Sixteen-year-old Caio, from São Paulo, Brazil, won the French Formula 4 Championship last season, securing seven wins from 21 races, on the back of winning the Winfield Volante award at the start of 2018.

Caio will be placed in Formula Renault Eurocup for 2019 with current champions R-ace GP and will race on nine Grand Prix circuits. Among those includes Monaco in May and Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina, a circuit Caio knows well having won his first race in single-seaters there in February 2018.

Caio is one of Brazil’s most talented racing prospects. His career started as a seven-year-old, winning numerous karting championships in Brazil between 2010 and 2015.

He moved to Europe to further his ambitions and in 2015 was crowned CIK-FIA Rookie of the Year. He debuted in single-seaters in January 2018 finishing third in his first race in Dubai. His first win followed a week later at Yas Marina before he began his French Formula 4 campaign. Caio won the championship by 66.5 points with seven wins and a further six podium finishes.

Renault Sport Academy Director, Mia Sharizman: “We’re very happy to confirm Caio as a Renault Sport Academy Driver. Brazil has a strong history of producing talented racing drivers and Caio has what it takes to continue that trend. He is among a number of exciting talents we have in the Academy. His record in karting is very good and he made an impressive transition into single-seater racing, which he exemplified by his French F4 Championship win. We look forward to working with him and in close collaboration with his team at All Road Management over the coming years to progress him through the established motorsport ladder within the framework of the Academy.”

Caio Collet: “I’m very happy to join the Renault Sport Academy. I knew as part of the prize for winning French Formula 4 there would be the opportunity to join the programme so that was a huge motivation last season. The hunger will only grow from here because I want to show Renault that I’m deserving of a place in the Academy and that will mean having a successful season on track in the Formula Renault Eurocup. I will be working really hard to meet my targets and I can’t wait to work with Renault and use all their support.”