Bruno Michel’s double-header Debrief

With the fly-away rounds in the books and action that kicked off the heart of the European phase of the 2026 campaign, FIA Formula 2 CEO Bruno Michel looks back on all the big talking points.

From a nail-biting race in Monte Carlo to Rafael Câmara’s Barcelona redemption, the season is taking shape and is too close to call heading to Spielberg.

MONACO MAGIC

“Sunday in Monaco was not a typical Monaco race. We had a lot of overtakes, tyre management was challenging, and everybody had a quite similar strategy, but we saw that with the Prime tyres, when they were cold, were really like being on ice.

“That's unfortunately what happened to Rafael Câmara, because he had a solid hand on the race, and he must have been in despair. That can happen in racing, and it was nice to see that one week later, he was back on form.

“On the other hand, Nikola Tsolov had a fantastic race while Dino Beganovic and Kush Maini were fighting until the very last lap, which was absolutely amazing,

“I think the fans and the TV audience got their money’s worth, definitely. Campos had a fantastic weekend, they won again with Tsolov.

“Some drivers have a really good feeling in Monaco, and obviously, he's a very strong driver. Winning in Monaco is very, very special, and I think it shows in his performances that he’s now up to three wins in Monaco.

“Ayrton Senna did that, Alain Prost, Max Verstappen, too. Sure, Tsolov is only in Formula 2 at the moment, but it's a great level of performance, so I'm really happy for him, and happy for Campos as well.”

ACTION IN BARCELONA

“Honestly, I haven't seen races as exciting as that for quite a long time, the on-track action was absolutely fantastic, and I'm so happy that we can offer that to the fans and to the TV viewers.

“Câmara’s stint on the Option tyres in the Feature Race, nobody thought that was possible, and he won the race thanks to it, and it made the race very, very interesting.

“There were two different strategies, and there was a good split on the grid between the Primes and the Options, and the drivers really made the difference. I think the way Câmara executed it was fantastic, and I think the way Tsolov executed the alternative strategy was absolutely fantastic as well.”

CÂMARA’S REDEMPTION AS TITLE FIGHT CONTINUES

“Câmara needed that performance with pole and victory in Barcelona, because the last two weekends he had, he would have left feeling disappointed, knowing how fast he is, and how strong he is, and so is his team, Invicta. Monaco was a bit heartbreaking for everybody, for him, especially. In Barcelona, he put everything together, got Pole Position, and executed a fantastic strategy.

“I discussed this with him, he said he had a very fun race. The end of the race for him was quite amazing, whilst for Alex Dunne, it was a bit more frustrating, as he had to concede the win and the second place in the final stages of the race. But, in this first part of the season, Dunne is always there at the front, scoring podiums and qualifying in the Top 3, so I think, looking at Barcelona’s Feature Race’s podium and the results from the Sprint race, we have a very exciting championship on our hands.”

BACK-TO-BACK RACES ONCE AGAIN

“The teams know how to handle these back-to-back events, it's no problem. Sometimes we do triple-headers, and that can be a bit tiring, and everybody's a bit tense, but they handle it quite well.

“Gabriele Minì is still leading the Championship, having scored six podiums in five rounds, but everything remains so close in the Drivers’ Standings, that it's very difficult to call, but it was a great double-header, and we had great racing, and I'm really happy about that.”