AJ Foyt Racing driver Matheus “Matt” Leist has undergone a lot of changes over the past 14 months.
The Brazilian won the 2016 British F3 championship, then moved to the United States to run for Carlin in the 2017 season for Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires. Winning three races, including the Freedom 100 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, netted Leist fourth place in the championship standings.
For 2018, Leist has moved up to the Verizon IndyCar Series, driving the No. 4 ABC Supply Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt’s legendary team. The 19-year-old has shown flashes of brilliance paired with the unpredictability of youth thus far in testing, practice and the first race of the season, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 11.
After setting the quickest time during the opening practice session of the St. Pete weekend, Leist made it to the final round of knockout qualifying and earned the third starting position for his first race. He was still running in fourth place when a mechanical issue forced a lengthy pit stop in Lap 15.
Once he returned to the track, Leist was assessed a drive-through penalty by INDYCAR for leaving the pits with equipment still attached to the car. Shortly after that, he hit the wall exiting Turn 3 and finished last in the 24-car field.
“We had a shifting problem when I was running fourth, so I couldn't change gears up or down,” Leist explained. “I stayed in pit lane for like 10 laps trying to solve the problem, then we had another problem and came back to the pits.
“The third time I went back on the track, I had a mega understeer going into Turn 3 and I missed the corner and hit the wall. Happy for the performance; we had a fast car. I think it was my fault when I hit the wall that time. The car was good.”
The learning process continues for the series newcomer, who will spend the rest of 2018 understanding nuances to racing that he hasn’t dealt with in the past: fuel saving, pit stops and tire management among them.
“It’s pretty much a step forward in everything,” said Leist. “The car is faster, the cars are better, the brakes are better and we have more stuff to do.”
When Leist moved to Indy Lights, he made a massive leap in the power underneath him, going from 230 horsepower in British F3 to 450 horsepower in Indy Lights. Not to mention additional downforce and longer races in Indy Lights, plus getting used to running on ovals and street courses. The challenge becomes even greater this season, with up to 700 horsepower at his disposal in the Indy car, more downforce, better braking, push-to-pass and pit stops all in the equation.
Fortunately, Leist has several fountains of experience to draw upon on his team, including team owner and four-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt as well Tony Kanaan, now in his 21st year of Indy car competition.
“It’s fantastic to have Tony, A.J., Larry (Foyt, team president) and the whole crew with me,” Leist said. “It’s been great, they’re supporting me a lot and Tony’s a different guy, he’s a special guy as everybody knows. He’s been helping me a lot and I’m pretty happy with it. Hopefully we’ll keep up like this and I’m going to learn a lot from him.”
Leist admits this week’s race, the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Phoenix Grand Prix, will be more difficult because it’s his first oval event in an Indy car and his first night race since he was in karting. He was pleased with his performance in February’s open test at ISM Raceway, even though he brushed the wall on the 1.022-mile oval several times.
“I’m pretty excited,” Leist said. “I think the preseason test in Phoenix was good, the car was looking fast. With all of the hard work we’ve been doing in the offseason, I think we’re in good shape for the race.”
Practice at ISM Raceway begins at 5 p.m. ET Friday (live stream at RaceControl.IndyCar.com), with single-car qualifying airing live at 8 p.m. on NBCSN. Coverage of the 250-lap race begins at 9 p.m. ET Saturday on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.