16-year-old Pedro Clerot has signed with Van Amersfoort Racing for what will be his first season in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA). Clerot graduates to FRECA after an intense two-year run in Formula 4 racing.
Pedro started out young, competitively racing karts from the age of nine and registered prior to his Formula racing debut two years ago, multiple national karting championships to his name.
The transition to single-seater racing came in 2021 as Clerot, who currently competes as one of the six finalists in the Ferrari Driver Academy Scouting World Finals, joined the grid of the Brazilian Formula Delta championship. With nine out of fourteen podium finishes, Pedro was crowned vice-champion and claimed the rookie title in his first season of open-wheel racing.
One year after, the Brasília-born continued showcasing his talent by dominating the inaugural edition of the Brazilian F4 championship, securing the title early during the penultimate round of the season, earning him the prestigious Brazilian "Golden Helmet" award.
Pedro made his European racing debut by participating in selected rounds of the Italian F4 championship in 2022. Subsequently, he made several guest appearances in the UAE F4 series earlier this year, all with the aim to prepare himself for the Spanish F4 championship in which he completed in 2023 with multiple race wins.
Now Clerot takes a step up on the motorsport ladder with Van Amersfoort Racing's FRECA team. Kicking off in May, the championship will visit ten high-profile circuits throughout Europe, finishing off late October at the legendary temple of speed at Monza.
Pedro comments on joining the FRECA grid with VAR: "All is moving very fast, which I like very much. It was only two years ago when I first took the wheel of a single-seater in Brazil and now I am about to compete on Europe's major tracks in the FRECA series! I am excited to partner up with VAR as they have a legendary reputation in the sport. I already started testing with them and despite the cold winter days, I received a warm welcome! I feel right at home with them already and I look forward to the season. The team's drive to be successful has a contagious effect on me and I can't wait for it all to start in May next year!"
"We are extremely excited to have Pedro on board” says VAR's CEO Rob Niessink. "He has left a very good impression in F4 so far and we believe he has the potential to do well in the next level up. Traditionally FRECA is a highly competitive championship that takes place at circuits that Pedro has not raced before. It therefore won't be a walk in the park for him, but he is a talented driver and shows to be extremely motivated to put up a strong performance. He already has a good track record and his ability to quickly adapt to new circumstances will be outright beneficial for him. The team is fully committed to support him in every step of the way and we'll put everything in place to help Pedro reach his full potential!"
Van Amersfoort Racing is a professional racing team based in the Netherlands. It was founded by Frits van Amersfoort in 1975. Since then, Van Amersfoort Racing has built a long tradition of supporting up-and-coming drivers on their way to higher levels. Drivers like Max and Jos Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Mick Schumacher, Kevin Magnussen and Giedo van der Garde all raced for Frits van Amersfoort's eponymous team in the early stages of their careers before making it into Formula 1.