Johnny Herbert

Calling all petrolheads, Lights Out, Full Throttle is the riotously funny tour through the best, worst and downright outrageous of F1.Shortlisted for the Telegraph Sports Entertainment Book of the Year AwardJohnny and Damon have become the one constant for passionate British F1 fans in a rapidly changing landscape. They have earned cult status as commentators and pundits, with viewers loving their unerring dedication to the sport’s greatness.From Monaco to Silverstone – discussing Johnny’s crowdsurfing and Bernie’s burger bar, the genius of Adrian Neweyand Colin Chapman, what it’s like to have an out-of-body experience while driving a car in the pouring rain at 200 mph, and the future of the sport in the wake of a tumultuous year – Johnny and Damon assess the good, the bad and the ugly of the F1 enthusiast’s paradise.Whether you’re a fan of Nigel, Niki, Kimi or Britney, pine for the glory days of Brabham, Williams, Jim Clark and Fangio,or believe that Lewis Hamilton will retire as the GOAT, Lights Out, Full Throttle gets you to the front of the grid without the inconvenience of having to leave your seat.

Damon and Johnny here. Motorsport's answer to Ant and Dec, just a lot more comprehensible and, all in all, a wee bit taller. Between us we have about 100 years' experience of driving cars quickly and have competed in 261 Grand Prix spawning 25 wins, 49 podiums, one World Championship and 458 championship points. We even have a win at Le Mans to our names, as well as two smashed ankles, a broken arm, a broken wrist, a broken leg, about sixty broken ribs, a pierced upper thigh that missed Johnny's twig and berries by millimetres, and a bruised ego or three.Basically, we're two middle-aged men who are both what you might call physically compromised. That said, contrary to popular belief, we still have a modicum of bladder control and can talk Formula 1 with the best of them. Which brings us to our book. Despite its immense popularity, when it comes to things like humour and absurdity, Formula 1 is not exactly a ride on the big dipper and in that respect it hasn't buttered our parsnips for decades. Well, nil desperandum boys and girls because we, Damon Graham Devereux Hill, OBE, and John Paul Herbert, No BE, are here to put the F back into Formula 1 by ditching aerodynamics, clean air and tyre degradation in favour of honest, forthright opinions and apocryphal stories involving automotive derring-do. And, derring-don't

Drawing on a lifetime of sniffing petrol fumes, Lights Out, Full Throttle stands large over the landscape of Formula One and takes the temperature of the good, the bad and the ugly of the petrolhead’s paradise.Johnny Herbert and Damon Hill between them competed in 261 Grands Prix, amassing twenty-five wins, forty-nine podium finishes, one World Championship, 458 championship points, a Le Mans win, two smashed ankles, a broken arm, wrist and leg, sixty broken ribs, and two bruised egos.Having retired from racing, Johnny and Damon have become the one constant for passionate English F1 fans in a rapidly changing landscape. They have earned cult status as commentators and pundits, with viewers loving their unerring dedication to the sport’s greatness.It offers F1 fans a tour of the sport – from Monaco to Silverstone; Johnny’s crowd surfing and Bernie’s burger bar; the genius of Adrian Newey and Colin Chapman; why Lewis Hamilton will never, ever move to Ferrari (probably); getting the yips; money; safety; what it’s like to have an out-of-body experience while driving a car in the pouring rain at 200 mph; and the future of the sport in the wake of Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter.Whether you’re a fan of Nigel, Niki, Kimi or Britney, pine for the glory days of Brabham, Williams, Jim Clark and Fangio, or believe that Lewis is one year away from retiring as the GOAT, Lights Out, Full Throttle is the oily rag for the petrolhead fan to inhale while waiting for the racers to line up on the grid.

That horrific crash threatened to end his career, but Herbert made a miraculous recovery, was a hugely popular winner of the British Grand Prix in 1995, and enjoyed 25 years of competitive motorsport, becoming the only British driver to win the 24 hours of Le Mans followed by a Grand Prix.