Villagómez expecting ‘tight’ weekend in Barcelona as he aims for more points

Rafael Villagómez is expecting the action to be very competitive in Barcelona, as the Van Amersfoort Racing driver set out his goals for the weekend.

The Mexican racer and the rest of the grid all have previous at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as not only have they raced there many times, but the 2025 pre-season testing was also held at the Spanish venue.

As a result, it’s a track the paddock knows quite well, which Villagómez says has its negatives and positives.

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“I think yes and no,” said Villagómez when asked if returning to Barcelona should make things easier. “You know what you need to do in a way, but it's also super tight because everyone has done a million laps here. You will see the gaps here in Quali are really close.”

Previewing the weekend even further, Villagómez said: “It's already a pretty hot weekend, and it's only going to get hotter, so, that's going to make it tricky.

“But that's also part of F2, taking care of your tyres, making sure you do every single thing right, not over pushing or else you won't be quick enough.

“The strategy is also important and also I think the driver within the car can make a difference this weekend, especially in F2.”

Villagómez comes to Spain off the back of a turbulent weekend in Monte Carlo, where he was unable to set a lap in Qualifying after a tangle with Alexander Dunne left him in the barriers.

However, he made his way through the field during the Feature Race to finish in P9. Reflecting on Monaco, Villagómez said: “On Friday, if you told me where I would finish, I would have signed right away.

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“Obviously not doing qualifying was really disappointing, so it went from the worst weekend to a decent weekend. But I think these types of weekends, it teaches you about the bigger picture.

“Anything can happen, especially in this Championship, there is so much that can change. For example, just in that Sunday race I stalled at the start, but Montoya stalled even before that.

“He went from last back to his original position and finished on the podium, so it just shows the bigger picture. In Formula 2, you don't give up until the end.”

Looking back at his season as a whole, Villagómez, who is currently 16th in the Drivers' Championship with four points, said that the opening five rounds have been a mixed bag.

“It's been a pretty up and down season to be honest,” he said. “We didn't really have a race in Australia, but it should have been a good weekend. Bahrain was really good for me and the team but, we struggled in the races.

“Imola, we had great pace on Sunday, and then Monaco is one I take out of the picture, we didn't qualify, but Free Practice was good. So, I know it's better than last year, it's just about putting things together.”

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When asked what putting things together looked like in Barcelona, Villagómez laid out his aims for the weekend, as stated the importance of Qualifying.

“I think it will start with qualifying in the top 10, then your weekend looks different,” said. “We saw in Bahrain when I qualified inside the top 10 it was a different story. So that's the main aim, to qualify in the top 10.

“It’s about not having any traffic in the last sector and then just doing a good lap, that’s the most important. That last sector, making sure you have the most amount of tyres, and also using enough tyres in the first sector.”