Matheus Leist

Matheus Leist
Leist at the 2018 ABC Supply 500
Nationality	Brazil
Born	Matheus Tobias Leist (1998-09-08) 8 September 1998 (age 26) Novo Hamburgo, Brazil
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship career
Debut season	2020
Current team	JDC-Miller MotorSports
Racing licence	FIA Gold
Starts	5
Wins	0
Poles	0
Best finish	11th in 2020
Previous series
2018–2019 2017 2016 2015-16 2015 2014	IndyCar Series Indy Lights BRDC British Formula 3 Championship MRF Challenge MSA Formula Brazilian Formula Three Championship
Championship titles
2016	BRDC British Formula 3 Championship

Matheus Leist, winner of the 2017 Freedom 100

Matheus Tobias Leist (born September 8, 1998) ^[1] is a Brazilian racing driver who last raced for JDC-Miller MotorSports in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He has previously competed in the IndyCar Series, the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, and Indy Lights.

Career

Karting

Leist began karting in 2009 at the age of eleven. In 2013, he finished as runner-up in the Petrobras Karting Championship.

Lower formulas

In 2014, Leist graduated to single-seaters, racing in the B class of the Brazilian F3 Championship, finishing runner-up to Vitor Baptista.

The following year, Leist switched to MSA Formula in Britain with Double R Racing. He scored two victories and finished fifth in the standings.

British F3

In 2016, Leist reunited with Double R Racing and graduated to BRDC British F3. Scoring four wins, two poles and six fastest laps, Leist took the title at the final round after a close fight with Ricky Collard throughout the season. ^[2]

GP3 Series

In November 2016, it was announced Leist would partake in the GP3 post-season test at Yas Marina with ART Grand Prix, Arden International and Trident Racing. ^[3]

Indy Lights

In February 2017, Leist signed with Carlin for the Indy Lights Championship. ^[4] During his first season, Leist picked up his first podium at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis before taking pole and winning the Freedom 100 less than two weeks later, having led from start to finish. ^[5]

IndyCar Series

In November 2017, A.J. Foyt Enterprises announced that the team hired Leist to drive the No. 4 Chevrolet in 2018. ^[6] Leist partners veteran Brazilian driver Tony Kanaan and made his IndyCar debut at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 11, 2018. Leist completed two full seasons of IndyCar with Foyt, with a best finish of fourth at the 2019 IndyCar Grand Prix. He was replaced at Foyt with Charlie Kimball for 2020. ^[7]

IMSA

Leist joined JDC–Miller MotorSports for the Endurance Cup rounds of the 2020 IMSA SportsCar Championship plus the Laguna Seca round. ^[8] Following a best finish of fourth in the season-ending 12 Hours of Sebring, JDC-Miller downsized to one car for the 2021 season leaving Leist without a drive. ^[9]

Personal life

Leist's younger brother Arthur is also a racing driver, currently competing in Stock Car Brasil. ^{[10] [11]}

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2014	Fórmula 3 Brasil - Class B	Hitech Racing	16	2	0	0	9	115	2nd
2015	MSA Formula Championship	Double R Racing	30	2	1	1	7	273	5th
	FIA Formula 3 European Championship		3	0	0	0	0	0	41st
2015-16	MRF Challenge Formula 2000	MRF Racing	2	0	0	0	0	20	14th
2016	BRDC British Formula 3 Championship	Double R Racing	24	4	2	6	11	493	1st
2017	Indy Lights	Carlin	16	3	2	1	4	279	4th
2018	IndyCar Series	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	17	0	0	0	0	253	18th
2019	IndyCar Series	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	17	0	0	0	0	261	19th
2020	IMSA Sports Car Championship - DPi	JDC-Miller MotorSports	5	0	0	0	0	123	11th
2024	GT4 America Series - Pro-Am	RENNtech Motorsport	13	2	2	1	4	130	4th
2025	GT4 America Series - Pro-Am	NolaSport	5	0	1	0	0	39	7th
	Porsche Carrera Cup North America	NOLASPORT	8	0	0	0	0	54	8th

Complete Fórmula 3 Brasil results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points
2014	Hitech Racing	Class B	TAR 1 7	TAR 2 Ret	SCS 1 5	SCS 2 Ret	BRA 1 Ret	BRA 2 Ret											2nd	115
	Cesário F3								INT 1 7	INT 2 7	CUR1 1 3	CUR1 2 3	VEL 1 3	VEL 2 Ret	CUR2 1 9	CUR2 2 5	GOI 1 4	GOI 2 Ret

Complete MSA Formula Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	DC	Points
2015	Double R Racing	BHI 1 3	BHI 2 8	BHI 3 3	DON 1 7	DON 2 1	DON 3 Ret	THR 1 2	THR 2 5	THR 3 4	OUL 1 5	OUL 2 2	OUL 3 DSQ	CRO 1 5	CRO 2 5	CRO 3 6	SNE 1 7	SNE 2 Ret	SNE 3 DNS	KNO 1 9	KNO 2 6	KNO 3 11	ROC 1 5	ROC 2 4	ROC 3 6	SIL 1 4	SIL 2 3	SIL 3 1	BHGP 1 Ret	BHGP 2 14	BHGP 3 7	5th	273

Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	DC	Points
2015	Double R Racing	SIL 1	SIL 2	SIL 3	HOC 1	HOC 2	HOC 3	PAU 1	PAU 2	PAU 3	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	MNZ 3	SPA 1	SPA 2	SPA 3	NOR 1	NOR 2	NOR 3	ZAN 1	ZAN 2	ZAN 3	RBR 1 27	RBR 2 24	RBR 3 27	ALG 1	ALG 2	ALG 3	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	NÜR 3	HOC 1	HOC 2	HOC 3	41st	0

Complete MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	DC	Points
2015-16	ABU 1	ABU 2	ABU 3	ABU 4	BHR 1 5	BHR 2 5	DUB 1	DUB 2	DUB 3	DUB 4	CHE 1	CHE 2	CHE 3	CHE 4	14th	20

Complete BRDC British Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	DC	Points
2016	Double R Racing	SNE1 1 10	SNE1 2 1	SNE1 3 4	BRH 1 1	BRH 2 Ret	BRH 3 Ret	ROC 1 3	ROC 2 4	ROC 3 2	OUL 1 4	OUL 2 4	OUL 3 5	SIL 1 1	SIL 2 3	SIL 3 C	SPA 1 2	SPA 2 5	SPA 3 2	SNE2 1 2	SNE2 2 6	SNE2 3 2	DON 1 1	DON 2 5	DON 3 5	1st	493

American open-wheel racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points
2017	Carlin	STP 15	STP 11	ALA 4	ALA 7	IMS 5	IMS 3	INDY 1	RDA 1	RDA 4	IOW 1	TOR 13	TOR 5	MOH 11	MOH 10	GMP 10	WGL 4	4th	279

IndyCar Series

(key)

Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points	Ref
2018	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara DW12	4	Chevrolet	STP 24	PHX 19	LBH 14	ALA 12	IMS 21	INDY 13	DET 15	DET 14	TXS 22	RDA 15	IOW 22	TOR 15	MOH 19	POC 11	GTW 16	POR 14	SNM 19	18th	253	[12]
2019					STP 22	COA 17	ALA 20	LBH 15	IMS 4	INDY 15	DET 21	DET 20	TXS 22	RDA 20	TOR 19	IOW 16	MOH 18	POC 14	GTW 17	POR 8	LAG 17	19th	261	[13]

* Season still in progress.

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2018	Dallara	Chevrolet	11	13	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
2019	Dallara	Chevrolet	24	15	A. J. Foyt Enterprises

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Rank	Points
2020	JDC-Miller MotorSports	DPi	Cadillac DPi-V.R	Cadillac 5.5 L V8	DAY 5	DAY	SEB	ELK	ATL 8	MOH	PET 8	LGA 8	SEB 4	11th	123

References

1. "Matheus Leist". IndyCar.com. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
2. Cozens, Jack (September 11, 2016). "British F3 championship won by Matheus Leist at Donington finale". Autosport . Retrieved November 22, 2016.
3. "Matheus Leist participa de testes com a GP3 em Abu Dhabi (Matheus Leist participates in testing with GP3 in Abu Dhabi)". November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
4. "Leist joins Carlin for Indy Lights". February 3, 2017. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
5. Straw, Edd (May 26, 2017). "Indy Lights Freedom 100: Matheus Leist wins Indianapolis showpiece". Autosport . Retrieved June 21, 2017.
6. Racing, By Marshall Pruett / Image courtesy of A.J. Foyt. "Foyt team confirms Leist to partner Kanaan". www.racer.com. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
7. "Kimball Joins AJ Foyt Racing for 2020 Season". Motorsport Tribune. 22 January 2020.
8. "IndyCar runner Matheus Leist makes IMSA switch for 2020 season". Motorsport Week. 14 December 2019.
9. Dagys, John (November 18, 2020). "Duval Set for Full-Season Drive in JDC-Miller Cadillac DPi". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
10. "Two Leists may be better than one in INDYCAR ... someday". IndyCar Series. 28 October 2018.
11. "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing anuncia Arthur Leist na Stock Car 2024" (in Portuguese). Stock Car Pro Series. 2 February 2024.
12. "Matheus Leist – 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
13. "Matheus Leist – 2019 NTT IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.

External links

Matheus Leist career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Will Palmer (British F4 champion)	BRDC British Formula 3 Championship Champion 2016	Succeeded by Enaam Ahmed