Caio Collet Lands AJ Foyt IndyCar Seat: Brazil’s Rising Star Ready for 2026 Challenge

AJ Foyt Racing has announced that Indy NXT by Firestone race winner Caio Collet will join the team, partnering Santino Ferrucci for the 2026 NTT Indycar series season. The move is confirmed after a long period of speculation that Collet would sign with the team, including multiple testing appearances.

The Brazilian has spent the last two seasons in the Indy NXT championship finishing third and second respectively, whilst taking four wins.

A successful European junior career

From São Paulo, Brazil, Collet enjoyed a somewhat successful karting career before moving up to single seaters. 2018 would be his first full season in the lower formula, opting for a French F4 campaign. The youngster would go on to claim a very impressive championship win in his first season of formula racing, taking seven wins and beating the likes of Theo Pourchaire and Arthur Leclerc.

Collet would go on to spend the 2019 and 2020 seasons in the Formula Renault Eurocup championship. A successful fifth place finish in 2019, however, he would have to wait until 2020 to take his first of five wins on his way to second in the 2020 season. Losing out on the championship to Frenchman Victor Martins, who recently tested an Indy NXT car at IMS. He did however finish ahead of current Formula One driver Franco Colapinto. Collet also raced in the Toyota Racing Series in 2020, finishing seventh with one win.

What would follow were three uninspiring years in FIA Formula 3. Across the three campaigns, the first two with MP Motorsport and the last with Van Amersfoort Racing, the Brazilian finished ninth, eighth and ninth again. He would pick up three wins along the way. However, for the first two seasons in the third tire of formula racing, Collet was part of the Alpine F1 academy illustrating that despite a disappointing tenure in F3 he is a driver of substantial talent.

Indy NXT and a Formula E cameo

After testing with HMD Motorsports at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the end of 2023, Collet opted for a switch to America Open wheel racing and signed with the team for his debut Indy NXT by Firestone campaign in 2024.

It would be a year of learning and adapting for Collet as he would be driving a whole new set of tracks, but also the added addition of racing on ovals would present a big hurdle for Caio to overcome. He would go onto finish third in his debut season, including one win and the Rookie of the Year award. Whilst third was a reputable finish for the Brazilian, he remained some way behind the eventual champion and runner up, Louis Foster and Jacob Abel, especially for someone who had come from the Formula One support package.

Collet did get off to a slow start, but once he found his feet he began to become a regular front runner taking his first win mid way through the season at Mid Ohio. Adapting to ovals was also tricky for Collet, however he finished the year with his first oval podium at Nashville Superspeedway. A combination of these factors provided hope that 2025 could be a step forward as he re-signed with HMD for a second season in Indy NXT.

Collet would get off to a promising start with a podium in the first race of the season at St Pete. He would continue this streak as he went on to claim three victories this past season and finished second in the final standings. He finished behind fellow former European racer and 2026 Indycar graduate Dennis Hauger. Collet was unable to match Hauger’s domination across the season, but he kept him honest throughout and was the closest to him come seasons end. Two strong campaigns in the main Indycar support series has earned Collet a move up to the premier American open wheel series for 2026.

In 2024 Collet also made two appearances in the Formula E championship, coincidently at Portland where he raced in Indy NXT the past two seasons and of course will race next year in Indycar. The Brazilian was Nissan Formula E team’s reserve driver that season and was asked to step in for the Portland doubleheader to replace regular driver Oliver Rowland who was unwell. Collet had previously taken part in two Formula E rookie practices so did have some previous experience before stepping into the race seat temporarily.

He would go on to finish a respectable eighth and sixteenth in his two Formula E starts, however Collet decided not to continue with the team in 2025 to focus on his Indy NXT campaign with a goal of racing in Indycar.

2026: A new chapter for Collet

After his F1 aspirations seemed unfeasible, Collet set his sights on a full time drive in Indycar and in 2026 that dream will become a reality.

The Brazilian has rightfully earned his place in Indycar after successfully transitioning from European single seaters to American open wheel racing, something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. He has demonstrated his driving ability across all three Indycar disciplines, namely road and street courses and also oval racing.

Collet will drive the No.4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing in 2026. Bringing the backing of a sponsor has helped Collet secure a seat on the Indycar grid for the upcoming season, with Combitrans Amazonia being a Brazilian Logistics company.

‘I’m very happy to join AJ Foyt Racing in the NTT Indycar series and thankful to Larry [Foyt, team president] for trusting my skills and giving me this fantastic opportunity’, Collet said when he was announced for the 2026 season.

‘It is a dream come true after years of hard work in developing series since my early go-karting experiences. I’m thankful to all teams and sponsors that helped me through my career, especially Marcelo Camargo from Combitrans Amazonia, that joined our Indy NXT campaign this season and will be with us next year. IndyCar is huge in Brazil, and I’m looking forward to bringing its flag back to a full time seat in the 2026 season’.

Team President Larry Foyt had this to say after Collet’s announcement: ‘Caio is a welcome addition to AJ Foyt Racing. He has shown great potential in Indy NXT by Firestone and in the junior formulas in Europe. I was impressed with how he adapted to our car at the recent Mid Ohio test, and I’m very excited to see what he can do in Indycar. There’s no doubt that he will be a strong contender in the battle for Rookie of the Year’.

Both Collet and the team are clearly motivated to have a strong debut season together. With the recent rise in performance from AJ Foyt and the talent Collet can bring to the race track, it will make him one to watch in 2026. With Penske and Foyt’s technical alliance it may make Collet a dark horse in the upcoming season and he will likely look to rise above the expectations set for him by the team.

He has a high bar set for him as David Malakus finished eleventh last year in the No.4 AJ Foyt car, but if Collet can adapt well on circuits he now has a better understanding of and use any remaining pre season testing to build a rapport with his engineers and the team around him it could set him up for a very successful debut season in the NTT IndyCar Series.

written by Michael Williams / Media Credit: Penske Entertainment