Perhaps you all have the wrong impression. Perhaps I have done poorly in making myself clear regarding Matt Bishop and his “skillsâ€. It’s no secret that as a journalist, Matt Bishop has received some criticism from me for being more bravado than effectual and while his penchant for hating Schumacher’s is well known, I also find his lack of British decorum amusing. I have also stated that Matt is a terrific guy who I enjoyed reading and does a great job in and around F1. He also has a proclivity of alienating me as a reader. Bile swam from his pen like pollywogs and it left me a little cool in the hot light of F1. But comes a doubter.
With all of that said, I have watched with anticipation for the first real Public Relations moves by the magnanimous Mr. Bishop since taking his post as PR savant at Vodafone McLaren. We watched as Lewis Hamilton continued to stick his foot in his mouth at each interview wondering; where on earth is Matt Bishop? We watched as the Espionage debacle wound down and Ron Dennis had not room left in mouth for the rest of his foot and wondered; where’s Matt Bishop. I am proud…nay…elated to tell you, WE HAVE FOUND MATT BISHOP!
Yes, in McLaren’s press release clarifying a previous press release (as requested by the FIA) I believe Mr. Bishop has put his #2 Ticonderoga to work and come up with a gem. A beacon of truth in a salty sea of lies.
You see, apparently a previous press release was littered with inaccuracies and allegations that quite simply were not true. It was the job of Mr. Bishop to tell us all that and do it in a manner most pleasing to Mr. Mosely and his black riders of FIA-dor. Mr. Bishop…are you ready for this?…did a terrific job. I know, praise from me seems nigh on impossible to get regarding The Bish. But as I have stated before, I actually like the guy a lot. Although my emails to F1 Mag were never answered and I suppose that’s because I was slathering him with criticism, I actually like the guy.
Matt did what should be done. He told the truth. He offered no more fodder than the corrections of the inaccuracies and did it with a very frank and open tone. Not hostile, desperate, obdurate or dare I say, laced with bravado. He just said we have been requested by the FIA to clear this up and here is where we were wrong. Great Job Matt. May I call you Matt?
Now, we can all discuss the severity of putting out press releases laced with incorrect information about a competitor and the slanderous notion this puts forth. It’s quite unfortunate that they did this and I think Flavio is well within his right to rattle sabers about filing lawsuits against McLaren if exonerated by the FIA over these espionage allegations. But all that being said, Matt did the right thing. Let’s hope his next project is taping Lewis’s mouth shut for a few months.
