About Me
Cristiano Monteiro da Matta (born September 19, 1973) is a Brazilian auto racing driver, winner of the American CART Championship in 2002, and former Toyota Formula One driver.Career biographyOrigins and early careerDa Matta's father was Toninho da Matta, a 14-time Brazilian touring car champion. 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 Three Sudamericana championship. In 1996, da Matta participated in the British Formula Three series.North American racing1997 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 drove a Toyota-powered car from then until 2004. His first win came in 2000, and despite some sponsor opposition he joined the front-running Newman/Haas Racing team for 2001. 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.Formula One
Da Matta driving for the Toyota F1 team at the 2004 USGP
Da Matta driving for the Toyota F1 team at the 2004 USGPCristiano completed his move up the racing ladder in 2003, reaching the pinnacle of motor sport with the Toyota Formula One 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 vowed to never again race in Formula One, as he felt it was not competitive enough, with too much emphasis on car performance.Return to USAIn 2005, Cristiano moved back to the Champ Car World Series, to race for the PKV Racing team. That season he won the race at Portland, and finished 11th overall in the standings. For the 2006 Champ Car season, he switched to the Dale Coyne Racing to drive the No.19 Ford Lola, until June 9, 2006, when he switched teams again, to take over A.J. Allmendinger's seat at RuSPORT.[1] Second place at San Jose left him 6th overall in the series.Collision with deer during testOn August 3, 2006, Cristiano's car was involved in a collision with a deer that ran in front of him as he headed towards turn 6 during Champ Car open testing at Road America. He hit the deer with his right front tire, the deer then flew back and hit da Matta in the cockpit.[2] It is believed when the deer hit da Matta in the cockpit, he was knocked unconscious. He remained unconscious with his foot still on the brake when the safety crew arrived and extricated da Matta from the car.[3] Da Matta was then airlifted to Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, Wisconsin, where he underwent surgery to remove a subdural hematoma.[4] Following the surgery, da Matta was placed in an induced coma, to allow for the swelling to subside.[5] As of August 7, da Matta was making "slow but steady progress", while the doctors were working on reducing da Matta's level of sedation.[6] This slow recovery was confirmed on August 9, as it was reported that Da Matta was able to move "all of his extremities spontaneously as well as in response to physical stimulation".[7] On August 20, Da Matta was transferred out of intensive care.[8] On August 30, Da Matta was confirmed to have made steady progress, conversing in English and Portuguese, and walking short distances.[9] On 21 September 2006, Christiano was allowed to leave the hospital after having recovered better than expected.[10]When the Champ Car World Series returned to race in the Grand Prix of Road America on September 24, Cristiano da Matta gave the traditional command - "start your engines". As of December 2006, he has been in daily training and therapy, but has not yet decided whether or not to return to racing.[11]PersonalOutside the racing world, da Matta's interests include 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. Cristiano and his girlfriend Vanessa, live in Miami, Florida. They have been together for five years.
