team-mate: Dr Jonathan Palmer.
Race Results - Sports Cars: Le Mans 24 Hours
1992
Car: Mazda MXR01
Co-drivers: Volker Weidler, Bertrand Gachot, and
Maurizio Sandro Sala
Result: 4th
Laps: 336
1991
Car: Mazda 787B
Co-drivers: Volker Weidler and Bertrand Gachot
Result: 1st
Laps: 362
Distance: 3,059.135 miles (4,923.200 km)
Average speed: 127.588 mph (205.333 kph)
Race Results - Sports Cars: Japan
All Japan Prototype Sports Car Championship
1991 Circuit Co-driver Position
---------------------------------------------------------
21 Jul Fuji Bertrand Gachot 4th
6 Oct Fuji Maurizio Sandro-Sala 4th
Mazda 787B
Overall ranking 16th.
1990 Circuit Co-driver Position
---------------------------------------------------------
11Mar Fuji Bob Wolleck DNS
22 Jul Fuji Rickard Rydell 4th
26 Aug Suzuka Rydell/Wolleck DNF
16 Sep Sugo Bob Wolleck DNF
7 Oct Fuji Rickard Rydell DNF
Takefuji-Porsche 962C
Overall ranking 21st.
Fuji Interchallenge 1000km
1989 - Takefuji-Porsche 962C
Finished 6th with Martin Donnelly
Japanese results courtesy of Iori Kurisu
Every effort is made to ensure factual accuracy but
no responsibility is accepted for this information.
Last revised 9th April 1999.
All rights reserved.
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