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.

Matheus Leist
Leist at the 2018 ABC Supply 500
Nationality Brazil
BornMatheus Tobias Leist
(1998-09-08) 8 September 1998 (age 26)
Novo Hamburgo, Brazil
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship career
Debut season2020
Current teamJDC-Miller MotorSports
Racing licence FIA Gold
Starts5
Wins0
Poles0
Best finish11th in 2020
Previous series
20182019
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
2016BRDC British Formula 3 Championship
Matheus Leist, winner of the 2017 Freedom 100

Career

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Karting

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

Lower formulas

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

Racing record

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Career summary

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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 4 1 0 0 1 49* 4th*

American open-wheel racing

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

Indy Lights

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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
MDO
11
MDO
10
GMP
10
WGL
4
4th 279

IndyCar Series

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(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
MDO
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
MDO
18
POC
14
GTW
17
POR
8
LAG
17
19th 261 [13]

* Season still in progress.

Indianapolis 500

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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

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(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
MDO PET
8
LGA
8
SEB
4
11th 123

References

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  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.
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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