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Villagómez 'getting into a rhythm' with VAR after third podium in four races
Three podiums in four races continued Rafael Villagómez's impressive recent form as he added to his 2026 tally around Silverstone at the weekend.
The Mexican is in a purple patch along with the Van Amersfoort Racing team, as they have rocketed up from P22 to P10 in the Drivers' Championship in the space of two rounds.
His results at Silverstone were hard-earned, with a top 10 start guaranteed in Qualifying laying the foundations to his Sprint Race podium, while on Sunday it was a great strategic drive to P2 on the podium.
"It was a really good weekend, a really enjoyable race," Villagómez said reflecting on his weekend. "The team gave me an amazing car, the strategy was perfect, so I couldn't ask for more to be honest.
"Of course, we wanted to win because the pace was good, but we will take it. Starting eighth, of course, in order to make the strategy work, you need to have pace. So once we saw the pace was good, we just kept going. It was not easy, but it was nice to get it done."
The VAR driver's strategy meant he ran the Hard compound Pirelli tyres in the opening stint of the race, which theoretically should have left him at an early disadvantage.
However, it turned out that those on the Softs experienced very early tyre drop off, allowing Villagómez to home back in on them in the opening stint. He says that this was the first sign that a good result could be on the cards.
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"I was surprised to be honest because, lap one I could already see a gap, and it was more or less what you would expect. Lap two I saw that it wasn't getting bigger. And then by lap three, I was already catching and thinking, okay, this is our chance, we have pace, we're catching up already. I think that was the key.
So far over the course of his time in F2, Villagómez's best moments have come at the tail-end of seasons. However, a step taken in Barcelona according to the VAR driver has meant he and the team are showing more competitiveness in the heart of the European season.
He hopes to carry his current speed into the next few races around tracks he rates as some of his favourites.
"Last year, we got into a very nice rhythm towards the end. This year, for some reason at the start, it was really tricky and we just broke the rhythm and things didn't happen. And finally, since Barcelona, qualifying was better.
"I think once we're in the rhythm together with the team, we just know what we need to do. So, it's exciting. The upcoming tracks are amazing. The tracks we get to do with Formula 2 are amazing.
"Silverstone was one of my favourites, Spa is as well, and Budapest. So I'm really looking forward to the next few races."