A stable rear and learning from strong teammates: How I Race with Rafael Câmara

31 March 2026

The reigning Formula 3 champion has already made a fast start to life in Formula 2 with Invicta Racing, finishing second in the Melbourne Feature Race, giving him his first podium on debut.

Prior to the weekend getting underway though, we caught up with Rafael Câmara to talk about what makes him the driver he is in the latest edition of How I Race.

OVERSTEER VERSUS UNDERSTEER

“So, you always want to get a nice, comfortable and stable rear, because once you get that feeling it helps your confidence. Then you can start on a strong front.

“Of course if you have a little bit of rear instability, it's still fine. But I always prefer a strong front and a car that reacts quick enough to where you want to put.

“I don't really like a car that is lazy. I want something that's sharp and quick, one that you really need to be smooth in your inputs and do things cleaner, that’s what I look for.

“Overall I think for me it is easier to manage oversteer than understeer. Obviously, when it's not a huge problem, I'm quite okay in adapting in both ways. But one that comes more naturally is fighting a bit with the oversteer.”

Câmara revealed he would prefer to have a car with more oversteer than understeer

ADAPTING TO DIFFERENT TEAMS AND CATEGORIES

“I think one thing that has been quite nice and has felt more natural is the extra downforce you get when you move up in categories. It has felt more natural and fun to drive.

“Obviously, you just have more grip, and things become nicer, you go into the corner faster. So, it is more enjoyable. But I think the skill of adapting is something that I really try to work on, especially from F4 and then to regional.

“I try to go through each process, looking at what you need to do to help the car. By working on that, it becomes more and more natural, and I think this is something that really helps you, especially in a season.

“It helps you be consistent because it's rare that you're going to have the car you really like to drive. So, I think most of the time you're just adapting to what the car needs, not what you like.

The Brazilian explained how the added downforce in each category has helped him

FINDING SOLUTIONS IN THE CAR

“I think in F3 and F2, it helps you because we don't have much time in Free Practice to understand the car. Sometimes you have a Red Flag, so you don't really know where the car set up.

“So in quali you need to kind of drive with what you have, finding the best solution at the moment. I think it's something that I just try to keep working on and developing because the more you learn, the more it becomes natural.

“In the end, if you're able to execute well, you're going to always be there. You might not always be P1, but I think you're going to have a good consistency to be at the front. So I think that is the main thing that I try to work on myself.

“With the team also, I think at the beginning of the weekend, normally you're in a good place already, so you don't want to be changing many things for quali, so you're just fine-tuning.

“But like I said, even if you don't have the best car, if you're already adapting, you can probably do 80% of the things you need.”

Câmara talked about working with different teams and adapting between each of their cars

LOOKING AT YOUR TEAMMATE’S DATA

“You can have your natural way of doing things, and I think this will be the one that helps you the most, especially in quali because you don't have any time to really look at what your teammate is doing. You really need to figure it out by yourself.

“But it helps to have good teammates to learn from them, to look at what you can do differently. You're not always the fastest everywhere. So for sure, looking at what they're doing better than you can help you do a better job.

“So having good teammates, listening to their feedback, understanding how they think, how they approach things, is also something that helps you grow and understand what you can do better.

“Also it helps you understand different ways to do the same thing you're doing. Obviously, everyone has their own way to do things, so you just adapt in your own way.

Câmara expressed the importance of having good teammates like Joshua Duerksen

“I remember being teammates with Andrea Kimi Antonelli in F4, he was doing a very good job, and in Regionals as well he won. I learned a few things and then just started working on them, because I saw how much it helps the driver to have a certain skill.

“So I to learn from my teammates but also keep my own way to do it. Some things might not work for you, but it is good that you at least tried.

“Also now I have Joshua Duerksen, and he is a strong guy, already two years in F2 and he has a lot of experience. So I am also trying to learn as much as I can from him, understanding the car, and just making sure that everything is tidy for the championship.”