Photo: Invicta Racing
He may have just missed out in Baku but with five poles this season, Rafael Camara’s one lap pace has not been in doubt. But a combination of racing incidents and poor starts has left him playing catch up in the championship.
As rumours of a promotion to Formula 1 with Haas swirl around the paddock after an impressive test at the Algarve track, the Ferrari junior sat down with Formula Scout at Monza to reflect on his season so far.
After graduating to F2 as Formula 3 champion and joining Invicta Racing, the team that had swept the drivers’ championship in 2024 and 2025 with Gabriel Bortoleto and Leonardo Fornaroli, expectations were high for Camara. Did he feel any additional pressure?
“To be honest, not really. Just feel content to be in a good place. You saw that in the past years they [Invicta] had a good opportunity and they were able to do it. So, that makes you comfortable and excited to start and to do a good job.
“On my side, a lot of people expect something from you, but in the end, you just try to maximize what you can do, things you can control, and try to be the best of myself. On that side I don’t really see it as pressure, just something to keep me pushing and working hard.”
Throughout his junior career, Camara has always been a driver able to produce a sensational qualifying lap. Having secured pole, there are days, such as in Barcelona this season, where he carries that superior pace into the race itself.
But unlike FIA Formula 3 or Formula Regional, the reverse-grid format of Formula 2’s sprint races and the mandatory pit stops in feature races, can thrust even the most dominant leader back into a battling pack.
His qualifying performances mean he usually starts the sprint race from the back of the top 10. The cut-and-thrust of 20 ambitious F2 drivers mean incidents are inevitable. Only 18 of Camara’s 170 points to the end of the Madring event have come on Saturdays.
But his wheel-to-wheel racecraft has, on occasion, let him down as he has become involved in needless contact. Camara is the antithesis of an aggressive or reckless driver; his manoeuvres have been rather clumsy than malicious.
The move on Oliver Goethe in Madrid was typical. After a brilliantly opportunistic move on his title rival, Nikola Tsolov, he then went for a gap that wasn’t really there, earning himself a 10-second penalty for being “wholly to blame for the collision.”
Having qualified on the front row for eight of the 13 rounds so far, Camara is undoubtedly the master of pulling out a quick lap when necessary. On average he has been just 0.189% away from the pole time compared to the second-fastest qualifier, Alex Dunne, on 0.282%, with Tsolov back in third.
| Pos | Driver | Gap to pole |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rafael Camara | 100.189 |
| 2 | Alex Dunne | 100.282 |
| 3 | Nikola Tsolov | 100.430 |
| 4 | Martinius Stenshorne | 100.476 |
| 5 | Kush Maini | 100.481 |
| 6 | Noel Leon | 100.488 |
| 7 | Dino Beganovic | 100.583 |
| 8 | Laurens Van Hoepen | 100.731 |
| 9 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | 100.735 |
| 10 | Joshua Duerksen | 100.779 |
“Yeah, it’s been strong qualifying all this year,” he acknowledges in his usual quiet, modest manner. “I owe a big thanks to Invicta for letting me have the chance of always being there and fighting for good positions.”
Of those five poles, the one that meant most was in Monaco. Not just because its Monaco, and a race where qualifying is often decisive, but because of the way he and the team salvaged pole when all seemed lost. It looked like his session, and his weekend, were ruined when he clouted the wall on his first lap.
Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
A stoppage gave his Invicta team just enough time to get him back out right at the end of the session. With the pressure on, Camara coolly nailed the lap.
“Monaco was the one where I was a bit impressed with myself because I had no laps. I obviously hit the wall on the first lap and stopped. Luckily there was a red flag, so it gave us enough time to fix the car. Another amazing job from the team to get the car fixed and to give me the chance to go again.
“In a way I think it was the craziest lap of my life because I didn’t really know what to expect and especially in Monaco you want to know what to do. It was really the first push lap in the session so in a way I was trying to do the right thing in every corner.
“You have one lap to get the tyres in the right window. And then one push with a car that’s just been fixed. Of course, you’re not fully sure if everything will be in the right place. And then you just have to send it, because Monaco is really about maximizing everything.”
“When I finished the lap and my engineer told me that I was P1 I was really even shaking a bit because I think that was the most adrenaline that I ever had in a car, because I was like, ‘Wow, what happened?’ I will really remember that one forever.”
“The funny thing was that I was speaking to my engineer just before about what happens if we crash, what do we do? And then on my first lap I said to myself, ‘No, this cannot be happening.’
“After Canada [when Camara hit the wall in qualifying but recovered to qualify on the front row] I was quite confident that they would be able to repair it. So maybe it was good training for them!” he laughs, “but that one was very nice.”
If nothing else, his absolute faith in the incredible job done by his engineers and mechanics to get the car back out, and trust in being able to push to the limit straight out of the pits is testament to the strong link that has developed between Camara and the Invicta squad.
For the first time in his career, Camara finds himself in a British rather than an Italian team. “There is a bit of a difference from last year but in the end, of the engineers, no one is British! At Prema I really only worked in the first year in Formula 4 with an Italian engineer and the mechanics but then it was more French.
“In the way everyone is pushing it feels very similar and it’s a nice environment to be in. You’re looking forward to the weekend to see everyone again, to work together and push not only for you, but for everyone.”
Photo: Invicta Racing
If Monaco qualifying was the high point, the season’s nadir possibly followed two days later, when Camara crashed out while defending the lead from archrival Tsolov into Ste Devote having lost ground after his mandatory stop.
“Sometimes you start thinking it could be a win in Monaco, that would be nice. Monaco is always a special track. During the weekend you don’t really think of winning in Monaco because you’re focusing on winning the championship.”
“Probably I did the wrong thing for the championship. Now it’s easy to say, but when you’re in the car you want to win. But when I look back, I don’t feel a big disappointment. Of course, it gives you a bit of a taste of what could be. So then on that side you’re a bit disappointed, but I think it was a good level.
“For sure, I think that the out lap was more tricky than last year, so by creating a good gap and having a safe margin, I gave myself more room to be a bit more easy on the out lap, and that was key to warm the tyres.
“So just being a bit more safe was the problem, and then when Niko was behind me, to try to fight at that point, the mistake was before, so I was just really giving up. But that was going to be the perfect weekend….”
If Monaco was ‘the one that got away,’ then Spa-Francorchamps was the weekend where Camara feels he really nailed it.
“I think I had some good races. Barcelona was a very nice win. I think I have always been there in the races. It was just really Monaco and Canada that was a bit… In Canada, I think it was really my mistake [when contact with Roman Bilinski left him spinning down to last position], and it was a stupid thing because even when I did that, I was like, it’s been four years since I made a mistake like that, so it was really that one that hurts, but I think overall I have been consistent in the races.
“But Spa, even with all the things happening in the race we managed the situation in a perfect way because after the pit stop we were already 10 seconds ahead of the guys on the same strategy and then after doing the overtakes was very cool. So, I think that weekend was very nice.”
Camara trails Tsolov by seven points ahead of the Baku triple-header with the year-end calendar still up in the air. Will there be races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi as planned? Will the season finish at a replacement event at Imola in December? Or could Baku be the de facto title decider?
But if Camara can pull it off he will become only the second driver, following Oscar Piastri, to have won titles in a junior category, FREC in his case, F3 and F2 in successive seasons.
While a championship title and trophy are undoubtedly important, Camara’s next career step is likely to be taken independently of the points standings. So, how important is it to him personally to win the championship?
“Obviously, at the end of the day, you need to show that you’re good and you’re capable of being there and being a good driver. But in the end, I think you really do the things for yourself.
“I always want to win. It doesn’t matter what will happen next. I think I really want to win the championship, I’ll be fighting until the end and like I said in the beginning of the championship, I want to finish with no regrets, knowing that, of course, there were some mistakes, but that I was always trying, always giving 100%, and that’s what I’m aiming for.
“Still for this last part of the championship, I want to make sure that I’m doing the best that I can and fighting until the end. It doesn’t matter what will happen next, obviously having good results always makes your life a bit easier, brings you closer to your dream, but I just really want to do my best and be happy with myself.”
“I think I really grew up this year in all areas. Invicta have been really helpful from the beginning.
“The dynamic of the race weekend is a bit different [compared to F3]. Obviously, the first part is very similar, but in the feature race, it’s quite different and in that area, I think I was able to learn a lot.
Photo: Invicta/Dutch Photo Agency
“I think grew up both inside in the car and outside as well. It was a very good learning experience for me. You’re sharing your experience, because when you arrive in F2, drivers are already at a high level, so it’s more both sharing what you have and putting it together.
“Every time we’ve been getting more in sync with each other and always putting more together, so for me, that was something that we really have improved.”
Championship or no championship, Camara won’t be returning to F2 in 2027. So what does the future hold? Ferrari are still solidly behind him, and he has had the chance to participate in TPC (“Testing of Previous Cars”) sessions with both Ferrari and Haas, the latter, if the rumour mill is correct, a form of shootout for the second Haas seat in Formula 1.
By all accounts, the team was left highly impressed. Camara, true to character, is too modest, and admits that “I don’t know how much I can say.
“I think it was good. In the end you want to make sure you do what you know how to do, that you can be yourself there. And I was happy with that. This is what is important. To know that you did what you could do. But yeah, I think I was happy with myself.
“I think it was very useful to do the test. The whole programme they did with me was very helpful for me to be prepared. And for sure it helped a lot.
“So for me, it was very nice to have that support from Ferrari and for them to be always helping me to grow up as a driver. I think was very cool. And yeah, it was just fun. It’s always fun driving a F1 car.
“It was amazing to drive. From a driving point of view, you just really enjoy it a lot, because it’s so fast, gives more adrenaline, and I think that’s what makes it so nice to drive. Once you are a full-time driver, you can explore that complexity more, because then you can go in your direction and you do what you want.
“It’s what you always dreamed about. Obviously, the dream is to be there [in F1] racing full time, but it’s good to have a taste and to drive an F1 car.”
He has a championship to win first, of course, but the decision on his promotion to F1 is out of his hands at the moment. Haas, together with Ferrari, will make the decision, one way or the other.
Camara is philosophical: “I just try to focus on things that I can control and whatever will happen, we’ll see later. But yeah, it would be a dream [for the test] not to be the end and do a full season, but there is a lot to happen before then.”