Cristiano Monteiro da Matta is a Brazilian former professional racing driver. He won the CART Championship in 2002, and drove in Formula One with the Toyota team from 2003 to 2004.
Da Matta at the 2006 Grand Prix of Long Beach
Da Matta driving for West Surrey Racing at Silverstone during the 1995 British Formula 3 Championship season.
Da Matta driving for the Toyota team at the 2004 United States Grand Prix.
Cristiano da Matta in 2004.
Panasonic Toyota Racing was a Formula One team owned by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation and based in Cologne, Germany. Toyota announced their plans to join Formula One in 1999, and after extensive testing with their initial car, dubbed the TF101, the team made their debut in 2002. The new team grew from Toyota's long-standing Toyota Motorsport GmbH organisation, which had previously competed in the World Rally Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite a point in their first-ever race, Toyota never won a Grand Prix, their best finish being second, which they achieved five times.
The Toyota GT-One entered the 1998 and 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans with ex-Formula One drivers Martin Brundle, Thierry Boutsen and Ukyo Katayama. The car itself was competitive in terms of speed; however, reliability problems denied the team a win on both occasions.
The first Formula One test car of Toyota, the TF101 (2001)
Allan McNish at the 2002 French Grand Prix. The Scot qualified in seventeenth place, but retired from the race with an engine problem although he did complete enough laps to be classified eleventh.
Olivier Panis driving the Toyota TF104 at the 2004 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis. He finished the race in 5th.
