Cristiano da Matta
Cristiano da Matta (born September 19, 1973) is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver currently in the employ of the Toyota team.
Da Matta's father was Toninho da Matta, a Brazilian touring car champion, so Cristiano naturally took well to the track. He began karting at the age of 16, adopting a helmet design nearly identical to his famous father's helmet. He quickly rose to the top by winning numerous karting championships before winning the 1993 Brazilian Formula Ford championship. In 1994, he continued his successful ways, winning the Formula 3 Brazilian championship. In 1996, da Matta participated in the Formula 3000 series in Great Britain.
1997 saw Cristiano move to the United States for the Indy Lights racing series, in which he won "Rookie of the Year" honors. The next year (1998), he won the championship by winning 7 races and securing 4 pole positions. In 1999, da Matta raced in the CART series for Team Arciero Wells, which were running Toyota engines; da Matta has been driving a Toyota-powered car since. He won the CART drivers' championship in 2002 under Toyota power with the Newman-Haas Racing team, dominating the year with 7 race wins and 7 poles.
Cristiano completed his move up the racing ladder in 2003, reaching the pinnacle of motor sport with the Toyota F1 team. He scored 10 championship points that year, four more than seasoned veteran and teammate Olivier Panis. His fortunes took a downturn in 2004, however. Having scored only 3 championship points, da Matta lost his race seat to Ricardo Zonta after the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim. da Matta has vowed to never again race in Formula One, as he feels it is not competitive enough. However, he maintains his close links with Toyota, and a move back to race for Toyota in either Champcars or the Indy Racing League seems certain.
Outside the racing world, da Matta's interests including playing the guitar, swimming, and mountain biking. He also participated in gymnastics as a youth, at one point training with the Club Flamengo's Olympic team. Still single, he now lives in Miami, Florida and Monaco.
