Matt Bishop is former Chief Communications Officer of both the McLaren and Aston Martin Formula 1 teams and one of the most influential communications professionals in the sport. A former journalist, his unique skills helped to transform McLaren’s public and media profile including during some of the team’s most turbulent times.
Matt Bishop played a key role in helping Aston Martin establish itself as a credible force in Formula 1 in 2020. During his work with the famous British brand he worked closely with 4-times World Champion Sebastian Vettel, helping the German star to become one of the most popular and high profile ambassadors in the sport. Matt was Editorial Director of Haymarket Motorsport Publications before heading to McLaren Racing in 2008 as Chief Communications Officer, working closely with World Champions Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.
His senior roles as a journalist and editor encompassed spells with many well known publications such as Car, Autosport and F1 Racing – at that time the world’s largest selling Formula 1 magazine. After nine years with McLaren, Matt joined W Series as Communications Director in 2018, overseeing the successful global launch of the ground breaking all-female racing championship. Matt played a key role in promoting diversity and inclusion.
In 2020, he moved to Aston Martin to oversee the launch of its Formula 1 team as Chief Communications Officer in 2021 and 2022. Matt worked closely with Aston Martin’s number-one driver Sebastian Vettel on a series of ground-breaking media initiatives focusing on diversity, inclusion and the environment. This included arranging for Vettel to appear on the BBC’s Question Time, the political debating programme. This was the first time a Formula 1 World Champion had been invited onto the high profile show to discuss important topics including environmental sustainability and climate change.
Matt Bishop is a founder ambassador of Racing Pride, which was set up in collaboration with Stonewall in 2019 to promote LGBTQ+ inclusivity within the motorsport industry. He is known for the wealth of his historical motor racing knowledge and, among classic car afficionadi, his love of his concours 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray C2. A published author, Matt co-wrote double Formula 1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi’s 2014 autobiography Emmo: a Racer’s Soul. His first novel (with LGBTQ+ themes) The Boy Made the Difference was published in August 2020. Matt lives in London with his husband, Angel Bautista, who has been a chef in a number of Michelin-star restaurants and now runs a successful restaurant in London’s Soho.
