Although the number of wells drilled in the Brazilian pre-salt has increased since 2005, drilling performance in terms of footage and penetration rate has not increased significantly in the formation, and the average cost per meter in the reservoir section remains high. Industry efforts to improve the performance in the Brazilian pre-salt carbonates have been driven by trial and error, which is particularly costly in the ultra-deepwater drilling environment. In early 2012, an operator and service provider initiated a multidisciplinary R&D project to significantly reduce drilling costs in the pre-salt section. The aim of this paper is to present the latest drilling optimization concept developed for drilling the pre-salt cluster in the Santos basin offshore Brazil. This paper will present the features of the new design, preliminary studies and analyses using offset well data, results of the field test conducted in the PBR well, and lessons learned and suggestions for future developments.