Christiano da Mattas first F1 points!

[mr.a]

Yeah! Finally the time has come, the CART champion have grabbed a good chunck of points. Finishing 6th are encouraging for me as a Toyota fan . 3-4 more laps and da Matta would have overtaked Ralfie. Than guy blocked during blue flag. Penalty!

I am also disappointed about Panis, he should have finished 7th behind da Matta.

Cristiano da Matta - Car Number 21, Chassis TF103/02
Classification: 6th +1 lap (from race winner)
Starting Position: 13th

"I am happy with this result today for myself and for the whole team. This was one of the first clean races we have had this season and overall it was a generally trouble-free weekend for me. It feels good to score points for the first time - the first of many I hope! We really deserved fifth place, but I just couldn't get past Ralf at the end. My brake pedal was going a bit too long from midway through the race, so I couldn't push hard enough. Barcelona is a track where we knew we would have a good performance and we have been highly competitive all weekend, but I hope we can also find this level at other tracks. I hope these three points are just the beginning."

13th -----> 6th are pretty impressive. This shows how much da Matta has suffered in not knowing the tracks.

This puts him 12th in the championship.

11 J. Villeneuve Lucky Strike BAR Honda 3

12 C. Da Matta Panasonic Toyota Racing 3

13 J. Button Lucky Strike BAR Honda 3

I do hope that he will do good in Austria. And it is also time for Panis to complete a race in the points.

I read the other thread about how bad Toyota are. Well, I don`t give a damn in Toyota history as long as they keep improving like this, and keep whipping Ralfs balls (I don`t think Ove will think about putting Ralf behind the wheel in a while )

What do you guys think? Except that Toyota suck and they will never suceed, and probably withdraw when they lack good results.

[LucaBadoer]

yeah, nice to see Christiano in the points

...so after 5 Grand Prix, only 4 drivers pointless (the 2 Minardi's, Panis & Jungle boy)

[ASCII Man]

You can't possibly blame Panis of underperforming.

He drove a solid race and could have finished well in the points if it wasn't for the car.

[NiceGuyEddie]

Cristiano did very well this weekend. He somewhat matched Panis. I suspected him to be heavier in quali than Olivier, but his first stint was as long as Panis' was, so probably some fuelload alltogether. Nonetheless he did a good job and so did Panis. If they gain reliability, collecting points left and right, Ove can be satisfied.

[Jay]

I definately feel bad for Panis, he would have ended up in the points no doubt...

That said, Da Matta drove a great race, and had some long overdue points. I actually feel he's a better driver than Panis now, and with some more track time on the circuits he's never raced on, he could easily be ahead of his teammate in most sessions. 1 hour of practice is not nearly enough to learn a new circuit before your first qualifying session.

[mr.a]

I agree with you Jay, he can become dangerous if he continues like this. I also feel disappointed for Panis. The second race he ends while inside the points. He has given so much, and have received nothing (except his wage )

But I do expect Panis to show his good performance in Austria. This is a medium downforce track isn`t it? I think the Toyota fit best into the tracks where you have a high average speed. The tracs which takes much acc. and deacc. usually doesn`t fit TF103 to good.

But we will see.

[Jay]

Originally posted by mr.a
He has given so much, and have received nothing (except his wage )

When you put it that way, I don't feel sorry for any of them when you consider what they're doing and what they're making.

[mr.a]

You right. I would been glad to drive for free. Then I would been ****ed of if I DNFed out of the race .

Anyways, a solid race for Minardi I must say. Wilson and Verstappen had some good moments .

[Mania]

Da Matta was brilliant..his fight with Ralf was a treat to watch and he deserved these points for Toyota. Hopefully, this is just the beginning..Da Matta is good enough to be racing for the championship one day and winning grand prixs on a regular basis..

[corkholio]

Originally posted by Mania
Da Matta is good enough to be racing for the championship one day and winning grand prixs on a regular basis..

This is F1 you are talking about, right?

[corkholio]

Let me get this straight: Ralf is a wuss because he wouldn't race anyone, but da Matta is a genius because he was making sure he gets points by not trying to pass a car that was a second slower than his?

[mr.a]

Yup.

[jetsetter]

It was good to see Da Matta show some of the form he showed in CART although i would've liked to see him have a go at Ralf because Ralf was there to be put away. Da Matta's biggest test will be backing it up in Austria as one race doesn't make a season.

[Mania]

Originally posted by corkholio
This is F1 you are talking about, right?

Definately..Da Matta was briliant in CART...There's no reason why he cant win the title in F1 if he gets the machinery to do so..he is very very good.

[Jay]

I have no doubts about that Mania! He's performed exactly as I expected this year, being consistent and rarely putting a wheel wrong (apart from the Australia race). H is speed has been a bit down, but I suspect this is because he is still learning the tracks in an F1 car. Rather than risking putting it into the kitty litter, he is driving a little more conservatively and thus down on time. No doubt his will change as he learns the circuits. All that said, his success will only be as great as Toyota's thus far, and until today's race that has been the largest problem.

[Speed]

Only thing I can say at this very moment is:
"I told you."

PS: And wait until Franchitti get an F1 drive...

[Thorstone]

I think these three points are just the beginning,and Christiano da Matta will be on podium this year

[f1manoz]

Toyota were very quick all weekend and, if Panis' car had not failed, both probably could have scored points.

da Matta was superb all weekend. Fast on Friday, he was steady during the Saturday qualifying session but drove clean all through Sunday to take a well-earned 6th place, harrying Ralf all the way to the flag. I think there were a few instances where he could have stuck his nose inside of Ralf and forced the situation, but I think he thought better of it.

Mature drive.

[avsfan733]

Damn, if it wasn't for the leaders lapping them Da Matta would have forced the issue into an even better finish

[golem]

Anyone who thinks CDM should have tried a move on ralf being that defensive is kinda silly... What happens when Ralf doesn't give in and takes out the Toyota, taking away their first point score?

I can almost here the radio conversation:
Ove: "CDM, there's some men from Japan on their way to meet you in the pits. The Pit Crew are packing your bags."

[ljakse]

[senna12]

Judging by his post race comments, it appears he was a bit wary of his brakes and did not want to take a big risk and lose the points. It was an excellent, controlled drive by CDM, I expect more of the same as the year progresses.

[paulzinho]

Yeah at least DM tried to make a move, OK he didn't go banzai but he was showing Ralf his nose a fair few times!

[MLM]

True. CdM could have easily have tanked in the kitty litter but he kept his cool and hung on for some points.
I'm a little sekptical about CdM being WDC but he won't be the ****er some have made him out to be.

[Tailwind]

Da Matta drove smart and drove clean. I think he is starting to get more comfortable with his car and team. If Toyota puts a good car under him, we should see some good things from him.