A Jaguar on the hunt

Tara Munger interviews Johnny for Seventh Gear, 1st September 2000, as he looks forward to racing Champ Cars next season. This article reproduced by kind permission.

Jaguar F1 driver Johnny Herbert is on the hunt for a championship and CART is his next prey. With CART spreading its wings and heading to Europe next year, he may be just the sort of predator this series needs. 

Johnny Herbert is not looking to move to Easy Street or to sit back and rest on the reputation he has built as a skilled competitor on the top circuits of the world. Johnny Herbert is Hungry. Hungry to win again… it's as simple as that. 

That is why this jaguar is on the prowl. He is hunting for a championship title and, as many of us know, a title is an endangered species in F1 unless you are one of only two or three hunters even allowed into the game reserve. This cat is by no means tired of the hunt. In fact, he's even more excited at the chance to really join in the hunt; pacing back and forth, caged and eyeing his prey…ready to pounce, he just wants an equal chance in the game reserve. 

So the cat is looking for a game warden to unlock the reserve and let him have a go at it. When the whispers and gossip of silly season started some months back, it was a rather surprising name that started surfacing - the cat, the jaguar… Johnny Herbert? The F1 Johnny Herbert? 

I don't think there is any reason to spout off the man's resume here. It is full and impressive, but plagued with what seems to be an F1 streak of bad luck, for many times Herbert has just seemed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. And this season in F1 has been a bit more of the same. In what looked like "a right place at the right time" start for 2000, Johnny Herbert was ready to bring the Big Cat back to glory. Ford purchased Jackie Stewart's team with high expectations and a big budget to back them. 

By all accounts Ford was ready to commit everything to its Jaguar F1 venture - it was touted as being a no-holds barred assault to capture the championship. But, in a very BAR-esque season, the Ford Jaguar assault has sputtered, leaving their drivers plagued with mechanical failures and little to work with. Herbert has grown frustrated with the F1 set of circumstances. As Herbert reflects: 

"Well I think the main thing is that in Formula 1, my ambition has always been to become a Formula 1 World Champion and unfortunately, the way I look at it now is that I don't have a realistic chance of being able to achieve that, and I still want to win races… to do something where I'm still racing and still able to win. 

"It's like anything in life. Life is never straightforward. Yes, maybe there has been an element of bad luck over the years for whatever reason, but I've always been able to sort of dig my heels in and eventually get something like last year in, where it was a difficult year to begin with the reliability, but I made an opportunity and won the race [referring to his Nurburgring win last year]. So the winning is still in me." 

This frustration and desire to fight is why he has set his sights on the CART series. He wants to hunt here next year because it's still a driver and team series where anyone has a shot at the prey on any given weekend. Herbert does not, by any means, look at this as a move to slow down--just the opposite. He thinks it's time to pounce in and live. Johnny says it's time to race: 

"As far as America being a retirement or a step down -  I think it would be a step down if someone young was trying to go to F1 or never got into Formula 1 and then he went to CART because that was the only thing left for him. 

"For me it's completely different because I've had my time in Formula 1, I've won races, unfortunately I've never won the championship. I think it's a challenge and I think it's the challenge of it that makes it the number one thing about it. The Indy 500 is one thing, but I think the class in the field in CART series is very high now and that's what spurs me on to want to be a part of it. 

"I could very easily say, 'right, I've had enough of racing' and go and do something else, but I love racing so much and I want to win races and win the championship. The next step is obviously to do the Champ car series because I think it's a different type of series than F1 is. 

"With F1 it's two Ferraris, two McLarens, two Williams, Jaguar's etc. Here you've really only got Lolas and Reynards, so it's really down to the driver and to the team and the engineers to develop that car to be the best car out on the track. That's the thing that's really appealing about it; to be given the opportunity to develop it to be the best and be competitive…To me, that's what racing is really all about - to win and to win championships." 

Herbert continues on to reiterate why he chose to hunt on this side of the pond in this series: 

"Now does it matter where it is? Yes, in Europe Formula 1 is sort of the pinnacle and in America Champ Car is the pinnacle in single-seaters out there. Part of it was the Indianapolis 500, BUT I think the way the CART series is, it's going to grow in the future. I think it would be a good opportunity for me, but secondly I think it would be a great series to race in because a lot of guys that I know that are in it enjoy themselves so much. But it's the winning and winning another championship that would be nice to look back on."

Making a move to Champ cars was something Herbert had actually thought about for a long time, but it wasn't until early in this season when Johnny was really seriously considering the jump. 

"I sort of looked at it last year, but I knew what was going on with Jaguar for this year. It was something that came up fairly early in the season and I think I spoke to Neil Ressler in Monaco about it and sort of aired my views of what was on my mind about it, he said when I made a decision tell him. I think the week after Monaco I really decided to go to the other side of the Atlantic. I think it's something that I wanted to do a long, long time ago and now I think it's the right time for me to make that step and achieve another of my goals…So that's why I'm doing it now."

Herbert is getting to the right place at the right time. He's a perfect asset for a team because of his experience and determination. 

"Well I think I'd be bringing a different perspective on how racing is in, say Europe, but it's the other way around because I'm going to somewhere with ovals and we don't have ovals in Europe, well, we haven't had those for forty odd years I would imagine - something like that. So what I bring I suppose, is my expertise learned through Formula 1. 

"I think race experience is something that is valuable to any driver. Take Michael [Andretti] he's got a lot of racing experience having done lots of different things in his career and this type of experience never does any harm whatsoever. I think experience is beneficial in any sport, in any walk of life, in anything you want to do. So I think experience and a strong desire to want to win races is still very important. 

"There are a lot of drivers, particularly in F1, that are happy to just be IN Formula 1. I think there are probably drivers that are happy to JUST be IN the Champ car series going around in circles, but that's not really what I want to do. I want to get out there to mix in with everybody, have a great race, win, and have a good time at the same time… and that's another good thing about the series… well everybody gets along. 

"It's much more like a community. Just for an example, in Michigan [Herbert is referring to his closely watched visit to this past 500 in Michigan], I went to visit Dario and I hadn't seen him in probably over a year, but he obviously did the Jaguar test the week before and I sat down with Dario to have a chat, not necessarily about that, but just to have a chat… and then Paul [Tracy] came over and I hadn't seen Paul in literally, about 15 years since we raced. I think it was in Formula Ford 2000, in the same series, and I hadn't seen him since those days. 

"It was great, he came over…and well, it was just great because he was all 'Hi Johnny, I haven't seen you in such a long time, it's great to see you'. And then Dario's there as well and Paul then took me to Mark Blundell's motorhome and we sat down, then Dario came over and it was just nice because everybody was warm and friendly". 

He's an asset not only to a sponsor, but to the series because he understands where the bottom line lies and isn't afraid to jump in and get his paws dirty to prove it. 

"That's always something I've always been good at…the publicity side, with sponsors. When asked, I've always been willing to do whatever they ask. Whereas a lot of drivers say 'I'm just here to race and not to socialize with the sponsors' and never willing to do anything extra. So I've always been pretty easy on that side. In Formula 1, I'm easy going. Ask Johnny to do something and he'll do it. 

"In Formula 1 at the moment, that's not the way things work because everybody's so fixated on what they're trying to do that they don't want any outside or extra things going on. Like with Jacques [Villenueve] and [Michael] Schumacher, they've got clauses in their contracts where they've only got a couple of days to do things for their sponsors… which I think is ridiculous because at the end of the day, they are paying your wages and you're supposed to be their representative. 

"I also think that drivers should probably do more for their sports as well. In any sport, I think they should try to put more back into it and try and help it expand."

And this is where Herbert could be an exclusive key asset to his sponsors, but more importantly to CART. As the series hits European shores next year, arming ourselves with a name brand weapon like Johnny Herbert could give a much needed edge in the battle for the bottom line in Europe - fans, tickets, and TV ratings. He could be the trusted tour guide introducing the F1-loving fan to the most competitive series in racing, oh and that oval thing we use. Is Herbert ready to be that guide? 

"Oh absolutely! And I think being British anyway, having Rockingham, an oval that the British racing fans haven't ever seen an oval race, except on TV. So I think to go there and see it in the flesh will be a fantastic experience, and it will be a good opportunity for me, it will be like my home Grand Prix, and I think it will be good for the series because they are trying to expand it and what CART is wanting to do is take it to a wider audience. They've done it with Mexico, Australia…and Japan already and obviously they want to try and spread it more than that. So for me it's a good opportunity and probably a good time to join that side of it." 

He's also planning on handling that oval thing just fine. 

"I've always been good at fast corners, so I think the speed issue is not going to really be a problem at all because I think it's all relative at the end of the day, but I also look at the guys I've seen, like Montoya and when I was with Alex [Zanardi] at Lotus before he came over to the CART series, before that I was always competitive with Alex and he went out there and did what he did. Nigel [Mansell] was another one that did it [conquered the oval], but you've got Papis now and Brack…all those people who have raced basically in Europe who have been able to adapt to the program and have actually won races - Mark Blundell is another who's won on a super oval. 

"So it's possible to come to grips with it. It's not something I'm particularly worried about, in fact I am looking forward to it. I think there are certain drivers that do not like ovals because of the sheer speed of them, but as I said, you've got to accept it and the reality of what it actually is, and the reality is yes, it is very fast, but that is what the cars are designed and built for-speed. You need the right set-ups to maximize the performance of the car on each particular style of track. That's all it is. And you've got to use that set-up and that's where the opportunity is exciting."

The last piece of the Herbert puzzle is exactly WHO is going to be the game warden for this jaguar? Speculations are high that the warden might have a Newman Haas nametag. Hmmm? 

"Well, they [talks] are going very positive at the moment. Obviously I'm not in a position to say anything, but it was very nice in Michigan because I got the same reception from everybody I went to see. Things are going on at the moment, and going forward nicely. I think very shortly, there should be some news that everybody will know about… it's looking promising." 

Oh that ever-evasive PR answer. Herbert laughs and adds that it really is still up in the air, that there are four teams he's seriously talking with and that the key to the Herbert puzzle lies not with him, but with Michael Andretti and where Andretti lands first. 

But Herbert is willing to clearly state what he's looking for, and surprisingly--and refreshingly - it's not money. 

"I want a team with the vision of the future trying to win races and the championships. But there are a lot of teams that haven't won that many races or championships. I want a team that wants to do that…with the right package and right engine as well. It's the whole idea of having the determination to achieve it and not just be there to win every now and again. I want to go out there and fight as hard as we can with the equipment we've got, together, and do it. So it's got to be that vision of the future. 

"At the end of the day, it's the competitive package that is more important [than money]. Obviously money comes into it at some point, but it's got to be the right package for myself and for the team. I want to go into it to win a championship in my rookie season, but I want the team to say to me that we want to help you win the championship for us. And that's what it's got to be. At the end of the day, it's a team effort. We've got to work very, very hard TOGETHER to achieve it… and I know it's not going to be easy and I think they know it's not going to be easy, but if everyone sort of bangs their heads together it can be done. So if everybody WANTS to do it and everybody works together to do it, it becomes reality. So, that's what it's got to start with - both sides wanting to win."

Herbert is ready. The F1 chapter is done, and he's not sorry. 

"Whatever I do, I always do it 110%. I don't do anything in half measure. I don't think it's worth just putting your life on the line for the sake of it. I'd say 'Right, enough's enough. I've had my go and be done with it. I want something to look back on when I'm an old man and feel that I've achieved a lot in my racing career. To win the CART championship would be very special. 

"I've had ten years in F1, with lots of ups and downs, and experienced all that. I think that sort of helps to say I have had my time there--good and bad--but now I'm ready to close that chapter and start fresh and say 'Right. This is a new episode in a different book.' "

Oh, and watch out rookies, because this cat has years of experience hunting with the best of the best and he's planning on using it. 

"Well from what I've seen other guys do, I plan on going out there being a rookie and winning the championship straight away. I don't see reason why that can't be done. Because the equipment is there and it's the same as everyone else, but it's the guy who develops it best during the whole year, so I don't see any reason why I can't go out there and do it at all. That's what I want to do--be a rookie and win it. It's a bit more special when you do it that way, rather than taking two or three years to do it." 

Oh, and veterans? Johnny's not using that "R" word anytime soon either. 

"I haven't thought about it as yet, but when I don't enjoy it anymore, that would be the time to say that's it. As long as it continues to be successful in some ways and as long as you want it bad enough, well that could go on for a long time. Look at what Roberto [Moreno] is doing this year. He's had a difficult career in some terms, but he's still so determined to win that he's having his best year yet." 

The jag is on the hunt and he's coming our way…

This article is copyright Seventh Gear and Tara Munger.
Thank you to Tara for giving permission to reproduce it here.
It may not reproduced, in whole or in part, without permission.