F1 to one with Johnny Herbert

Australia promised much but failed to deliver...

It's annoying for the whole team that we had these problems on the grid because, for the rest of the weekend, we showed that we have a lot of potential. It was sad to go all the way to Australia and not get a race, but Rubens had first call on the spare because he qualified ahead of me. Anyway, I started burning first, so I couldn't have taken it from him! My record in Melbourne is: four starts, only one completed race distance. I haven't even made it past the first lap on the other three occasions.

What can you hope for during the rest of this season?

We want to challenge for points and podiums to begin with and, if we manage that, we can then start thinking about wins. But whether we start winning this year is difficult to say. Only in the second half of the season, if at all.

Has the pace of the new car surprised you?

Not really. The whole team was very optimistic at the launch and we were optimistic during testing. The good thing is that Gary [Anderson] has managed to develop the car during testing, so it has moved along quite nicely already.

How much is down to Gary and how much to Alan Jenkins?

The basis of the car- its feel - has never been bad and Alan should be given the credit for that. But Gary has done a good job in bringing on new aerodynamic parts for the car. So both of them really. Don't forget the engine, though. It's very good straight out of the box, which makes a nice change. The last one was improved a lot, but the starting point was so far away that even after development it was still miles away.

What is it like to be back with Ford?

I've always kept in touch with them, but their whole outlook has changed since I was last with them in '94; they want to win again. Cosworth are Ford-owned now, and with Ford money going straight in, they can react a lot quicker now.

Why did Stewart Grand Prix sign you?

They wanted a driver who would be closer to Rubens than has been the case before. And they also want to learn from my experience of other teams: how they function. They want me to get a hold of them and say, "Right, you need to do this, this and this to be better." Gary is going to be pushing it from a development point of view and I'm going to be pushing from the driving side.

How important is your joint-number one status?

It's fine, and Rubens and I will both push as hard as we can. But the main thing, which is nice for me, is being made to feel immediately at ease with everybody. Rubens and everyone has been very good like that.

How well do you get on with Jackie Stewart?

Very well. He loves sharing with me what the car is doing. When I tested the car in Barcelona he was there watching, timing, being involved. When I came in he'd offer his opinion as to what the car was doing and, to be honest, he was always right on the nail. He's still got an eye for it; he's still a driver underneath it all. I think that's a good thing for me because I'm still learning - drivers are always learning because everything changes so quickly in F1 and there's always new things. The more information you have, the more helpful it is when you are in a position to exploit it.

Are you at a watershed in your career?

I still have the same urge and the same goal as when I started racing, which was to go out there and be a world champion. I believe I can do that if I get myself into the right situation. A team is a jigsaw and I feel that the pieces are there for me to succeed at Stewart; I only hope that we can bring them all together.

What are the 1999-spec cars like to drive?

They are twitchier than they were last year, when the handling characteristic was perennial under-steer. This year it would appear that has turned into oversteer. But the new cars are not massively difficult to adapt to - it's not as big a change as we had at the start of 1998. I feel sorry for Alex Zanardi because, coming from slicks to these cars must be particularly difficult. You've got to be so precise with your lines and braking to actually make the thing go round the comers. By the look of things, people are going to be making more mistakes, which will make overtaking a little bit easier than last year.

F1 to One interview from the April 1999 issue of Fl RACING .
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This page prepared 20th March 1999.