"There was one driver who called me the ‘fat f*gg*t’ habitually": Former Aston Martin member Matt Bishop on facing homophobia in the F1 paddock

Former Aston Martin communications officer, Matt Bishop, once opened up about facing homophobia in F1 paddocks. He recalled that he faced this abuse from a certain F1 driver.

Bishop is the first openly gay man who worked in F1. He entered the sport in 2008 with McLaren as their communication director, especially after the British team was fined for the 2007 Spygate controversy. Bishop was hired directly by McLaren's then-chairman, Ron Dennis. He worked at the British team for nearly a decade, before joining the W series as a member of its senior leadership team in 2018.

In 2021, he was hired by the Aston Martin F1 team as a communication officer. Bishop currently runs his own PR Agency, Diagonal Communications. He is also one of the founder ambassadors of the Racing Pride community.

Speaking to The Guardian's journalist, Giles Richards, Bishop recalled how he dealt with homophobia in the F1 paddock. He claimed that, in his early days in F1, he was called a "fat f*gg*t" in the paddock by a certain F1 driver, whom he did not name.

“I did get some homophobia, most of which was said behind the back but there was one driver who I won’t name who called me the ‘fat f*gg*t’ habitually and to my face,” Bishop said.

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Former Aston Martin staff emotional after seeing Ralf Schumacher's son's response to his father coming out as gay

Former Aston Martin communication officer Matt Bishop was delighted by what Ralf Schumacher's son, David Schumacher, wrote after his father came out of the closet.

The German F1 driver recently posted a picture with his male partner, stating how beautiful it is to find the right life partner. The picture showed Schumacher with his partner on a party yacht. They had their backs to the camera and were watching a serene sunset.

Among many from the motorsport community who congratulated him, Ralf Schumacher's son, David Schumacher, wrote a heartwarming comment on the picture:

"I am very happy that you have finally found someone with whom you really feel that you feel very comfortable and secure, no matter if you are a man or a woman, I am 100% behind you dad and wish you all the best and congratulations."

Former Aston Martin team staff Matt Bishop, who himself is openly gay, reposted what David Schumacher wrote for his father. He stated that the message made him extremely emotional and happy.

"This is impossible to read with dry eyes: it’s an Instagram post by David Schumacher, whose 6-time #F1 GP winner dad Ralf Schumacher came out as a gay man on Instagram at the weekend. Coming out is never easy, but Ralf has been very brave & David’s reaction is very lovely,"