Age: 24
D.O.B: 15th October 1983
Born: Roehampton, London
Lives: Harlesden, London
Outstanding Achievements:
2002 Duke of Edinburgh Award – Gold Award Holder
2002 Air League Flying Scholarship
Race Career History:
2006 Formula Renault UK Championship
2005 Formula Renault BARC Championship
2004 Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin
2003 Race debut in BRDC Single-Seater Winter Series
Raised in North West London, Matt is actually born of Anglo-Finnish parentage, his mother originally hailing from Helsinki in Finland.
Matt is proud of his heritage, hence the inclusion of the Finnish national flag on his race helmet alongside the St George’s Cross, and he’s keen to promote this throughout his racing career.
After achieving 10 GCSEs at Hampton Community College, Matt went on to gain four A-Levels at Richmond Upon Thames College and then began studying for a History Degree in September 2003 at the School of Oriental and African Studies.
In February 2004, he chose to call time on his studies in order to pursue his dream of beginning a career as a racing driver, having been advised to chase his goal following a successful on-track debut in the BRDC Single-Seater Winter Series at Silverstone the previous year.
After signing for the Mark Burdett Motorsport team in Formula Renault UK – a championship won in the past by current Formula One ace, and fellow Finn, Kimi Raikkonen – Matt took on the task of stepping into perhaps the most competitive single-seater series on the globe with almost zero experience.
After gaining vital knowledge that season, Matt elected to concentrate his efforts on the Formula Renault BARC Championship in 2005; a series run at a slightly lower level than Formula Renault UK and with much lower running budgets, but with the same high-tech FR 2.0 cars.
Competing with Falcon Motorsport, Matt enjoyed a highly successful season and ended the year Formula Renault BARC Vice-Champion; a great achievement in only his second full season of motorsport.
In 2006 Matt returned to Formula Renault UK with the eponymous Russell Racing team for its maiden season of competition at any level, the team inaugurated in October 2005 following a buyout by his parents of the assets of Team JLR.
