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Aiming to make more history: Invicta Racing Season Preview
Invicta Racing joined rivals PREMA Racing in being the only teams to win the Drivers’ and Teams’ Titles in back-to-back years, claiming both Championships in style last season.
That means they go into the 2026 campaign with the target of being the first team in Formula 2 to win both titles three seasons in a row, with Rafael Câmara and Joshua Duerksen leading their charge.
PICKING UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF
Such is the competitiveness of F2 that while Invicta come into the season as the team to beat, they know that if they are to retain their crown, they will have to find ways to improve.
One of the things that they may look at are their race results in the early part of the season.
In 2024, Gabriel Bortoleto achieved two podiums in the first six rounds, and while that is strong, he also had three of the team’s four DNFs in those events.
Last year, Leonardo Fornaroli finished on the podium three times in the first six rounds, while Roman Stanek struggled for results, having seven point-less outings.
But those drivers, and Invicta, as a team really hit their stride in the second half of those seasons. Bortoleto was his strongest in the final eight rounds, winning two Feature Races in Spielberg and Monza.
Between Fornaroli and Stanek they won five races in that period, even achieving a one-two finish at the Budapest Feature Race.
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Those runs of form lifted them to the Teams’ and Drivers’ titles, but as their Team Principal James Robinson said at the end of last season, they have room to improve.
“We started the year with promise, the pole for Leo in Bahrain was a highlight, but we had a lot to do on race pace,” he said. “Even at the end of the year, we didn't finish the year fastest on race pace by any means, but Qualifying pace was always phenomenally strong for both cars.
“We are always asking ourselves how we can improve, how can we do things better, how can we improve our processes, improve the way we go about doing things. So it's a constant evolution and it's something we make sure we never forget to do.”
AN ALL-SOUTH AMERICAN LINEUP
With Câmara and Duerksen racing for them in 2026, Invicta do just as they did in 2025, bringing the reigning Formula 3 Champion and a race-winning third year driver to the grid.
Câmara steps up to Formula 2 after a record-breaking F3 campaign where he won the title with a round to spare, with four victories and five podiums in total.
But it was not just the victories that caught the eye, the Brazilian’s one lap pace is what truly stood out, as he took a record-breaking five Pole Positions – the most in one season.
What also impressed many was Câmara’s maturity, and his ability to learn from his mistakes. For example, he struggled with tyre degradation in Imola last year, but used those teachings to win at the next round in Barcelona.
The Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy member would have also learned a lot from shadowing Invicta at the end of the year, and the post-season test at Yas Marina, where he and Duerksen looked strong.
The Paraguayan’s pace will not have been a surprise to Invicta, with Duerksen having won four races over the last two seasons – including the final Feature Race of 2025 at Yas Marina.
Duerksen’s performances have impressed many, not only of the F2 paddock, but also at the Mercedes F1 Team, who signed him on as a Development Driver for the 2026 campaign.
That will surely be a huge source of confidence for a driver that ended the 2025 season arguably in better form than any other – achieving six podiums in the last four rounds.
The 22-year-old will want to carry that form into this 2026 campaign to fight for the title, and he and Invicta will be working hard to make sure that he has that form across the entire season.
If Duerksen does, he will definitely be a strong contender this year, as could his teammate, Câmara, putting Invicta in a strong position to make Formula 2 history in 2026.