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WHAT WE LEARNED: A few takeaways from Round 5 in Barcelona

16 June 2026

Round 5 in Barcelona has come and gone and there is a lot for us to debrief after a big weekend of racing that had a dramatic qualifying and two epic races.

Kush Maini and Rafael Câmara were the winners at the Spanish venue, but there were other drivers and team performance that also caught the eye.

So let’s look at some of our key takeaways from Barcelona…

A MENTAL COMEBACK

Câmara’s pace was undeniable this weekend especially on Friday when he took pole, but the question was how he would bounce back from what happened in Monte Carlo.

The Invicta Racing driver was also at the front of the field in Monaco, but a slow outlap meant he was caught by rival Nikola Tsolov before running deep at Turn 1, putting him out of the race.

But Câmara bounced back in style, taking pole with just one lap on a 1:24.810.

Câmara bounced back from a difficult end to Monte Carlo to winning in Barcelona

In the Feature Race, he had an early setback, losing out at the start to Alexander Dunne. But there was no panic, as he battled and pushed the Rodin Motorsport driver through his first stint.

Then, impressively, he made the Soft tyres last 22 laps, before using the Hards to come through the field from fifth to win the race.

After a difficult end to Monaco, this was a defiant performance from Câmara, as while his pace was remarkable, his ability to bounce back from a tough moment must be commended.

DUNNE DOING ALL HE CAN

After five rounds in 2025, Dunne already had two wins, an additional podium and was second in the Drivers' Championship, but has he been better this year?

The Rodin driver has had a podium in each of the opening five rounds and is yet to qualify outside of the top four this season – his worst qualifying result coming in Miami where he was P4.

Dunne has made a strong start to the season without yet winning a race

In Barcelona, Dunne qualified third behind the Invicta drivers and lined up in P2 following Joshua Duerksen’s penalty. He took the lead on the run to Turn 1 but just did not have enough to win.

That will currently be frustrating the Irishman, as he has not won a race yet this season, but he is doing the job of getting the best results possible until he can make it to the top step.

Currently, the 20-year-old is fourth in the Drivers’ Standings, trailing the leader Gabriele Minì by 19 points. He will hope that the Red Bull Ring is where he can make it to the top step for the first time in 2026.

TRIDENT’S EPIC RACE PACE

TRIDENT was a disappointed team on Friday evening after a late Red Flag curtailed both Laurens van Hoepen’s and John Bennett’s hopes of qualifying near the top.

Instead, Van Hoepen ended up in P14, while his teammate was down in P19.

But on Sunday, they made up for that extremely well, with the Dutchman finishing fifth, while Bennett wound up in seventh.

It was a strong fightback to the points for both TRIDENT drivers

Both drivers used the alternative strategy – starting on the Hards before switching to Softs – making several remarkable overtakes.

Van Hoepen even made a bold double move around the outside at Turn 12 on Cian Shields and Sebastián Montoya.

After a tough 2025 season for the team, their form this season has been great, and the Barcelona Feature Race showed that.

If both drivers can qualify higher in Spielberg, they will definitely be ones to watch at the front of the field.

FORM OF A CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER

Another member of the grid who is one to watch is the championship leader Gabriele Minì.

The Championship leader has made a consistent start to the season

The MP Motorsport driver has been exceptional this season, pairing consistency with race wins and podiums.

In Barcelona, Minì achieved two podiums – second in the Sprint and third in the Feature Race – taking his tally for the season to six.

In addition to that, the Italian has scored points in every race apart from the Monte Carlo Feature where he finished in P11.

Minì, now on 86 points, leads his nearest rival Nikola Tsolov by six points, and if he continues to maintain this sort of form, his title charge will be hard to stop.