da Matta in support of CART, and happy at Toyota

Panis & da Matta
By Site Staff
February 17 2003

Cristiano da Matta follows a recent trend in F1 in recruiting drivers from the much critisised CART series. The Brazilian recently spoke out in support of the discipline, and in doing so backed it as a grounding series before the step up to Formula 1.

"The cars have a lot of horsepower and, for an open-wheel car, they are heavy and difficult to drive," he was recently quoted as saying to journalist Gordon Kirby in an interview for cart.com, "The car is so difficult to drive and so unpredictable and very unforgiving for mistakes. They move a lot and they really are a driver's car.

"You can see it in every driver who drives in CART. They feel like they are proud of driving there, because they know it's not easy to drive those cars. It makes you feel like something special when you drive those cars, because you know not any w****r can drive them. It's a beast to drive."

Cristiano recently flew at a recent test for Toyota, boosting the team's overall moral which has been boyant right from the launch of the 2003 car on the 8th of January.

"It is always rewarding to see that this feeling is confirmed by some competitive lap times as well, and I am very happy that I feel better and better every day in the car and within the team," he said. TotallyToyota F1 is very much looking forward to seeing what this guy can do on the competitive F1 stage.