Rafael Villagómez on importance of environment, stability and new approach in 2026

Van Amersfoort Racing’s Rafael Villagómez enjoyed a strong end to 2025 and was unfortunate to miss out on carrying his point-scoring streak on in Melbourne earlier this month.

The Mexican driver wound up P11 on Sunday in Australia, but showed strong pace to work his way up the order.

Ahead of the weekend, he sat down to talk all about his approach to racing and why he is so optimistic for the season ahead and why 2026 is full of promise.

“Another year with Van Amersfoort, it's a big plus,” he explained. “Being with the same team for such a long time, I actually think it's an advantage because you already know the people, the processes, everything. So, everything just becomes more automatic, I would say.

Last year, we had some good moments and those were pretty nice. But for me, what was even better is how consistent we were towards the end of the last season, actually, since Monza. In all the Feature Races, we scored points, we were pretty competitive.

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“That's a sign that we're doing the right stuff. I’d say that was down to many things. Of course, the team has been doing a great job, but maybe at the start of the year, we just never really nailed it.

“Then we just took a little step back and started to work from there. I think from prior to the summer break, we were kind of there, and then Monza we clicked.”

Villagómez says that it isn’t just on the team’s side that things have been improving, as with greater experience of the F2 Championship, he has made impactful changes to his own preparation and approach.

Those changes have brought results and he is keen to keep searching for what he says are the ‘little things’ that add up to make a big difference.

“On my side, it was more about also understanding myself a little bit better. Because there is this idea I believe that in racing, you're got to be this certain way in order to succeed.

“So you start to shape yourself, or people try to shape you a certain way. But maybe it's not the right way, you know? You need to listen to yourself and see what works and what doesn't work.

“Of course, you get older as the years go by, so you learn more. You have more responsibilities. So I’ve changed little bits, but nothing crazy from last year. Because we know it's been working. But in racing, I think you always learn that you can always do better.”

While he missed out on points in Melbourne, Villagómez is eager to push on with the VAR team and achieve more positive results and podiums in 2026.

His start to the season is positive, but he’s aiming for even better next time out. What he says is the most important factor though is consistency.

“This is a sport that everyone is looking to do better. It’s the same in any high-level sport. So we always need to do better, improve, and that's how we bring up the level of competition.

“It's about adapting the small little details. We're not reinventing the wheel at the end of the day, but we learn from different winners in F3 and F2.

“The most important thing is being consistent. That consistency in F2 and F3 is key. So for me, I’ve got to be the most consistent I can.

“From Monza onwards was great. But what I will say is the approach, the work ethic was the same already. It’s not just because you're having a couple of good races that you can ease up a little bit.”