Take a long flight with: Caio Collet

You’ve just boarded a plane. Ahead of you is a non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Brazil, birthplace of the legendary Ayrton Senna. A flight long enough that you really hope you end up with someone interesting sitting next to you.

When you arrive at your row, your companion for the next 12 to 15 hours is already seated. He glances up and… wow, it’s AJ Foyt Racing IndyCar driver Caio Collet! As a racing fan, you’re very excited about the hours of motorsports conversation that awaits as you cruise at 30,000 feet eating tiny pretzels. But given that it’s such a long flight, you’ll probably also learn some other stuff about him.

This interview is the fourth installment in an occasional series about that other stuff. Check out the previous editions to find out about Christian Lundgaard's greatest Lego achievement, Marcus Armstrong's dog-eared book collection and Mick Schumacher’s skydiving habit.

Aisle or window seat?

“Window because I can lay my head [against it] and sleep, and normally I don’t need to go to the restroom all the time, so... yeah. Window.

“I don’t mind it, but something I don’t really understand is how on daily flights, every window is closed. Normally I like to open mine just to see a little bit.”

When the beverage cart comes by, he sticks to the classics

“I always drink sparkling water and coffee, so [I’ll order] both.”

He’s a homebody, but won’t turn down an outdoor adventure

“I enjoy cycling and running quite a lot. So, normally on my off season, it's pretty much what I do when I'm home. Also, go karts are something I like.

“My whole family, they all like cycling and running, so it's kind of a family thing when I'm back in Brazil. Here, I also try to do it as much as I can. It helps to prep physically for the race season. But yeah, apart from that, I like to stay home. Either I'm home or I'm out doing any sport. I enjoy sport that takes me outdoors.”

His perfect day would involve a great breakfast and a bike ride

“I would wake up, go cycling, come back, have a really nice breakfast, and relax at home. Enjoy the sun. It's really hot and sunny most of the time, so the weather is really good, and that's it. It's not much more than that. I try to jump in the sea from time to time. I like to stay outside more than I like to stay inside.”

Despite dealing with a significant injury for the first time in his career as a result of his crash at the Indy 500, Collet managed to pull off some performances he could be proud of. Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment

He’s a former tennis player who still keeps up with the sport as much as he can

“I like to watch the big tournaments. The Big Four, I always watch. It's something I've played since I was young. I was not very good, so I stopped and went to motorsports instead, but now when I have some free time, I always like to try and play again to do something different.”

...and in his book, Rafael Nadal is the GOAT

“I watched his documentary. It's impressive and also really inspiring. His whole history with the injuries and stuff like that, dealing with pain all throughout his career, it's really impressive.”

His rookie season taught him a lot about resilience — and the value of a good walk

“This year, after the 500 crash, I broke two ribs. So the second half of the season, I've been dealing with an injury that's kind of... it's really painful.

“The IndyCar Medical Team have done a really good job getting me through the races. I got injections almost every day I was on track. That was a new experience for me and something I've never dealt with before, racing under pain and stuff like that.

“I think we've managed to do a pretty good job, but obviously it gets in your mind, especially because you cannot do the prep like you want to, like the physical training. I had to stop running and cycling and things that I like, so I had to find some other hobbies to spend my free time on when I was not racing.

“I started playing some video games, watching some TV shows, and going for long walks, which was the only thing I could do without any pain [and] something that I've never done before. Honestly, I was going a bit crazy just staying inside and not being able to do stuff because of the injury. I always like to stress my body when I'm training, and a walk became part of my training, which was weird. But yeah, it was how I dealt with the injury.

“I like shooting games, and I played a bit of FIFA as well, but shooting games are my go to when I'm playing video games. When I’m back home, a couple of friends and [I] play games together.

Changing his routine during his recovery helped him embrace the unknown and expand his understanding of what he’s capable of

“The first two weekends I went through in the car not doing [my] prep like [I’m] used to, there was always a question like, 'Am I doing enough? Will I be still okay in the car? Will I last the whole race?' And I've had some pretty good races and some pretty good performances, so I'm like, 'Okay, I still can do it. Even if I'm not 100% off track, I can still deliver and I can still do a good result and perform well.'

“That, for me, was a big confidence boost, and also, I think mentally it opened my mind a little bit that I don't need to be 100% strict to what I do [to prep] so that I can still perform. So I think it helped me.”