BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Da Matta tipped for F1 success



By Ed King BBC Sport Online

Cart championship leader Cristiano da Matta has a bright future in Formula One should he decide to make the move for next season, according to his title rival Dario Franchitti.

Reports suggest Da Matta is poised to join the Toyota F1 team after impressing in a trial in May.

Former Cart champions Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve have made a success of the switch, but others like Alex Zanardi and Michael Andretti have failed.

Da Matta "poised to join Toyota"

But Franchitti said he was confident Da Matta had the skills to make the grade - he is tipped to take the place of Allan McNish in the Toyota team.

"I think he would do very well, and would be very strong," he told BBC Sport Online.

The whole test at Jaguar was a waste of my time and theirs

Dario Franchitti

"It depends how good the car is but I think he'd do a good job as he's a very quick driver.

"You saw how Montoya went over there [in America] and I'd say he has done a pretty good job [in F1]."

Da Matta leads Franchitti by 38 points in the US-based series' championship table, having equalled in July Alex Zanardi's 1998 record of four consecutive wins.

Franchitti himself has toyed with the idea of switching to F1, but has not been linked with a move since an an abortive test with Jaguar two years ago.

The Scot spent two days testing with Jaguar at Silverstone in the summer of 2000, amid speculation that was going to sign for the team.

Dario Franchitti
Franchitti had an unhappy time while testing with Jaguar
But the test did not go well.

"I wouldn't say my trial at Jaguar was unlucky," he said.

"The whole thing was a waste of my time and a waste of theirs - the test was horribly organised and as I said it was a complete waste of time."

But the 30-year-old refused to rule out another crack at Formula One, provided he was given a fair chance to prove himself.

"If the right thing came along I'd definitely take a look at it but it will have to be significantly different to what I did last time."

Franchitti confident of title bid


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