Cristiano da Matta
Cristiano da Matta was highly rated when he joined the list of Brazilians to have made it to Formula One, but he never really settled in the Grand Prix arena, a talent unfulfilled at this level. The son of a 14-time Brazilian touring car champion, da Matta began his career in karts, competing against future Brazilian rival Helio Castroneves for the first time, as the pair produced a string of local, regional and national titles.
The junior scene conquered, da Matta then moved into cars, and proceeded to repeat his success. Starting in Formula Ford, he won the Brazilian championship in 1993, with four race wins to his name, before stepping up to the Brazilian Formula Three series the following year. Despite running against more seasoned slicks-and-wings campaigners, he clinched the title in his first season, again with four victories, and immediately switched his attention to Europe in search of a path to Grands Prix.
Following in the footsteps of fellow Brazilians Ayrton Senna and Rubens Barrichello, da Matta came to Britain to contest the renowned national F3 series with West Surrey Racing. Unlike his predecessors, however, he failed to hit it off with team boss Dick Bennetts and, with WSR also looking after a touring car programme, the season was less successful than perhaps it should have been. Two top five places in the opening rounds hailed the Brazilian as a potential champion but, save for a lone win in round ten and a third next time out, he failed to feature on the podium and wound up a disappointing eighth overall.
A move to F3000 the following year was equally frustrating, and Cristiano decided that perhaps his future lay on the other side of the Atlantic after all. Instead of Brazil, however, he journeyed to America, where he joined the comparative Indy Lights series with top team Brian Stewart Racing. In his debut season, he placed third overall, having found a better understanding with his boss, and took wins at Nazareth, Vancouver and Laguna Seca. Rookie of the year honours were something of a formality as he joined future CART rivals Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves on the end-of-season podium.
The following season, a move to the Tasman outfit which had taken the top two spots in '97 only added to the pressure Cristiano had put on himself to move out of the category after a couple of seasons. However, he responded well, winning the title outright on the back of three early season victories. A mid-season slump threatened to undo his good work, but the Brazilian again raised his game and took two more wins to seal the crown with a couple of races to run.
Having impressed many people in the top category, da Matta made his Champ car debut in 1999, driving for the Arciero-Wells. Unfazed by the step up, he scored what was then the highest finish to date for a Toyota-powered car, when he came home fourth on the Nazareth oval. He also finished fifth in Vancouver, but a series of accidents and mechanical failures prevented him from scoring in more than four of the twenty races.
Nevertheless, he still finished the season in the top twenty overall, with 18th place in the series standings, and placed second in the rookie of the year competition behind runaway winner - and overall CART champion - Juan Pablo Montoya.
In his second CART season, da Matta stayed put and drove for the renamed PPI Motorsports squad. He took his first victory in the series at Chicago and placed tenth in the overall championship standings. That performance alerted the crack Newman-Haas team to his true abilities and, in 2001, he was hired to partner Christian Fittipaldi. Despite being regarded as the junior partner in the line-up, the Brazilian took his Toyota-powered Lola to three victories and a total of five podium finishes as he finished fifth in the championship.
Cristiano continued with Newman-Haas in 2002, and this time dominated the series with seven poles, seven victories and a total of eleven podium finishes to take the title at a canter. With the CART title in his grasp, da Matta attracted the attention of F1 and, in particular the Toyota brand that had powered him to Champ Car success. Toyota now had an F1 team of its own, and brought the Brazilian over from America to pit his big reputation against the class of 2003.
Despite the big budget, however, Toyota wasn't able to run near the front of the grid. An accident at the first race in Australia aside, da Matta made a solid – if unspectacular – start to his F1 career. Highlights for the season included a stint as race leader during the British GP at Silverstone, and a superb third on the grid in Japan, and his ten points outscored vastly experienced team-mate Olivier Panis to leave him as unofficial F1 rookie of the year.
The following season things did not go so well, however, as the Toyota was still unreliable – and slow – and, although Panis fared little better, da Matta was effectively made the scapegoat as the team sought to turn its fortunes around. Dropped during the summer break leading up to the Hungarian Grand Prix, and replaced by reserve driver Ricardo Zonta, his sole points finish of the year had come at Monte Carlo, where he came home sixth.
Although technically kept on the books as test driver, da Matta's F1 adventure was over, and he turned his attentions to engineering a return to the States. Initially linked to a possible third Newman-Haas entry, the Brazilian eventually wound up alongside another former champion, Jimmy Vasser, at the ambitious PKV Racing outfit.
After a slow start on his return, da Matta picked up a rather fortuitous win at Portland, but (apart from a pole at Cleveland) he generally struggled to make an impression on the series he had once dominated. Initially, he failed to find a ride for 2006 but found a berth with Dale Coyne Racing where he put in some spirited performances. When RuSPORT made their surprising mid-season decision to release A.J. Allmendinger, Cristiano was offered the chance to step in alongside Justin Wilson.
The Brazilian as soon up to speed and posted a fine second place at San José before disaster struck. Whilst testing at Elkhart Lake, his car struck a deer crossing the track with the driver’s helmet taking much of the impact. Initially, there were fears for his life, but despite very serious his head injuries he survived to begin the long road to recovery.
Whilst it seemed da Matta would never recover sufficiently to race again, just over two years after his accident he was to make a remarkable return to the track. After a successful test, Cristiano returned to competition in May 2008 sharing a Grand-Am Riley-Pontiac with Jimmy Vasser at Laguna Seca. Indeed the Brazilian led the race at one point, and was thus encouraged to make further appearances in the near future.
