Following his horrific FIA Formula 3000 crash at Brands Hatch in 1988, Herbert battled back to be fit enough to make his F1 debut just seven months later.
In the crash (below image, top left corner) he suffered severe ankle and foot injuries.
Crash of Johnny Herbert, EJR Reynard 88D
Photo by: Sutton Images
After multiple surgeries to ward off the threat of amputation of his right foot, and months of rehabilitation and physiotherapy, Herbert arrived in Brazil in 1989 ready to start the season with the Benetton team.
His long-time mentor Peter Collins was running the squad – which changed its name from Toleman at the start of the 1986 season – at the time, but Flavio Briatore was just beginning to get his feet under the table via the upper management of the Benetton clothing empire.
And he wasn’t convinced Herbert was fit for the job.
“Flavio, who had just come on to the scene at that time, was a bit concerned that I wasn’t able to do it,” says Herbert, who regaled the full story in an interview at this year’s Autosport International Show. “Suddenly, during a pre-season test, which wasn’t in the program, I was asked to do a race distance.
“They filled it up with fuel and off I went. There was nobody on the pitwall, they all disappeared back to hospitality, cos they’d all had a bet that I’d only last about 10 laps. An hour and a half later, I ran out of fuel on the track!
“That was proof, although when I got to Rio for the race itself, I had a meeting with [team owner] Luciano Benetton, Peter and Flavio, and that was to decide – they asked ‘can you do this? Can you drive this car?’ And I said, ‘yeah, yeah, I proved it when I drove that race distance.’ And they couldn’t really come back at me.
“I remember Emanuele Pirro was waiting at Rome airport, ready to be shipped out just in case. But then I outqualified [teammate] Alessandro Nannini in qualifying, and did the race.”
Johnny Herbert, Benetton B188
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Johnny Herbert, Benetton B188
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Johnny Herbert, Benetton B188
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Johnny Herbert, Benetton B188
Photo by: Motorsport Images
On the outside, Herbert was his usually chirpy self, but on the inside he was still hurting badly from his injuries: “I’d been to Austria to do some damn painful stuff to get me into shape. Of course, I still wasn’t normal, and I had a little red…
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