DC talks to a man enjoying his racing...

At the Johnny Herbert Charity Karting event on 22nd November 1997, Johnny gave the following interview to David Cunliffe, exclusively for visitors to the Johnny Herbert Website.

DC: How have you enjoyed your first two years at Sauber, Johnny?

Johnny: It's been very good. The first year at a new team is always the most difficult because you're in a new situation. Team-mate Heinz-Harald had already done a couple of years there anyway. But the team were very good to me with sharing the testing and everything. This year has been even better. I've been in a better position because I haven't had a second driver pushing me. But with Jean [Alesi] next year, it could be good for the team.

DC: You were the only driver this year to outqualify your team-mate at every race - do think you'll be able to maintain that with Jean?

Johnny: I think so - I'm confident with my driving at the moment. I'm sure it's going to be quite hard with Jean but I think it will be very good - we'll push each other and it will be good for the team. Hopefully the team's results will improve with both drivers in the points and it will be good for us in the Championship.

DC: What do you think you can achieve next year with Sauber - do you think a win is possible yet?

Johnny: I hope we can be consistent with podium finishes. I think the team's now had three podium finishes in their years in Formula 1. A win might be a bit over optimistic for next year - the team has to work on points finishes. When we're consistently in the points and on the podium, then we can look at winning the races.

DC: Sauber has started strongly in the past but faded later in the season - do you see the team curing that problem next year?

Johnny: Yeah, well, I hope so. This year we had a competitive car at the beginning of the season but when the others were developing in the season, we probably didn't develop enough. For next year, we've got to have a good car from the beginning and enough development through the year to make it work at the end of the year. We've got to fight very hard to achieve that.

DC: Do you think that the right man won the Championship this year?

Johnny: I think that Michael [Schumacher] did a very, very good job this year in a car that probably wasn't as good as a Williams. They did a very good job at Ferrari, but the Williams did seem to be better. After what happened in Jerez, I'm very happy that Jacques did win. I think that if Michael did win in those circumstances, it probably wouldn't have been as deserved.

DC: Do you think that the punishment for Michael Schumacher fit the crime?

Johnny: I've been asked this a few times. But it is very, very difficult to really control him. If they did ban him for three, five races, then it's not very good for the television and the television is very important for Formula 1. It was a very hard one to decide. Taking the second place away is something for Michael which is probably not such a big thing. Second doesn't mean anything for him - it's probably the same for Ferrari - second is nowhere. But there is the little bit the FIA did with him looking after some road safety things they're doing. At least it mucks up his time a little bit - he may be able to spend less time at home - it just depends on how much he does.

DC: Now that you've been in Monaco for two years, how are you and your family settling down?

Johnny: We've settled in much better but it is a very, very different place from England. Now, we're much happier but it's not really a family orientated place. It's difficult for the family because I'm not there that often and it's normally Becky looking after the kids. It's okay, it's not a bad place to live and I like it when I'm there. I've got my Harley I can use there sometimes - although I've had it over a year and I've only done 500kms so far! When I'm there I spend time with my family, taking the girls to school, picking them up, and taking them out. It's been very fortunate having time off this November, because we're not allowed to test, and I've had more time to spend with them. Testing starts again 2nd December for three days, then there's another three days about the 14th or 15th December. Then I'll get a bit more time with them in Monaco after that at Christmas and New Year.

DC: You've said in the past that your parents have been a great source of support over the years. Would you like to talk about that a little bit?

Johnny: No! (said with that well known cheeky grin)

DC: Tell us how your mum and dad helped you during your early days in the sport - please!

Johnny: I was very fortunate that when I was 5, 6, 7 years old my father got me into the karting thing. He saw I had a very big interest in driving. When we got the kart, we started doing it as a family thing, going to the races together. I was very, very lucky - I could have been a kid just hanging around on the streets. Having a family that helped me that way was very good. I've been very lucky to come from the first kart I had to eventually drive Formula 1 cars. It was very special to have that help from my family in younger life.

DC: What do you think you would have done if you hadn't become a racing driver?

Johnny: I'd have probably been a dustman! I'm not really sure what else I could have done - when I was at school and karting, it was just racing I wanted to do. I haven't done anything else and I never really wanted to do anything else.

DC: All your fans hope to see you in F1 for many years yet, but have you any idea what you'll do when you come to the end of your racing career?

Johnny: I don't know - to be honest, I haven't really given it much thought. But I don't think I'd do anything in racing - I wouldn't run a team or anything like that. I really don't know. Maybe I'd run some sort of business but I don't actually know what. It's a bit early yet.

DC: Would you go to Indycars (CART) if you were unable to get a competitive F1 drive?

Johnny: Well, it's something I've looked at before and it was something I always wanted to do, but it's a decision I would make only if I was in that situation. There is a possibility I would but it depends on the situation at the time and how I was feeling about racing - I might just think, well, I've had a good term in racing and maybe I would just stop it there and then.

DC: Were you pleased to see your old team-mate, Alex Zanardi, become the CART Champion this year?

Johnny: I was very happy because Alex is a real good guy - a nice guy - and after all he's been through it was very, very good for him. After F1, it was difficult for him to find something else - Indycar is really the only other step, top flight, you can take in a single seater. He got his chance in Indycars and proved himself and I'm glad that, eventually in his second season, he won the Championship.

DC: Would you like to see him back in F1?

Johnny: It would be obviously very nice to have him back in F1, but he's in a very good situation in America. Going back to F1 he may not necessarily get in a top team - if he's not in a top team, he won't be at the front. In some ways it would be good for him to stick it out in America.

DC: Johnny, what do you think about the new F1 regulations - do you think it will make the racing closer next year?

Johnny: I really don't think it will make any difference at all to the racing. In some ways it may split the grid up again. It was very, very close this year because a lot of teams made big steps towards Williams. But Williams have had next year's car out since about July - they've had it out very, very early and they may have learned a lot more than anyone else. It's a new concept for a racing car - with the grooved tyres and even the floor - we don't know how they'll really work. I think the gaps will then get a bit bigger because the teams with the most resources will do the most testing and probably come out further ahead than they were at the end of last season.

DC: What did think about driving the new type of car?

Johnny: In some ways it's not what I think a Formula 1 car should be. It makes everything much, much slower. It gives you a lot more time when you're braking, changing down and going through the corner, which I think is making it much easier to drive. You have that much more time - you can adjust your watch as you go into a corner and then go round it! The reactions of drivers don't need to be so quick so, in some ways, it will bring the drivers closer together. But, as far as bringing the grids closer together, I still don't think it will.

DC: Are the new cars harder or easier to drive?

Johnny: The cars are physically much, much easier to drive because the G-forces are much less and they're running around 6, 7 seconds slower than last year. The gap will get less but I don't think it will be down to two seconds or something just because the tyres make a massive difference to the way the car handles - that's the limiting factor now.

DC: Will the grooved tyres work okay?

Johnny: They've had to make the tyre harder to make it last longer - making it harder, makes it slower. But it's going to be very interesting tyre-wise with the two tyre manufacturers - if one is quicker, the other will stick their neck out a little bit more and push so that the tyre will be quicker in some ways than it was made for. There's going to be more of a tyre fight next year, I think.

DC: Thanks, Johnny.

See also David Tremayne's Autosport article, "Sauber's Unsung Hero", which is based on another interview Johnny gave at the Charity Karting.

This article may not reproduced, in whole or in part, without permission.
© David Cunliffe, 22nd November 1997. All rights reserved.