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McLaren appoints new group communications director

McLaren has appointed a new group communications director to oversee strategic, corporate and brand communications for both McLaren Racing and McLaren Applied Technologies.

Tim Bampton was previously chief marketing officer for global sports marketing agency CSM Sport & Entertainment. His involvement in Formula 1 began in the mid-1990s with a six-year spell in Williams' media and marketing team.

He co-founded a sponsorship communications agency working with British American Tobacco when it owned F1 team BAR Honda. He later joined the motorsport marketing agency JMI.

Bampton will direct the the group's media operations, corporate and brand communications. In addition he'll be in charge of consumer and lifestyle communications for initiatives such as the World’s Fastest Gamer e-sports project.

“I know from having worked with Tim that he is a relationship man, proven leader and strong communicator," said the group's executive director Zak Brown. "I’m looking forward to him joining McLaren."

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Bampton officially joins the team on Monday August 21. He will attend the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps later the same week.

“The opportunity to represent McLaren, its people and partners is one of the most appealing in global sport," said Bampton.

"The enduring power of the McLaren brand, the values it embodies and its heritage provide an authentic platform for the group’s rich, evolving story to be shared.

"Equally it’ll be great to be back at the sharp end of the sport," he commented. "I’m looking forward to strengthening existing relationships, reviving old ones and forging many new.

"Formula 1’s trajectory holds promise for all the sport’s stakeholders, not least its fans, and it will be rewarding to rejoin the sport at this time."

Bampton will report to McLaren Technology Group's Chief Marketing Officer, John Allert.

"Tim is a strong addition to our team," commented Allert. "His valuable experience, skills and insight have been gained from a combination of rightsholder, sponsor and agency perspectives."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.