Rafael Câmara on early podiums, strong performances and title ambitions with Invicta Racing

Invicta Racing’s Rafael Câmara has marked himself out to be an early season Championship contender. The Brazilian has claimed two podiums in the opening two rounds of the season, both coming in the Feature Races.

Such a positive start to 2026 is down to preparation with his new team according to the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy talent.

He explained the work that has gone into his rookie season, and why keeping his expectations in check is still important despite his positive start to life in F2.

“I think we did a good job in the post-season test and pre-season, preparing well for the season. I'm still getting more familiar with them, it's quite early in the season, so it's difficult to say how it will go.

“The first year is mainly about getting to know each other, how each other work, but at the same time, it's just one year you have. We're already in May, so it's gone pretty quickly already.

“Working race-by-race, focussing on the next step, and preparing well for each race. It's a long season, and everything can happen, so it’s just taking it step-by-step, learning what I can. I think we are in a good place for the rest of the season.”

With Miami and Montreal being brand-new venues for the F2 grid, Câmara has been working extensively on the simulator to prepare for both weekends.

It stood him in good stead in Miami, where he claimed a second consecutive Feature Race podium, and he feels confident of another strong performance in Canada later this month.

“I did a lot of sim, just getting to know the track, and making sure that when we start out in Practice, we know which direction to go in in terms of setup.

“With these tracks being new, no one's been there, even if they have experience in F2. In general, I think that we’re all in the same position, but maybe it could help that everyone starts from the same point, that no one knows the track.

READ MORE

• FORMULA 2’s 10th season: Lando Norris on F2 preparation en route to World Championship in Formula 1
• Bilinski: DAMS pace ‘really strong’ as he targets rebound from Miami

“But anyway, we'll prepare the best way we can, trying to find the best setup for Qualifying, and be in the right place for when it matters.”

As was the case last year in what turned out to be a title-clinching season in FIA Formula 3, Câmara continued a streak of single-seater titles.

The foundations of that Championship crown were laid in the early phase of the season, where the Brazilian claimed race victories early on, and then earned the all-time record for pole positions in a single F3 campaign.

The Invicta driver has made a promising start to this year’s season, and he believes that getting a good start to any new category is a major strength of his.

“Every time that I started in a new category, I have never struggled to keep the rhythm. It always starts well, and I think that also helps me to be in the fight. Even if it's still a long way away, I think it's something that helps you to just keep pushing.

“I would say that it's a good strength of mine. I mean, obviously I want to be at the front, and fight for good points. But, like always, I will just focus race-by-race, working in the moment.

“As a team, we're doing well at the moment. Whatever happens in these next races, we know that we have the strength to keep going. If there are bad races, we'll just learn from it and come back stronger.

“If we're in a good spot, we’ll just try to refine to it, we can do better for the next one and just keep learning through this championship, becoming stronger through the season.”