Johnny Herbert

One of the most popular figures in F1, Johnny Herbert began his racing career in karts at the age of 10 winning two British championships over the next 8 years. He moved onto FF1600 in 1983 and FF2000 and F3 in 1986. In 1987 he won the British F3 championship with Eddie Jordan Racing and was signed by Benetton as a test driver. In 1988 he moved up to F3000 with Jordan, winning his first race at Jerez before being seriously injured at Brands Hatch. Despite not being fully recovered from his injuries he started the 1989 season for Benetton in F1 scoring a 4th and a 5th place before being rested by the team at mid-season. He returned briefly to F1 the same year with Tyrrell.

In 1990 Herbert was the test driver for Lotus and raced intermittently for the team for the next two years. He continued with Lotus for 92 and 93 on a full time basis and finished 14th and 9th respectively. He raced for three teams in 94 - Lotus, Ligier and then Benetton for the last two races. He stayed with Benetton for the 95 season and finished 4th in the championship winning his first GP at the British GP. Towards the end of the season, he complained bitterly about his treatment at the hands of Benetton and Schumacher. 96 was a disappointing year mainly due to the unreliability of the Sauber, not to mention the poor performance of the Ford engine, although he did make it to the podium in Monaco as the last of the finishers! Herbert has stayed with Sauber for 97 and with their new deal with Ferrari, this will be an important year for Sauber and Herbert.