Mad About Cars

One of Britain’s most popular drivers during the 1990s was Johnny Herbert. Whilst he did not reach  the heights predicted by some in the sport, he enjoyed three grand prix victories during a career that included 161 race starts.

A fearsome talent during the mid-1980s, Herbert was seen as a natural talent who was destined to be World Champion, much like Lewis Hamilton in his junior career. However Herbert was caught up in a terrifying multi-car pileup during a round of the F3000 championship at Brands Hatch in 1988. Herbert suffered horrific injuries to his legs and it seemed his blossoming career was over. However, by 1989 he has recovered sufficiently to earn a drive on the Benetton Formula One team, managed by his mentor Peter Collins. Despite being barely able to walk he scored a fourth place in his debut race in Brazil, however with the Benetton team changing hands and Herbert struggling to match his early form, he was dropped mid-season.

Herbert had a brief foray into sports car racing in 1990, but returned to Formula One to replace the injured Martin Donnelly at Lotus. Under the guidance of Peter Collins, now at Lotus, Herbert stayed with the team until 1994, enjoying a reasonable 1993 season as he finished ninth in the drivers championship. However with the Lotus team in terminal decline, Herbert left the team in late 1994, driving a solitary race for Ligier before joining the mighty Benetton team alongside Michael Schumacher.

1995 saw Herbert in the Benetton, the best car on the grid, but struggled as he was forced to play second fiddle to Michael Schumacher, around whom the team was modelled. Despite this , he took two race wins that year in Britain and Italy, finishing a career-best fourth in the series.

Herbert joined Sauber for 1996 but failed to recapture his Benetton form, with three years spent very much as a midfield runner. 1999 saw a switch to the Stewart team, and Herbert took his third and final race win that year at the European Grand Prix, staged at the Nurburgring. Herbert took a sensational win in constantly changing weather conditions.

Stewart was sold to Ford, who re-named the team under the Jaguar name for 2000. In his final season Herbert struggled in an unreliable car, and his final race saw him leave the track on a stretcher following a crash in Malaysia.

Since retiting, Herbert has enjoyed a successful sports car career, and briefly returned to Formula One within an advisory role for the Midland Formula One team.

Few racing drivers are as memorable as English driver James Hunt, the 1976 World Formula One champion. Whilst he was a strong, aggressive driver, Hunt was equally as well known for his party lifestyle and womanising ways.

The son of a successful stockbroker, Hunt was educated in private school, and was introduced to motorsport in his late teens by a friend. Initially competing in a home-made Mini race car, Hunt soon progressed to Formula Ford and Formula Three, earning the nickname ‘Hunt the Shunt’ thanks to his fast, but accident prone style.

Hunt entered Formula 2 with the Hesketh team, a private team funded and run by the eccentric Lord Hesketh. Hunt was something of a kindred spirit within the rather ‘playboy’ team, and he stayed with Hesketh as they entered Formula One in 1973. Initially seen as something of an amateur laughing stock, Hesketh, with Hunt driving their car, proved to be a competitive team, with Hunt finishing 8^{th in the Formula One series in 1973 and 1974, and took his first ever win at Zandvoort in 1975, en route to fourth in the championship.}

Funds ran dry for Hesketh in 1976, but just as Hunt’s career appeared to be in danger, Emerson Fittipaldi suddenly left the McLaren team, who signed Hunt as a last minute replacement for 1976. Driving the new McLaren M26, he seized the initiative to take the championship lead following rival and good friend Niki Lauda’s near fatal accident at the German Grand Prix. Winning six grand prix races that year, Hunt snatched the title in the final round at Japan, following Niki Lauda’s early retirement in heavy rain.

Unreliability, and Hunt’s lack of enthusiasm for testing meant he was unable to retain his title in 1977, and by 1978 the McLaren was an uncompetitive car, with Hunt’s motivation waning. A watershed was reached in the 1978 Italian Grand Prix where Hunt was involved in a multiple car pile up, and was forced to rescue his friend Ronnie Peterson from the blazing wreckage of his Lotus. Seriously injured, Peterson later died of a fat embolism, with Hunt taking his friend’s death badly. Following some uncompetitive races for the Wolf team in 1979, Hunt quietly retired after the Monaco Grand Prix.

Shortly after leaving the cockpit, the BBC employed Hunt as a co-commentator for its Grand Prix coverage, alongside the experience Murray Walker. The two men had completely different personalities both on and off the screen, but viewers enjoyed Hunt’s great knowledge along with his dry humour, and the partnership was a success. Sadly, Hunt was to die of a heart attack in 1993 aged just 45. However, Hunt is fondly remembered by motorsport fans, as an exciting driver, engaging personality and fine television commentator.

^{Italian Riccardo Patrese has gone down in history as one of the most experienced drivers in Grand Prix racing, after an extraordinary career lasting between 1977 and 1993. He started a total of 256 Grand Prix races, and was for many years the driver with the most race starts in Formula One history, being surpassed by Rubens Barrichello in 2008.}

Patrese was seen as a young rising star who was flamboyant on the track when he debuted in 1977. Driving for the midfield Shadow team, he scored a solitary point before switching to Arrows for 1978. He finished 12^{th in the series that year, despite many of his rivals accusing him of being a reckless driver.}

This came to a head in the 1978 Italian Grand Prix when he was involved in a multiple pile-up at the start that claimed the life of Lotus’s Ronnie Peterson. Many (including former world champion James Hunt) blamed Patrese for the accident and although an inquiry into the accident cleared Patrese of blame, the stigma of the accident stayed with Patrese for some time.

Despite this, he became a strong, established driver, signing for Brabham in 1982 where he partnered Nelson Piquet. He took his first win at the memorable 1982 Monaco Grand Prix (despite spinning), also winning the 1983 South African Grand Prix.

For 1984, Patrese moved to the Alfa Romeo team which proved to be a disastrous career move. In a very unreliable car, Patrese rarely managed to finish during the 1984 and 1985 seasons, failing to score a single point in 1985.

He returned to Brabham in 1986, who were now a team in terminal decline. Patrese’s career did not improve during this period, although he earned respect for his professional attitude as he strove to improve the dreadful Brabham.

This resulted in a temporary move to Williams at the end of 1987 to replace the injured Nigel Mansell, resulting in a full-time move for 1988. Whilst the 1988 Williams was poor, 1989 saw the Williams team join forced with Renault, and Patrese finished 1989 in third place in the drivers standings. He took four more wins between 1990 and 1992, and partnering Nigel Mansell he finished third in the 1991 drivers standings, and a career best of second in 1992, with the 1992 Williams FW14B an unstoppable car.

Feeling his position at Williams was under threat for 1993, Patrese switched to the Benetton team, but struggled to match his team mate Michael Schumacher. Benetton opted to release Patrese for 1994, at which point Patrese opted to retire.

Since retiring, Patrese has driven in the Grand Prix Masters series, and has been invited to test Formula One cars in recognition of his long career, driving a Williams in 2002 and a Honda in 2008.

The recent Brazilian Grand Prix will be remembered as the race where Lewis Hamilton took his first world title, but also saw David Coulthard draw the curtain on a remarkable 14 year career in Formula One. Sadly his race ended in an accident on the second corner, but his legacy in the sport will be remembered more fondly.

Born in Twynholm, Scotland in 1971, Coulthard graduated through the junior formulae and was appointed Williams test driver in 1993. Coulthard’s big break in Formula One was gained through tragic circumstances as he replaced Ayrton Senna following his fatal crash at San Marino in 1994.

After an encouraging debut season in 1994, Coulthard was retained for 1995, being chosen over former world champion Nigel Mansell. However despite winning the Portuguese Grand Prix and placing third in the series, he was replaced by IndyCar champion Jacques Villeneuve and signed for the McLaren team for 1996. The 1996 season was a struggle as McLaren struggled to develop the car, the late 1990s saw Coulthard establish himself as one of the sport’s top drivers alongside his team-mate Mika Hakkinen.

2000 saw Coulthard suffer plane crash from which he was lucky to survive, when a Learjet he was borrowing from a friend crashed in France during an emergency landing, the crash killing the pilot and co-pilot. Despite this he finished third in the Formula One series, taking a career best of second in 2001. The following two seasons saw mistakes hamper his progress and he was eventually replaced in McLaren in 2005.

Coulthard saw out the remainder of his career in the Red Bull team, where he made a fine job of developing an all-new car, and was to visit the podium on two occasions, Monaco in 2006 and Canada in 2008.

It was unfortunate that Coulthard’s career corresponded with that of Michael Schumacher, arguably the finest driver of his generation, possibly Coulthard could have won a world title had this not been the case. Despite this, his long, successful career means he has the fifth highest points haul of any driver in Formula One. For 2009, Coulthard will work for the BBC as an expert summariser as they resume coverage of Grand Prix racing.

Nigel Mansell has been remembered as one of the most gutsy, heroic Formula One drivers in history, and with a Formula One world title and IndyCar World Series title to his name, succeeded in two very different formulae.

Born in Upton-on-Seven, Worcestershire, Mansell grew up in Hall Green, Birmingham, and was a successful kart driver from an early age. Motorsport was seen as a fun hobby by his family, but at 21, Mansell quit his job as an aerospace engineer and against the wishes of his family, pursued a career in motorsports.

His rise through the ranks was hampered by a lack of funding and support, with Mansell forced to sell his house to further his career. His career in Formula 3 culminated in a back-breaking accident in 1979, but just a few weeks after his accident he was offered the chance to become test driver for the Lotus Formula One team.

Mansell was highly thought of by Lotus chief Colin Chapman, who signed him to the team until the 1984 season. Mansell’s introduction to the Formula One world was tough, as he was hampered by unreliable cars. When Chapman passed away in 1982, Mansell lost his mentor, and endured two tough seasons at odds with Chapman’s successor Peter Warr.

A move to Williams saw Mansell shine, as he took his first race victory at Brands Hatch in 1985. Mansell was paired with Nelson Piquet in 1986, and despite an unhappy relationship with his team-mate, Mansell shone in 1986, and was robbed of the title after a tyre blew out at the final round of the season in Australia. Mansell came close to the title in 1987, but following a poor 1988 in an uncompetitive Williams, Mansell was signed to Ferrari in 1989.

Mansell took two wins in 1989, and was seen as a favourite for the 1990 title, but he struggled after being paired with Alain Prost. Mansell was sidelined as the team’s number two driver, and announced his retirement from the sport mid season before being tempted back into Formula One by Williams in 1991.

Mansell helped develop the Williams into the fastest car in the Formula One field, and swept to the 1992 world title, taking nine wins. However contract agreements between Mansell and the team broke down, and in 1993, he switched to the American IndyCar series, taking the title in his rookie year. However, following an uncompetitive 1994, Mansell made a comeback for Williams mid-season, and won the 1994 Australian Grand Prix, his final race win.

Mansell hoped to drive for Williams in 1995, but the team opted for David Coulthard, leaving Mansell to sign for McLaren, his great rivals during most of his Formula One career. However, the new car was uncompetitive, and Mansell retired for good following a few lacklustre races.

Since retirement, Mansell has remained popular with the public and has competed successfully in the Grand Prix Masters series, along with supporting the racing careers of his two sons.