Da Matta follows in the footsteps of Jacques Villeneuve and Zanardi source: speedtv.com The announcement by Cristiano da Matta earlier today that he would, indeed, move to Formula 1 next season with the Toyota team means that CART once again will not have a champion driver defending his crown in the following year--the fourth time in eight seasons that this has occurred. However, in keeping with CART President Chris Pook's recent comments about the potential benefits for Champ Car racing in representing an unofficial feeder series to Grand Prix racing, CART is portraying da Matta's move in a positive light. "Cristiano da Matta has certainly demonstrated what it takes to win a CART championship," said Pook. "Our championship winner truly must be a master of many different types of tracks and Cristiano has done that from the beginning of his CART career. He's a tremendous champion and the fact that a Formula 1 team has signed him demonstrates what a high regard that other racing organizations have for our series and our top drivers. If he can get to Formula 1 using CART as a platform, that's a big feather in our hat." Da Matta follows in the footsteps of Jacques Villeneuve (CART champion in 1995), and Alex Zanardi (1997-'98) in switching to F1 after claiming the CART crown, while 1999 Champ Car titlist Juan Pablo Montoya joined WilliamsF1 in 2001 and 1991 CART champ Michael Andretti took what turned out to be a one-year sabbatical in F1 with McLaren in 1993.
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