JULY 17, 2002

Da Matta and Toyota

THERE continue to be rumors that Toyota Motorsport is considering running CART driver Cristiano da Matta in F1 next year. The Brazilian is currently dominating the CART scene in the United States and has made no secret of his desire to break into F1. Toyota is looking around for a slightly stronger driver line-up and while Mika Salo is under contract for next year, Allan McNish's future in the team is in doubt although the Scotsman hopes to save the day with some good showings in the next few races.

There have been rumors that McNish's drive could go to Nick Heidfeld or to Alexander Wurz but the idea of da Matta is also one which should not be rejected out of hand.