“It's always an honour to represent Brazil:” A look inside Brazil’s recent successes on the road to Formula One
- Jasmin Low
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Written by Jasmin Low, edited by Rohan Brown
Few countries hold a motorsports history as rich as Brazil, a country home to a long line of racing royalty including the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, and Emerson Fittipaldi. Drivers hailing from Brazil have taken the Feeder Series world by storm in recent years, with a Brazilian driver taking the championship crown in either Formula 2 or Formula 3 from 2022 all the way through to 2025.
Felipe Drugovich
The resurgence began with Felipe Drugovich in 2022, who claimed five wins and an additional four podiums on his way to the F2 crown, after closing out the season over 100 points ahead of his closest rival - Theo Pourchaire.
Slightly further down the Feeder Series ladder, Gabriel Bortoleto placed sixth overall in the Formula Regional European Championship, signing with Spanish racing legend Fernando Alonso’s management company, A14 Management.
Gabriel Bortoleto
Whilst the following year’s F2 title eventually belonged to Pourchaire, Bortoleto led the F3 championship from lights to flag. Bortoleto alongside delivering consistent points-finishes for TRIDENT, only missing out three times.
2024 was a landmark year for the Brazilian, who stepped up to Formula 2 with Invicta Racing. In the midst of an intense title fight with Isack Hadjar and Paul Aron, Bortoleto made history by becoming the first driver to win a Feature Race from last on the grid.
It was his consistency that again allowed Bortoleto to surge into the championship lead and retain it throughout the final rounds, joining Oscar Piastri on the exclusive list of back-to-back F3 and F2 championship winners.
It would not be long until Bortoleto joined Alonso on the Formula One grid, putting an end to the eight-year drought of Brazilian representation at the pinnacle of motorsport, following the retirement of Felipe Massa at the end of 2017.
Rafael Câmara
The TRIDENT-to-Invicta pipeline has become a popular choice for those experiencing success on their way up the Feeder Series ladder. Sealing the 2025 F3 championship with a race weekend to spare.
Ferrari junior Rafael Câmara dominated his rookie F3 campaign, winning four Feature Races from pole position. The 20-year-old has joined Invicta Racing as a title favourite in his maiden F2 campaign, and currently sits second in the standings following the first round in Australia.
Rafaela Ferreira
Also racing alongside the F1 circus is Rafaela Ferreira, who is competing in her second season of F1 Academy as a Racing Bulls-backed driver. The 20-year-old became the first woman to achieve a podium finish in Brazilian F4 in 2023, before going on to claim two pole positions and ten podiums the next year, taking to the top step three times to secure a fourth-placed finish.
In a two-round appearance in the championship in 2025, Ferreira returned to the top step yet again in front of her home crowd at the São Paulo Grand Prix.
With the first round of the 2026 F1 Academy season completed, Ferreira’s fourth and sixth-placed finishes in Shanghai leave her currently fifth in the standings.
Aurelia Nobels
Representing Brazil from its inaugural season in 2024 and graduating from the championship in 2025, Aurelia Nobels achieved her maiden F1 Academy podium in the series during the 2025 season’s final round in Las Vegas, rounding out the year with a double points-finish. Nobels won the Girls on Track - Rising Stars Program which earned her a place in the Ferrari Driver Academy alongside the likes of Câmara, departing the team at the end of 2025.
Nobels is set to make her GB3 debut in 2026, once again joining Abbi Pulling on the grid, after Pulling won the first F1 Academy championship crown.
Pedro Clerot
Brazilian representation in F3 remains strong in 2026, with Pedro Clerot and Fernando Barrichello, son of F1 race winner Rubens Barrichello, joining the 30-car grid for the first time.
Sticking with AIX Racing, 2026 marks Barrichello’s first full-time season in F3 after having competed in two races in 2025. The 20-year-old finished third in the 2024 Euroformula Championship, returning in 2025 to finish seventh.
Clerot, who took home an eighth-placed finish in his F3 debut in Melbourne, joins two experienced teammates in Brando Badoer and Christian Ho at Rodin Motorsport. However, a learning curve exists for all three drivers, as the trio must adapt to a new team environment.
The 19-year-old made the step up to F3 off the back of a successful 2025 Formula Regional European Championship campaign, having finished fourth overall with two race wins and three pole positions to his name.
Clerot told DIVEBOMB Motorsport Magazine: “Being a Brazilian naturally comes with a bit of pressure. You know, especially after what Gabi (Bortoleto) and Rafa (Câmara) did.”, reflecting on the recent successes his compatriots have experienced in the category.
“I lived with Gabi in Milan, in the same apartment building, for one-and-a-half years once he was in F3 and in his season before F2. So I got some good advice from him and all the Brazilians, we’re quite close. So, I mean, it's always nice to be representing Brazil.”
Having learnt from the expertise of drivers who have raced in F3 in years prior has contributed to Clerot’s motivation to keep the ball rolling, with hopes to keep climbing the ladder to F1 as Bortoleto and Câmara have done in recent years.
“I'm hoping to add on to the tally of good results, and of course, we talk a lot. I ask a lot for advice, actually. Having Rafa and Gabi as a reference is quite a job to beat. I think it's a good thing, but like I said, it comes with a little bit of pressure, but it's always an honour to represent Brazil.”
As the 2026 season continues to get underway, these up and coming drivers have it all to play for. But one thing is for certain, the future of Brazilian motorsports is in good hands.
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