Rookie driver Rafael Câmara, racing in his debut season in Formula 2, clinched victory this Sunday (14) in the main race of the fifth round of the championship, held at the Circuito de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain. The Brazilian started from pole position and, in coordination with the team, implemented a strategy that pushed back the stint with soft tyres as long as possible, aiming to maximize performance in the late stages of the 37-lap race.
Câmara dueled for the first position in the opening laps of the race and found himself with a faster pace on the soft tyres compared to rivals who pitted for the hard compounds. Thus, the Brazilian remained on track until the latter part of the contest. With a newer tyre allocation and strong performance, the Ferrari Driver Academy member climbed from fifth to the lead, going on to win the race.
“It was a very good race. From the start we managed the tyres very well, and that allowed us to stay on the softs for a long time. And after we swapped to the hard tyres, we were a bit behind, but we had the tyre advantage. This was a very good strategy. We managed to be much faster and take the lead at the end,” Rafael Câmara said just after the race.
“I was feeling really good in the car today. Everything under control. We managed to put everything together today, so I’m super happy. I want to thank the team; they did a great job on the pit stop. Everything went very well today. But we’ll keep our heads level and focus on the future,” Câmara added.
The Barcelona victory marks Câmara’s third podium finish, all achieved in feature races. The Brazilian also has two pole positions this season, and he now sits on 69 points, advancing to third in the championship standings.
The next round of Formula 2 will be contested on June 26, 27 and 28 at the Red Bull Ring, in Austria.
