CAIO COLLET ENJOYS DREAM RENAULT F1 RUN ON HOMETOWN STREETS

MEDIA RELEASE/Renault Formula 1 Team – Photo: supplied

Renault F1 Team took part in the Formula 1 Fan Festival in São Paulo, Brazil, on Saturday 9 November with upcoming Brazilian racing star and Renault Sport Academy Driver Caio Collet putting on a show at the wheel of the Renault-powered E20 Formula 1 car.

Seventeen-year-old Caio, who finished rookie champion in this year’s Formula Renault Eurocup, lives on the doorstep of São Paulo’s Ibirapuera Park, which hosted Saturday’s event, where he drove the 2012-spec Formula 1 car in front of thousands of fans.

The Festival paid tribute to three-time Formula 1 World Champion Ayrton Senna and builds up to this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, the penultimate round of the 2019 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

The team has now participated in three spectacular Formula 1 Fan Festivals over the course of 2019 after Guanyu Zhou’s outing in Shanghai in April and Daniel Ricciardo’s recent demonstration on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Caio Collet: “It was a dream come true to drive a Formula 1 car on the streets of my hometown. It was a special feeling to pay tribute to Ayrton Senna in São Paulo and it was great to see so many fans there to enjoy the day. I usually run and walk around Ibirapuera Park as my home is quite close, so to drive a Formula 1 car there felt really cool. I hope to have another taste of Formula 1 machinery in the future and I’ll keep working hard to ensure that happens. I’m now looking forward to this weekend’s race. I’ll be with the team to continue learning more about what it takes to be a Formula 1 driver as part of my programme with the Renault Sport Academy.”

Ricardo Gondo, CEO, Renault do Brasil: “It was a huge privilege for Renault do Brasil to be involved in this event, which brings Formula 1 closer to the passionate Brazilian fans than ever before. The huge crowd made it very special with a very warm and positive atmosphere at Ibirapuera Park. Of course, we were also very proud for Paulistano, Caio Collet, for his participation in the Formula 1 car. The future of Brazilian motorsport looks bright, especially with Caio and his connection with Renault, and we look forward to continuing our support to him.

“In addition to Caio’s headline F1 run, we also contributed more activities to the event. We were pleased to see the Sandero R.S. as the official course car for the Festival and our local acting hero Bruno Gagliasso driving it as a warm up to the afternoon’s running. It’s a brilliant initiative from F1 to harness that intrinsic passion for motorsport and I hope the first of many F1 demo runs in Brazilian cities!”

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