Steve Matchett
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Steve Matchett (born 23 December 1962 in England) is a commentator for American TV network
Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...
on its Formula E programming. He formerly co-hosted live Formula One practices, qualifying sessions, and races alongside David Hobbs and
Bob Varsha Robert August "Bob" Varsha (born April 21, 1951) is an American broadcast journalist who specializes in covering motorsports. He is best known for being the lap-by-lap commentator for Formula 1 and CART series races for ESPN, ABC Sports, and Spee ...
. As well as his live F1 duties, Matchett also co-presented with the same duo a pre-recorded show on Speed Channel called ''Formula One Debrief'', reviewing the events of the preceding week's grand prix. Until the conclusion of the
2012 Formula One season The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 63rd FIA Formula One World Championship, a motor racing series for Formula One cars, recognised by the Fédération Internatio ...
, he was a commentator for the FOX owned American
Speed Channel Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as aut ...
. For the
2013 Formula One season The 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 64th Formula One World Championship, recognised by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel raci ...
, he was signed to NBC Sports Network, alongside Speed TV veterans David Hobbs and
Bob Varsha Robert August "Bob" Varsha (born April 21, 1951) is an American broadcast journalist who specializes in covering motorsports. He is best known for being the lap-by-lap commentator for Formula 1 and CART series races for ESPN, ABC Sports, and Spee ...
until broadcasts moved to
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
for the 2018 season. He was a columnist for the Speed Channel website and presented a series of web-based video 'chalk-talk' features in which, with photographs and a telestrator, he explains F1 engineering and technical matters. He was a regular contributor and columnist to ''
F1 Racing ''GP Racing'', formerly ''F1 Racing'', is a monthly magazine focused on Formula One racing that launched in March 1996. Launch and development ''F1 Racing'' launch was the culmination of a year of preparation by UK publishers Haymarket. The ...
'' 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.


Education

Loughborough University (technical college) 1979–1982,
City & Guilds The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...
Mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...
Engineering Apprentice An engineering apprenticeship in the United Kingdom is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering or aeronautical engineering to train craftsmen, technicians, senior technicians, Incorporated Engineers and Chartered Engin ...
ship


Early career

In 1977, he started working as a mechanic for Howlett's of Loughborough performing routine service for Mazda and Vauxhall vehicles. He joined Graypaul Motors in 1986, a UK Ferrari dealership; then to a BMW dealership from 1988 to 1989. In January 1989 he was employed at a Cooper-BMW dealership in Rothley near Loughborough for exactly one year. He began his F1 career in 1990.Steve Matchett Fan Club


Formula One

Employed by Nigel Stepney, Matchett worked as a race mechanic with the Benetton F1 team from 1 February 1990 through 13 February 1998. During this period
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
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 Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian retired racing driver and businessman. Since his retirement, Piquet, a three-time World Champion, has been ranked among the greatest Formula One (F1) drivers in various motorspo ...
,
Riccardo Patrese Riccardo Gabriele Patrese (born 17 April 1954) 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 ...
,
Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012. Brundle contested the 1 ...
,
Johnny Herbert John Paul "Johnny" Herbert (born 25 June 1964) is a British former racing driver and current television announcer for Sky Sports F1. He raced in Formula One from 1989 to 2000, for seven different teams, winning three races and placing 4th in ...
,
Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger (born 27 August 1959) is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver. He competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, twice finishing 3rd overall in the championship ( and ), both times driving for Ferrari. He won ten Grands Prix, ach ...
and
Jean Alesi Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French professional racing driver of Italian origin. After successes in minor categories, notably winning the 1989 Formula 3000 Championship, his Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell ...
all drove F1 cars prepared by Matchett. Herbert and Matchett both claimed their maiden Formula One wins in the
1995 British Grand Prix The 1995 British Grand Prix (formally the XLVIII British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 16 July 1995 at Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England. It was the eighth round of the 1995 Formula One World ...
, a race perhaps made most famous for the fact that Michael Schumacher and
Damon Hill Damon Graham Devereux Hill, (born 17 September 1960) is a British former professional racing driver from England and the 1996 Formula One World Champion. He is the son of Graham Hill, and, along with Nico Rosberg, one of two sons of a Formula ...
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 The 1995 Italian Grand Prix (formally the Pioneer 66o Gran Premio d'Italia) was a Formula One motor race held on 10 September 1995 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy. It was the twelfth race of the 1995 Formula One World Champion ...
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 (from which he has since recovered) sustained while operating the rear jack on a car during a pre-race practice session. 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.


Television

He made his television debut for
Speedvision Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as aut ...
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 The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations and ...
, rebranded as Speed Channel and relocated to
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
,
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
. Matchett made the switch to Charlotte. Matchett remained with the network until the end of the 2012 season, at which point he joined his colleagues in moving to NBC and NBC Sports. 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 the 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 estimates when the cars will be visiting the pits for fuel and tires. From 2003 to 2005, Matchett also hosted Speed Channel's Formula 1 Decade. On 2 April 2004, the show had the daunting task of airing the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, showing the crash that claimed the life of three-time World Drivers' Champion and 41-time Grand Prix race winner
Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and ...
. 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 29 April during Friday practice that nearly killed
Rubens Barrichello Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 T ...
, and one on 30 April during Saturday qualifying that killed
Roland Ratzenberger Roland Ratzenberger (; 4 July 1960 – 30 April 1994) was an Austrian racing driver who raced in various categories of motorsport, including British Formula 3000, Japanese Formula 3000 and Formula One. Having had sporadic success throughout t ...
.''
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 The French automotive manufacturer Renault has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...
,
Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...
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 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 (often under Formula Two regulations), before building ...
's popular Pit Lane Park Formula One show, supporting the prestigious Consumer Electronics Show in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. He also emceed the four-day event alongside Mark Goodman of
Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially lau ...
, one of MTV's original VJs.
Graham Rahal Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winn ...
son of
Indy 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianap ...
winner
Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former 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. He also won the 2004 ...
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 Maranello ( Modenese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy, 18 km from Modena, with a population of 17,504 as of 2017. It is known worldwide as the home of Ferrari and the Formula 1 rac ...
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.


Bibliography

Matchett's
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
trilogy: * Part One: Life in the Fast Lane. * Publishing reference: * Part Two: The Mechanic's Tale. * Publishing reference: * Part Three: The Chariot Makers. * Publishing reference:


References


External links


The Writings of Steve Matchett
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matchett, Steve Formula One people Motorsport announcers Alumni of Loughborough University Living people 1962 births English motorsport people Benetton Formula