F1's gladiators going at it: I'm enjoying 2021 — Johnny Herbert

“What’s getting me excited is the prospect of a proper ding-dong championship”

Johnny Herbert

Shutterstock

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Current page

125

Current page

126

Current page

127

Current page

128

Current page

129

Current page

130

Current page

131

Current page

132

Current page

133

Current page

134

Current page

135

Current page

136

Current page

137

Current page

138

Current page

139

Current page

140

Current page

141

Current page

142

Current page

143

Current page

144

Current page

145

Current page

146

Current page

147

Current page

148

Current page

149

Current page

150

Current page

151

Current page

152

Current page

153

Current page

154

Current page

155

Current page

156

Current page

157

Current page

158

Current page

159

Current page

160

Current page

161

Current page

162

Current page

163

Current page

164

What a great time to become Motor Sport’s new columnist, as we head into a Formula 1 season that looks set to be just what we’ve all been waiting for. I’m writing this before Imola, where of course anything might have happened. But what’s getting me excited right now, in the wake of Bahrain, is the prospect of a proper ding-dong championship – and Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are clearly both up for it.

For the first time in a long time Red Bull has come out of the blocks with the capability to win races. Okay, it didn’t work out in Bahrain, but it was finely poised. After testing, we wondered how far off Mercedes would be, but I  understand the gap was not as  much as it might have looked.

Before qualifying I thought it would be mighty close, but Max,  Red Bull and Honda were able to put in one of those Mercedesstyle ‘boost laps’ that gave him  pole position by nearly four tenths. I always enjoyed that feeling of going out in qualifying, putting your hand in your back pocket and finding that something extra. And on this occasion it gave us the front row we were all expecting – and wanted.

The race itself was a nice little battle on strategy, with Hamilton getting the undercut. It was typical Lewis: like Turkey last year he did the job and it was all a bit under the radar. Suddenly he had the advantage.

“Max should have forced Lewis on the dirt to pass–I would have done”

Then you could see the fight was on after the last pitstop. Max was catching Lewis, but probably slower than we expected. There was radio communication with them both: look after the tyres because you’ll need life in them at the end. Lewis told his engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington to leave him alone, and Red Bull said to Max, “We’ll leave you alone. If you need us, give us a call.” It ended up just as it should: everything was left to the drivers. That made it, for me, even more exciting: two brilliant drivers playing the game, like Prost and Senna, Häkkinen and Schumacher. It became raw.

The DRS-assisted overtake could have been a great move. Max got the advantage and you expected him to go for the outside at Turn 4. But Lewis knew he didn’t have to push him out, he just had to place his car in the right place and that’s all he did. He didn’t lean on him, but Max had to do all the work – and then ran out of track.

What surprised me was when Max had to let Lewis by he moved over on to the sand, off the racing line. Then he struggled, the car was a bit loose and he wasn’t able to catch Lewis, until that last lap when it started to come back to him. It’s as if that sand got into his tyres and lost him the pace. He should have forced Lewis to go on the dirt to pass. That’s what I would have done.

It’s fortunate they are in two different teams. The last time we had a proper duel was Nico Rosberg and Lewis in the same team, in 2016, and I remember one of the most frustrating races I’ve watched was the Abu Dhabi finale. Lewis was trying to be clever and back up the pack, to knock Nico into the fourth place that would allow him to snatch the title, which was a damn difficult thing to do. Then Mercedes got on the radio and told him to speed up, to stop holding everyone up. They’d won the Constructors’ Championship already, why did they have to interfere with the drivers’ battle? This time in Bahrain, with two different teams, each driver was left alone. That’s what everybody wants, these gladiators going at it in big, powerful, difficult F1 cars.

This rivalry could push Lewis on too, way beyond this year. There’s been a lot of talk about is he going to give up, is he losing interest? But just before Bahrain he said he still wanted to do more than just this year: “Why would you think I wouldn’t?” Yes, he’s on a one-year contract, but actually it’s a good place for him to be. Who’s to say he’ll stay at Mercedes? And who wouldn’t want Lewis Hamilton in their car? That’s easy: they all would. Yes, he’s massively motivated to get the eighth title, but I believe he’s also motivated to carry on too. But will Mercedes go on forever? That’s not usually how it works in F1. Lewis might have other options..

He’s already one of the greats – those numbers cannot lie – and Max… well, he’s a future champion too, isn’t he? Will it be his year? Could be. But it won’t be easy, for either of them. See you next month. I’m going to enjoy this.

You may also like

Related products