Guest Column
Fine margins, consistency and putting it all together: Caio Collet on his rookie season
Caio Collet was one of just three rookies to make it into the top 10 of the Drivers’ Championship, finishing the season in ninth with 93 points at MP Motorsport. Taking two podiums and finishing the season with seven points finishes from the final eight races, Collet enjoyed a consistent maiden campaign.
The Brazilian penned a guest column following the conclusion of the campaign and gave us his hot takes from the year.
THE BEST BITS – CONSISTENCY AND ONE-LAP PACE
We were always able to be quick. Straight away our Qualifying performance was quite good. Right from the start, we were often in the top five. We were always up there in terms of one-lap pace.
Taking a podium in the first race was also pretty good, and I ended the season consistently. From the second race in Spa to the first race in Sochi, I was always in the top five.
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT – TAKING THE FINAL STEP
I was often P4, P5 without actually getting on to the podium and that was a bit frustrating for me. In Qualifying, I was always a few hundredths from making the top three, but quite far in front of P10, 11 and 12, so I was always starting the races from the middle of the top 10.
In this sense, I was quite consistent but didn't have as many podiums as I would have liked, or a race win, so that was a bit frustrating because we always felt so close.
WHAT SURPRISED ME – THE FORMAT
The format surprised me a lot as it was different from anything I had done before. It was the same for everyone, but to have so many reverse grids was strange to get used to it. It was a little surprising for me, but it was really good for the public as it was entertaining for them.
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WHAT I LEARNED – ALWAYS PUSHING
One of the biggest things that I learned during the year is to always keep pushing and keep working. I have always worked that way, but this year a little bit more. Every weekend, I had something not going right and I had to reset and come back as prepared as I could for the next one.
I do think that these ups and downs were really good for me because I needed to manage the situations and make sure that I was ready for the next round without letting it affect me. I think that this is a lesson that was really important to learn, and it is something that I will keep with me for the rest of my career.
WHERE I CAN IMPROVE – QUALIFYING
There are a few areas where I need to improve, but the main one is to put everything together.
If you take Qualifying, for example, I think in the first part of Qualifying, I was always in the top three and fighting for pole. However, in the final part, for some reason, I couldn't put it all together and deliver the result that I had the potential to.
This is one of the main areas that I need to focus on and improve, but overall, I would say that it was quite a good year.
WHAT’S NEXT – MENTAL AND PHYSICAL WORK
Firstly, I will rest a little bit, and then I will get back to work and keep pushing, especially off track. Now that we have a long break it is time to work on the mental and physical side of my training.
At the moment, I don't know what I will do next year, or where I will be racing, but I need to be ready for whatever it is, so this is really important for me to prepare as much as I can for next season.