Câmara delighted after “very positive start” to F2 season in Melbourne

Invicta Racing’s Rafael Câmara knows what it’s like to deliver strong performances on Sundays. The Brazilian took four Feature Race wins on his way to the Formula 3 title in 2025, and has kicked off his charge for the Formula 2 title with a podium in Melbourne. 

Câmara opened his F2 season with a podium in Melbourne | Credit: Formula 2

“I would say it's very similar, the mindset. I'm not doing anything particularly different (to F3),” Câmara mentioned, speaking to DIVEBOMB after the Feature Race. 

“Maybe it can be a bit better on Saturdays, but, yeah, let's see. I think it's been nice so far, so I'll just keep working in the same way and keep going in this good direction,” he concluded, speaking on his F3 form translating into success in F2. 

Much like race winner and former title rival Nikola Tsolov, Câmara gained positions from the collision between the two Rodin teammates to move up the order. He would also face plenty of challenges on his way to the podium, battling away with fellow Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic, Trident’s Laurens van Hoepen and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Nicolás Varrone in the way. 

“Yes, I would say it was a very positive start for the championship,” a delighted Câmara mentioned after the Feature Race. “Especially after the sprint race, I was very close to getting a podium. I think getting done with P2 today, I'm quite happy,” he expressed, summing up a job well done. 

Câmara’s sprint race came undone late on. Having run fourth and in contention for a podium, an attempt to overtake ART’s Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak saw the reigning F3 champion find himself off the racing line in the final sector. 

This dropped him down several positions, with Câmara only managing to come home 11th in the end, while teammate Joshua Dürksen took the sprint win in Melbourne once again. 

The following day’s race brought about more tyre management, ensuring he maintained his position and tyres, as he closed down race leader Nikola Tsolov for the win. 

A significant phase of the race saw him stuck behind Varrone, though, with the Argentine on the grippier, super soft tyres off the safety car restart keeping pace, and holding Câmara and the rest behind for a significant period of time in the race. 

Câmara mentioned he had initially expected Varrone to challenge Tsolov for the lead, and put up a stronger challenge to maintain his position. When asked if he could have challenged Tsolov for the win, the Brazilian believed he may have stood a chance thanks to the DRS being powerful. 

“It's difficult to know. I think it would probably be a bit more interesting,” Câmara said, reflecting on the opportunities in the Feature Race. 

“I think the DRS was very powerful, and I would just stay there (behind Tsolov), and we were going to see how it was going to be in the end. But it didn't make it any easier.

“I thought he (Varrone) was actually going to try to attack Tsolov, but by the end, he didn't have enough space to attack, and I just wanted to try to overtake him as quickly as possible. After that, the pace was looking good, but obviously, there weren't enough laps. But yes, it was a good end of the race,” Câmara said, looking back at how his race panned out. 

When looking back at his battle with the VAR racer, Câmara believed he could have made a stronger attack to gain second from Varrone, and perhaps put himself in with a better shot at victory. He was still delighted with the way he finished the race. 

“Maybe with Varrone, I could have attacked him a bit earlier and tried to close the gap a bit earlier to Nikola (Tsolov), but I think the whole race was pretty well managed. Also, how we finished with tyres, I think, was good.

“So yeah, I think the whole race we were doing the right decisions and way of driving, so I was very happy with how we finished the race,” he concluded. 

Despite missing out on a score in the sprint, Melbourne marked a positive weekend for Câmara to kick off his F2 title challenge. The Brazilian believed he had scored a good result, reflecting on the challenges posed by the late red flag in qualifying. With under three minutes to go, drivers scrambled to get to the line to start their final flying laps, something that could have caught Câmara out and undone his weekend. 

“Yes, Melbourne went pretty well last year (in F3), and I think also this year everything was going very well. Quali almost ruined everything, because also after the red flag, it was quite a big mess to open the lap. Everyone was very slow, and we were just trying to open the lap, because we knew that closing the lap for sure we were going to improve a lot.

“But yes, we managed to keep ourselves in the top 10 in the end. That was good enough to fight for points. Yes, it was looking very good as well. The pace in the car was feeling good in the race, and we knew that today we just keep everything clean. That was going to be a good result. That was a good result indeed,” he concluded, summing up the positives from his weekend. 

An important aspect of F2 for any driver is being away from incidents, and ensuring he finds himself in the right place at the right time. Câmara mentioned he had found this out in the sprint race, when being off the racing line had cost him several positions in the end, and even in his pit stop during the Feature Race when he didn’t stop on his marks efficiently. 

“I think you just need to be quite clever where you go, especially in the races where we've been very chaotic. So I think it helps a lot to make sure that you're in the right position at the right time. Also with me, it happened in the sprint race, I got a bit too excited (when battling others) at the wrong time, which cost the podium. But today, again, everything was very smooth and we managed to do a good job.

“Even at the pit stop, for the first time during the race, I got a bit out (in my pit box), so I was thinking a bit about how it was going to be at the pit stop, but everything went very well. So yeah, I think being consistent through the season will always be the key for fights for the championship,” Câmara concluded, mentioning the challenges he had faced on his way to a strong result. 

Much like his sterling 2025 campaign, Câmara begins 2026 with a strong start on the podium, as he looks to become the third driver in a row to win an F3 season with Trident and F2 with Invicta Racing.