Like Ayrton Senna, Luciano Burti began his career on the karting circuits of his native Sao Paulo. He won the 1994 South American Kart Championship before moving to England to further his career. Indeed, his raw speed soon brought him to the attention of the Stewart family, who eventually gave him a drive for the Stewart Racing British Formula 3 team.

His progress through Formula Vauxhall and British Formula 3 to Formula1 was rapid, and in January 2000 he took his place in history as the first driver to pilot a Jaguar Formula1 car when he took part in the R1's shakedown at Silverstone.

He has performed well in testing, as a test driver for both Stewart Grand Prix and Jaguar Racing, and this combined with his successful debut at the Austrian GP (when he deputised for Eddie Irvine) ensured he took Johnny Herbert's vacant seat in 2001.

He now has the opportunity to showcase his talent in the premier motor racing category in the world, although the fledgling Jaguar team had a disappointing debut year. Lead driver of the team, Eddie Irvine, is likely to be a tough but fair competitor, and he will be able to learn from the Ulsterman's experience in Formula1 racing. Burti's first Formula 1 race proper will be on March 4th in Australia.