Organised last month, the Volant Winfield lived up to its reputation in the training and detection of young, talented drivers. At the end of an unpredictable and closely fought finale, Caio Collet proved to be the best from an extremely competitive group and won entry to the 2018 French F4 Championship. Throughout the season, the 15-year-old will proudly wear the Winfield and Circuit Paul Ricard colours, which will be complemented by his personal sponsor Richard Mille. This Easter weekend in Nogaro, France and during the seven rounds planned by the FFSA Academy in 2018, Caio Collet only has one objective - to win! The Brazilian will face strong competition though, such as South African Stuart White, who will also drive a Winfield Racing School-branded car.
Two exceptionally talented young hopefuls
Selecting three finalists and then having to only pick one winner was a difficult decision for the 2018 Volant Winfield judges to make. Be it in the off-track assessments, or during those final moments at the wheel of the FIA F4 Mygales at the Le Castellet circuit, Collet and White proved very close in terms of performance. It was Collet, the younger of the pair, who would just inch ahead after withstanding great pressure from his peers to win the coveted prize and earn a full season in the French F4 Championship with the FFSA Academy.
A delighted Caio Collet welcomed this success: “I would like to thank Winfield for selecting me as the winner of the Volant Winfield! This allows me to head into the French F4 Championship with the FFSA Academy in the best possible environment. After spending all these years in karting, I cannot wait to discover the atmosphere of single-seater racing and will have the pleasure to meet up with some of my opponents from the Volant. I want to honour the confidence Winfield has placed in me by obtaining the best possible result this season!”
Collet and White come face-to-face again
During the prize giving ceremony, Anne-Charlotte Remy – Winfield Racing School General Manager – announced: “We are very proud to be giving our support to Caio, who was a brilliant winner of the Volant Winfield. Detecting and promoting talent is part of Winfield’s DNA and although he didn’t win, Stuart showed he was a fighter, making a strong impression on the judges. So we are therefore going to do everything we can to help him enter this year’s French F4 Championship.”
This has now been confirmed, as Winfield’s donation aided White’s participation for the beginning of the series, news that he was overjoyed with: “From the moment I arrived at Paul Ricard to compete in the Volant Winfield, my goal was very clear - to be at the start of the 2018 French F4 Championship. Thanks to Winfield, I now have this confirmed and I would like to extend my gratitude to them for their trust and total support.”
In Nogaro and for the rest of the season, it will be a career-defining moment for both drivers and they will be hugely determined to succeed, especially with the high stakes.
“We look forward to seeing Caio and Stuart competing alongside each other again, but this time over a race weekend,” added Anne-Charlotte Remy. “We will also keep an eye out for Théo Pourchaire, another young driver who came from karting and won the Winfield Trophy, which is given to the most deserving junior driver from the event.”
