Steve Matchett
Encyclopedia
Steve Matchett is currently a commentator for American TV network Speed Channel
on its various Formula One
programs. Notably, he hosts live Formula One
practice sessions and races with David Hobbs and Bob Varsha
.
Alongside his live F1 duties Matchett also presents a pre-recorded show on Speed Channel called Debrief, reviewing the events of the preceding week's grand prix.
He is a columnist for the Speed Channel
website and presents a series of web-based video 'chalk-talk' features in which, with photographs and telestrator, he explains F1 engineering and technical matters.
He was a regular contributor and columnist to F1 Racing
magazine from 1996 to 2008. He was Technical Editor of the magazine from 1998 to 2008 (resigning his editorship when Matt Bishop
resigned as Editor-in-Chief).
He has also published a semi-autobiographical trilogy based around his years in the F1 pit lane.
(technical college) 1979-1982, City & Guilds Mechanical
Engineering Apprentice
ship
dealership in 1986; then a BMW
dealership from 1989 to 1990.
, Matchett worked as a race mechanic with the Benetton F1 team
from February 1, 1990 through February 13, 1998. During this period Michael Schumacher
won the Drivers' Championship in both 1994 and 1995 before leaving the team, moving to Ferrari the following year; while Matchett and his team won the Constructors' Championship in 1995.
Throughout his time with Benetton he worked with many key drivers and personalities of the era. Michael Schumacher; Nelson Piquet
; Riccardo Patrese
; Martin Brundle
; Johnny Herbert
; Gerhard Berger
and Jean Alesi
all drove F1 cars prepared by Matchett.
Herbert and Matchett both claimed their maiden Formula One wins in the 1995 British Grand Prix
, a race perhaps made most famous for the fact that Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill
crashed out of the race while battling for the lead. Although Matchett had by this time experienced many wins as part of the Benetton team, the win at Silverstone
was significant as it was the first Benetton victory secured by a Matchett prepared car. Ten years later, in his closing remarks of the relevant episode of Formula 1 Decade
Matchett described his feelings during the closing laps of that landmark race, and how much the win had meant to him. Said Matchett: Herbert and Matchett would team up for another Formula One win in at the 1995 Italian Grand Prix
held at Monza
, another race in which Schumacher and Hill crashed out together. His career as a mechanic was brought to an end by a back injury sustained while operating the rear jack on a car during a pre-race practice session (from which he has since recovered).
Throughout his Benetton career Matchett formed a close working relationship with both Stepney and Ross Brawn
who was then technical director of Benetton. Brawn and Matchett remained on amicable terms even after Brawn's move to Ferrari at the end of 1996 and Matchett's own move into television four years later. During the Speed Channel Formula One broadcasts Matchett often cites conversations he has had with Brawn - and indeed other leading F1 engineers - by way of explaining to his viewers the pressing technical issues of the day.
, North Carolina
. Matchett made the switch to Charlotte and has remained loyal to the network from then to the present day.
His broadcasting niche is one of giving priority to the teams' involvement, rather than to any specific driver. During the Speed Channel shows he has often stated that the Constructors Championship is of greater significance to him than the Drivers Championship. At the end of each race show David Hobbs reads out the driver points; Matchett always reads out the team points.
Unlike his co-announcers, Matchett's unique approach is to talk of the races from the perspective of the competing teams (the engineer's view) rather than the driver's perspective. He describes the track's challenges to the various GP teams and describes how the mechanics prepare the 'set up' of the race cars to try and win the race.
He is also credited with having a 'good eye' and is known for his ability to notice minor changes that the mechanics have made to the cars and for his ability to spot mechanical problems on the cars even while they are running on the circuit. In addition to his duties calling the racing action, Matchett also calculates, typically with unnerving accuracy, exactly when the cars will be visiting the pits for fuel and tires. Matchett is Speed Channel's telestrator man: he uses his Benetton race team experience (of working on F1 cars) to explain technical complexities in an easy-to-understand way.
From 2003 to 2005 Matchett also hosted Speed Channel's Formula 1 Decade.
On April 2, 2004, the show had the daunting task of airing the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, showing the crash that claimed the life of 3-time World Drivers' Champion and 41-time Grand Prix race winner Ayrton Senna
. Matchett, a mechanic for Benetton-Ford that weekend, made these remarks at the beginning of the broadcast:
(*)-There had already been two serious accidents in the days before Senna's, one on April 29 during Friday practice that nearly killed Rubens Barrichello
, and one on April 30 during Saturday qualifying that killed Roland Ratzenberger
.
Since 2007, Matchett has hosted an annual series of technical features for SPEED called RPM - Racing Per Matchett in which he interviews key members of the Renault F1
, Red Bull Racing
and McLaren F1 teams, explaining to the viewers different features of modern race car design and ultra-exotic technology.
In January 2008 he also hosted the first visit to America by BMW Sauber
's popular Pit Lane Park Formula One show, supporting the prestigious Consumer Electronics Show
in Las Vegas
. He also emceed the four-day event alongside Mark Goodman
of Sirius Satellite Radio
, one of MTV
's original VJs. Graham Rahal
son of Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal
drove a BMW Sauber F1.06
car in a series of demonstration runs during the event.
In 2009 Matchett presented a thirty-minute show for Speed Channel called Always Ferrari, in which he visited the famous Italian marque's Maranello
factory, toured the road car restoration division, the Formula 1 racing headquarters and there interviewed F1 team members including drivers Felipe Massa
and Kimi Räikkönen
.
Matchett's website The Writings of Steve Matchett focuses on his books. It is not a Formula 1 news site, and he makes a point of stressing the differences between his work as a writer and his role as a television broadcaster. This seems important to him.
Twitter:
Matchett's Twitter account is @MrSteveMatchett.
In keeping with his website philosophy, do not expect an awful lot of F1 chatter from him via Twitter. Typically his posts are random thoughts on Life. In his posts he has described his Twitter account as being like an online diary: a place where he can share private thoughts with those that might care to read them. He does interact with his Twitter followers; has organized trivia quizzes (mainly movie related) and giveaway competitions, in which his followers are presented (mainly) with racing memorabilia.
SPEED Channel
Speed , is a cable and satellite television network broadcast to various parts of North America, but primarily the United States...
on its various Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
programs. Notably, he hosts live Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
practice sessions and races with David Hobbs and Bob Varsha
Bob Varsha
Bob Varsha is one of the on-air personalities for Speed Channel. Varsha is presently the host of the network's live Formula One coverage. In 2002 and 2003, Varsha was the host of SPEED's Champ Car coverage. Rick DeBruhl took over Varsha's Formula One host chair for that period. In 2004, Varsha...
.
Alongside his live F1 duties Matchett also presents a pre-recorded show on Speed Channel called Debrief, reviewing the events of the preceding week's grand prix.
He is a columnist for the Speed Channel
SPEED Channel
Speed , is a cable and satellite television network broadcast to various parts of North America, but primarily the United States...
website and presents a series of web-based video 'chalk-talk' features in which, with photographs and telestrator, he explains F1 engineering and technical matters.
He was a regular contributor and columnist to F1 Racing
F1 Racing
F1 Racing is a monthly magazine focused on Formula One racing which launched in March, 1996.The previous Editor, Matt Bishop, also used to write a fortnightly column for the website of the weekly magazine Autosport...
magazine from 1996 to 2008. He was Technical Editor of the magazine from 1998 to 2008 (resigning his editorship when Matt Bishop
Matt Bishop
Matt Bishop, who was born in London in 1962, is Head of Communications and Public Relations for the McLaren Group, which position he took up in January 2008....
resigned as Editor-in-Chief).
He has also published a semi-autobiographical trilogy based around his years in the F1 pit lane.
Education
Loughborough UniversityLoughborough University
Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
(technical college) 1979-1982, City & Guilds Mechanical
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
Engineering Apprentice
Engineering apprentice
An engineering apprenticeship is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering. A typical example is the apprenticeships formerly available at the BTH and EEC at Rugby in England...
ship
Early career
He started working as a mechanic for Greypaul, a UK FerrariFerrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
dealership in 1986; then a BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
dealership from 1989 to 1990.
The Formula One years
Employed by Nigel StepneyNigel Stepney
Nigel Stepney is a British-born former Formula One mechanic. He started in Formula One as a mechanic at Shadow in 1977, then followed Elio de Angelis to Lotus before moving to Benetton for the late 1980s and early 90s and then to Ferrari with Michael Schumacher, Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn...
, Matchett worked as a race mechanic with the Benetton F1 team
Benetton Formula
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for...
from February 1, 1990 through February 13, 1998. During this period Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...
won the Drivers' Championship in both 1994 and 1995 before leaving the team, moving to Ferrari the following year; while Matchett and his team won the Constructors' Championship in 1995.
Throughout his time with Benetton he worked with many key drivers and personalities of the era. Michael Schumacher; Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...
; Riccardo Patrese
Riccardo Patrese
Riccardo Gabriele Patrese is an Italian former racing driver, who raced in Formula One from to .He became the first Formula One driver to achieve 200 Grand Prix starts when he appeared at the 1990 British Grand Prix, and the first to achieve 250 starts at the 1993 German Grand Prix...
; Martin Brundle
Martin Brundle
Martin John Brundle is a British racing driver from England, known as a Formula One driver and as an F1 commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011 and Sky Sports from 2012....
; Johnny Herbert
Johnny Herbert
John Paul Herbert is a British racing driver from England. He competed in Formula One, winning three races, and also in sports cars winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991 driving a Mazda 787B...
; Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger, is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver, who previously owned 50% of the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team until he sold his share back to energy drink owner Dietrich Mateschitz in November 2008....
and Jean Alesi
Jean Alesi
Jean Alesi is a French racing driver of Italian origin. His Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan and most notably Ferrari where he proved very popular among the tifosi...
all drove F1 cars prepared by Matchett.
Herbert and Matchett both claimed their maiden Formula One wins in the 1995 British Grand Prix
1995 British Grand Prix
The 1995 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 16, 1995 at Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England. It was the eighth round of the 1995 Formula One season. The race, contested over 61 laps, was won by Johnny Herbert for the Benetton team after...
, a race perhaps made most famous for the fact that Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill
Damon Hill
Damon Graham Devereux Hill OBE is a retired British racing driver. In 1996 Hill won the Formula One World Championship. As the son of the late Graham Hill, he is the only son of a world champion to win the title...
crashed out of the race while battling for the lead. Although Matchett had by this time experienced many wins as part of the Benetton team, the win at Silverstone
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...
was significant as it was the first Benetton victory secured by a Matchett prepared car. Ten years later, in his closing remarks of the relevant episode of Formula 1 Decade
Formula 1 Decade
Formula 1 Decade was a show on Speed Channel. First airing on May 11, 2003 the show takes a look at Formula One Grand Prix events that were run 10 years prior to the present season...
Matchett described his feelings during the closing laps of that landmark race, and how much the win had meant to him. Said Matchett: Herbert and Matchett would team up for another Formula One win in at the 1995 Italian Grand Prix
1995 Italian Grand Prix
The 1995 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 10, 1995 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy. It was the twelfth race of the 1995 Formula One season. The race, contested over 53 laps, was won by Johnny Herbert for the Benetton team after starting...
held at Monza
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a race track located near the town of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. The circuit's biggest event is the Formula One Italian Grand Prix, which has been hosted there since the sport's inception....
, another race in which Schumacher and Hill crashed out together. His career as a mechanic was brought to an end by a back injury sustained while operating the rear jack on a car during a pre-race practice session (from which he has since recovered).
Throughout his Benetton career Matchett formed a close working relationship with both Stepney and Ross Brawn
Ross Brawn
Ross James Brawn OBE is an English motorsport engineer and Formula One team principal. He has worked for a number of Formula One teams, serving as the technical director of the championship-winning Benetton and Ferrari teams. He took a sabbatical from the sport in 2007 but returned to F1 for the...
who was then technical director of Benetton. Brawn and Matchett remained on amicable terms even after Brawn's move to Ferrari at the end of 1996 and Matchett's own move into television four years later. During the Speed Channel Formula One broadcasts Matchett often cites conversations he has had with Brawn - and indeed other leading F1 engineers - by way of explaining to his viewers the pressing technical issues of the day.
Television
He made his television debut for Speedvision in 2000 filling in as a substitute commentator during the Canadian GP weekend. He joined the crew for two more races in 2000, then joined Speedvision's F1 broadcast crew full time in 2001. In late 2001 Speedvision was acquired by Fox Television, rebranded as Speed Channel and relocated to CharlotteCHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. Matchett made the switch to Charlotte and has remained loyal to the network from then to the present day.
His broadcasting niche is one of giving priority to the teams' involvement, rather than to any specific driver. During the Speed Channel shows he has often stated that the Constructors Championship is of greater significance to him than the Drivers Championship. At the end of each race show David Hobbs reads out the driver points; Matchett always reads out the team points.
Unlike his co-announcers, Matchett's unique approach is to talk of the races from the perspective of the competing teams (the engineer's view) rather than the driver's perspective. He describes the track's challenges to the various GP teams and describes how the mechanics prepare the 'set up' of the race cars to try and win the race.
He is also credited with having a 'good eye' and is known for his ability to notice minor changes that the mechanics have made to the cars and for his ability to spot mechanical problems on the cars even while they are running on the circuit. In addition to his duties calling the racing action, Matchett also calculates, typically with unnerving accuracy, exactly when the cars will be visiting the pits for fuel and tires. Matchett is Speed Channel's telestrator man: he uses his Benetton race team experience (of working on F1 cars) to explain technical complexities in an easy-to-understand way.
From 2003 to 2005 Matchett also hosted Speed Channel's Formula 1 Decade.
On April 2, 2004, the show had the daunting task of airing the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, showing the crash that claimed the life of 3-time World Drivers' Champion and 41-time Grand Prix race winner Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...
. Matchett, a mechanic for Benetton-Ford that weekend, made these remarks at the beginning of the broadcast:
(*)-There had already been two serious accidents in the days before Senna's, one on April 29 during Friday practice that nearly killed Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...
, and one on April 30 during Saturday qualifying that killed Roland Ratzenberger
Roland Ratzenberger
Roland Ratzenberger was an Austrian racing driver who raced in Formula Nippon, Formula 3000 and Formula One...
.
Since 2007, Matchett has hosted an annual series of technical features for SPEED called RPM - Racing Per Matchett in which he interviews key members of the Renault F1
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...
, Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...
and McLaren F1 teams, explaining to the viewers different features of modern race car design and ultra-exotic technology.
In January 2008 he also hosted the first visit to America by BMW Sauber
BMW Sauber
BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s , before building the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine in the 1980s...
's popular Pit Lane Park Formula One show, supporting the prestigious Consumer Electronics Show
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
. He also emceed the four-day event alongside Mark Goodman
Mark Goodman
Mark Goodman is a radio DJ, TV personality, and actor. He is best known as one of the original five VJs on MTV, from 1981-1987. He was supposed to be the first of the five to be broadcast at MTV's premier on August 1, 1981...
of Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
, one of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's original VJs. Graham Rahal
Graham Rahal
Graham Rahal is an American race car driver. He currently participates in the IZOD IndyCar Series. He is the son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal.-Early racing:...
son of Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal
Bobby Rahal
Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal is an American auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver, he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500...
drove a BMW Sauber F1.06
BMW Sauber F1.06
The BMW Sauber F1.06 was the car with which the BMW Sauber team competed in the Formula One season. It was driven by Nick Heidfeld, who joined from BMW Williams, and Jacques Villeneuve, who had spent one season with the team before it was bought by BMW. However, the Canadian was replaced by...
car in a series of demonstration runs during the event.
In 2009 Matchett presented a thirty-minute show for Speed Channel called Always Ferrari, in which he visited the famous Italian marque's Maranello
Maranello
Maranello is a town and comune in the region of Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy, 18 km from Modena, with a population of 16,841 as of 2009. It is best known as the home of Ferrari S.p.A. and the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One racing team...
factory, toured the road car restoration division, the Formula 1 racing headquarters and there interviewed F1 team members including drivers Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He finished second in the Drivers' World Championship, and is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the season.-Early years:...
and Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Matias Räikkönen , nicknamed Iceman, is a Finnish racing driver, who will drive in Formula One for Lotus in . After nine seasons racing in Formula One, in which he took the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, he competed in the World Rally Championship from 2009-2011.Räikkönen entered...
.
Online Presence
Website:Matchett's website The Writings of Steve Matchett focuses on his books. It is not a Formula 1 news site, and he makes a point of stressing the differences between his work as a writer and his role as a television broadcaster. This seems important to him.
Twitter:
Matchett's Twitter account is @MrSteveMatchett.
In keeping with his website philosophy, do not expect an awful lot of F1 chatter from him via Twitter. Typically his posts are random thoughts on Life. In his posts he has described his Twitter account as being like an online diary: a place where he can share private thoughts with those that might care to read them. He does interact with his Twitter followers; has organized trivia quizzes (mainly movie related) and giveaway competitions, in which his followers are presented (mainly) with racing memorabilia.