In 1994, he continued his successful ways, winning the Brazilian Formula 3 championship against the likes of Hélio Castroneves and Ricardo Zonta.

1997 saw da Matta move to the United States for the Indy Lights racing series, in which he won Rookie of the Year honors.

He scored 10 championship points that year, four more than seasoned veteran and teammate Olivier Panis, and soon made a name for himself in Formula One when he spent much of the first half of the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix hounding reigning World Champion Michael Schumacher in the monsoon-hit race before ultimately finishing tenth.

He led the 2003 British Grand Prix for seventeen laps after the race was disrupted by a protester who invaded the track and triggered the deployment of the Safety Car.

Having scored only three championship points, da Matta lost his race seat to Ricardo Zonta after the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim.

He remained unconscious with his foot still on the throttle when the safety crew arrived and extricated da Matta from the car.

[3] Da Matta was then airlifted to Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, Wisconsin, where he underwent surgery to remove a subdural hematoma.

[6] This slow recovery was confirmed on 9 August, as it was reported that da Matta was able to move "all of his extremities spontaneously as well as in response to physical stimulation".

[8] On 30 August, da Matta was confirmed to have made steady progress, conversing in English and Portuguese, and walking short distances.

[10] When the Champ Car World Series returned to race in the Grand Prix of Road America on 24 September, da Matta gave the traditional command - "start your engines".

[13] da Matta paired with former Champ Car champion, Jimmy Vasser, to enter the Rolex Series racing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2008.