Caio Collet Bio
Caio Jotta Collet (born 3 April 2002) is a Brazilian racing driver set to compete in the IndyCar Series for A. J. Foyt Racing. He currently drives the No. 76 car in the Indy NXT championship with HMD Motorsports, where he has emerged as one of the leading young talents in American open-wheel racing.
Collet rose through the European single-seater ladder, winning the French F4 Championship in his first season and finishing as runner-up in the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2020. He later raced in FIA Formula 3 from 2021 to 2023, claiming three victories, before transitioning to Indy NXT in 2024, where he finished third as a rookie and second the following year.
Early Life and Background
Caio Jotta Collet was born on 3 April 2002 in São Paulo, Brazil. He grew up in the same country that produced three-time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna, whom Collet has publicly named as his racing hero. He also has Italian and French ancestry, which helped him feel at home once he moved to Europe to pursue his motorsport ambitions.
Collet began racing karts at the age of seven and quickly collected several titles in his native Brazil. His early success drew the attention of international teams, and by 2016 he had signed with the Birel ART team in Europe. His karting results also caught the eye of Nicolas Todt’s All Road Management program, which helped guide his transition from karting to single-seater racing.
Path to NASCAR
Collet is not currently associated with NASCAR. After climbing the European single-seater ladder, he shifted his focus to the American open-wheel ladder, making his IndyCar Series debut in 2026 with A. J. Foyt Racing. Because no verified NASCAR connection exists in the available sources, this section is not included.
Caio Collet Career
Early Career (2018)
Collet made his single-seater debut in early 2018 with Silberpfeil Energy Dubai in the Formula 4 UAE Championship. Although he only entered the final two rounds, he impressed by finishing on the podium in six of his seven starts, including a victory at the Yas Marina Circuit, which gave him sixth in the standings.
Later that year, he joined the French F4 Championship, the only Brazilian on the grid. Driving car No. 23, he won the Pau Grand Prix on his way to seven victories, eleven podiums, and three pole positions. His 303.5-point tally made him champion by 66.5 points over Ugo de Wilde, announcing himself as a top young prospect.
Formula Renault Eurocup Breakthrough (2019–2020)
Collet’s French F4 title earned him a 2019 seat with R-ace GP in the Formula Renault Eurocup, racing alongside future Formula One driver Oscar Piastri. He scored five podiums, including a second place at Spa-Francorchamps, and finished fifth overall with 207 points.
He stayed with R-ace GP for 2020 and started the year with three consecutive podiums, including his first Eurocup victory at Imola. He battled Renault stablemate Victor Martins throughout the season, taking multiple wins at Magny-Cours, Zandvoort, and Hockenheim. Although Martins clinched the title in the penultimate round, Collet finished the year as runner-up, 44 points behind.
FIA Formula 3 Breakthrough (2021–2023)
Collet entered FIA Formula 3 in 2021 with MP Motorsport, partnering Victor Martins. His rookie year included a first feature-race podium in France and consistent top-ten results, leaving him ninth in the standings with 93 points, second among rookies.
In 2022, Collet secured his maiden F3 victory in a wet Hungary sprint race, leading home Franco Colapinto by eight seconds. He followed that with a second win at Zandvoort and ended the year eighth in the standings with two victories and five podiums. For 2023, he switched to Van Amersfoort Racing, where he won the Spa-Francorchamps sprint race and added several podiums, finishing ninth in points with a win and three other podiums across his three-year F3 stint.
HMD Motorsports Era (2024–Present)
Collet joined HMD Motorsports for the 2024 Indy NXT season. He scored his first series podium at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and went on to record six podiums and one win at Mid-Ohio, where he also claimed his maiden pole. He closed the year with a third-place result in Nashville to finish third in the championship as the highest-placed rookie.
In 2025, Collet re-signed with HMD Motorsports. After early results including second places at Indianapolis and Detroit, he took his first win of the season at Road America, passing Dennis Hauger with five laps to go. He then swept both Laguna Seca races from pole to vault into title contention, eventually finishing the year as runner-up to Hauger with three wins, three poles, and nine podiums.
Driving Style and Strengths
Collet is noted for his calm approach on changing weather days, which was on display in his Hungary sprint victory and his opportunistic drive at Mid-Ohio. He also shows strong race-craft in wheel-to-wheel combat, regularly fighting for podiums in tightly contested Indy NXT fields, and has built a productive rapport with HMD Motorsports across consecutive seasons.
Notable Races and Milestones
His maiden F3 victory in a wet Hungary sprint in 2022 stands out as a defining performance. In American racing, his 2024 Mid-Ohio win marked his first Indy NXT triumph, while his 2025 Road America pass on Dennis Hauger and his Laguna Seca double-header sweep highlight his growing list of signature results.
Caio Collet Career Wins
Caio Collet has built a varied racing résumé with verified wins in multiple championships. He captured the 2018 French F4 Championship, added victories in the Formula Renault Eurocup, FIA Formula 3, Toyota Racing Series, Formula 4 UAE, and has now found success in Indy NXT with HMD Motorsports.
Indy NXT Highlights
Collet has accumulated multiple Indy NXT wins, beginning with a breakthrough drive at Mid-Ohio in 2024. He added a Road America victory in 2025, passing Dennis Hauger late in the race, and then swept both Laguna Seca races from pole later that same year. Across the 2024 and 2025 seasons, he also earned nine podiums, three poles, and finished third and then second in the championship standings.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond Indy NXT, Collet won seven French F4 races in 2018 en route to the title, scored one Formula 4 UAE victory at Yas Marina, claimed one win in the 2020 Toyota Racing Series at Teretonga Park, and added one Formula Renault Eurocup win at Imola in 2020. He also recorded three FIA Formula 3 wins across 2022 and 2023, including a commanding wet-weather victory in Hungary.
Caio Collet Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Collet was raised in São Paulo, Brazil, in a household that supported his early karting ambitions. He has Italian and French ancestry alongside his Brazilian roots, which helped him adapt to life in Europe during his junior career. He was managed through Nicolas Todt’s All Road Management scheme as he advanced through the single-seater ranks.
Personal Life
Collet has credited three-time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna as his lifelong racing hero and inspiration. He spent the majority of his teenage years racing in Europe before relocating to the United States to compete in the Indy NXT and IndyCar Series. Public details about a spouse, children, or other family members are not available.
2025 Season Performance
Caio Collet opened the 2025 Indy NXT season with a third-place finish at Saint Petersburg before a throttle issue forced him to retire at Barber Motorsports Park. He responded with second-place finishes at Indianapolis and Detroit, then added a third at Gateway Motorsports Park to steady his campaign.
His season turned at Road America, where he passed Dennis Hauger with five laps remaining to claim his first win of the year. He followed that with a runner-up result at Mid-Ohio, then dominated the Laguna Seca double-header by taking pole-to-flag victories in both races, vaulting himself into championship contention and securing a third straight pole at Portland, where he finished second behind Hauger.
Although Collet was unable to reach the podium in the final two rounds, he still ended the year as Indy NXT runner-up to Dennis Hauger, finishing 72 points adrift. His three wins, three poles, and nine podiums represented his strongest complete season in American open-wheel racing, setting up his planned 2026 step up to the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Racing.
