When 2002 CART champion Cristiano da Matta entered his rookie Formula One season with Panasonic Toyota Racing this year he didn't have too many expectations.

He knew that he wasn't going to repeat his 2002 performance of seven wins and a title in CART, and he knew his first F1 season was going to be tough.

But, still, his expectations mounted as his first F1 season progressed. His rookie year went well, relatively speaking. In fact, it went so well that the Brazilian admits to be disappointed that he didn't finish in the top 10 in the Drivers Championship.

"When I started this year I didn't have any expectations," da Matta said. "I thought it was too early to set some targets for the season. I think somewhere in the middle of the season I felt that I was going to be able to finish in the top 10 in the championship. It didn't happen because driver and team together made some crucial mistakes in some crucial times and missed some precious points."

The final tally shows that da Matta had four finishes in the points and eight other top-11 finishes. He ended up 13th in the standings.

He had some good races along the way. His best moment, he says, came at the British Grand Prix where he led for 17 laps. It marked the first time he and Toyota had lead a grand prix. True, he got in front due to pit stop strategy and the pace car coming out, but he stayed out front and didn't do anything silly and kept the lead until he pitted.

"For enjoyment it was definitely Silverstone," da Matta said of his best moment of the season. "I was not my best result, (he finished seventh) but I really enjoyed leading the race. It is not like I led just a few laps or that there was not anybody trying to pass me. With what I had in my hands I did what I could and led the race, and that was not something I did since last season. So that was a good feeling."

The most disappointing race was the Italian Grand Prix. Toyota expected to do well at Monza but da Matta qualified poorly and only lasted three laps before a flat tire put him out of the race.

	Da Matta finished 13th in points in 2003.

What was the worst moment of the season?

"The low point is that I'm not able to finish in the top 10," da Matta said. "I am very disappointed about that."

Overall, the season was one of peaks and valleys.

"There were lots of ups and downs for the team and myself," he said. "We have to concentrate on being more consistent next season. But a lot of things for me were new. I learned a lot. I have already been through the steepest part of the learning curve.

"I have to keep learning, keep focused, keep pushing so that I can learn everything as quick as I can and keep improving and get the consistency that we were looking for this year."

One of the hardest things to adapt to were F1's grooved dry weather tires which have completely different handling characteristics to the slick tires that have been on virtually every car da Matta has ever raced. Fortunately, he did a massive amount of testing.

"With all the testing the team gave me," da Matta said, "I was able to learn a lot right from the beginning, so I had a good feeling for what I could do here quite early. Of course, it was mostly due to the amount of testing I did in the winter. I was able to get used to everything quickly. That helped me a lot."

"I am still improving and still learning," da Matta added. "You never stop. In the first race in Australia in the first qualifying I was already on the pace. Of course I've improved from then, but I was already at a reasonable level."

It was tough for da Matta, however, because with the new weekend format this year he only had one hour of track time before the first qualifying session on Friday afternoon.

Last winter da Matta spent his testing days concentrating on dialing himself into F1. Now, a year later, he will be able to concentrate on developing the Toyota for the 2004 season.

	“	I have to keep learning, keep focused, keep pushing so that I can learn everything as quick as I can and keep improving and get the consistency that we were looking for this year, ”
		— Cristiano da Matta

"It is completely different," da Matta told ESPN.com about how he will approach this winter's testing. "Last year I went into the winter just thinking about myself and how to learn to drive the car as quick as I could, and learning everything as quick as I could. Now my main concern would be passing information on to the team. I will be able to be a lot more specific (about the car) and not just concentrate on my driving so much."

Another difference between this winter and last winter is that da Matta has some time for R&R. Last year he started testing the F1 Toyota soon after the CART season ended. This year, with the F1 testing ban in place for six weeks after the final Grand Prix, da Matta got to go home to Brazil for a month.

"There have been two years where I have not had a break because last year I came straight from CART to testing in F1," da Matta said. "So I didn't have the one month off. It was quite an enjoyable season for me: I had fun. I don't feel tired after the season and feel like I need a break. But I am not complaining about having a month off!"

The intention next year, Toyota's third season in F1 and da Matta's second, is to close the gap.

"Our aim is to close the gap that separates us from the top four teams: try to be closer to them more often," da Matta said. "We seem to be quite close to them at some tracks but not everywhere. So if we can make it consistent that we are just a bit behind them, and maybe if we can mix it up with them in some places, get in the top eight, then that would be a great achievement for us."

He didn't get into the top 10 final standings, but all in all da Matta had a good, solid season. He didn't burst onto the F1 scene like fellow CART champs Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve. But nor did he struggle in F1 like Alex Zanardi (before and after his CART years) and Michael Andretti.

Dan Knutson covers Formula One for National Speed Sport News and ESPN.com.