Ferrari junior Rafa Camara took a vital podium for his Formula 2 championship campaign after a hard-fought battle in the Feature Race in Hungary.
Camara started on the front row for the F2 Feature Race but lost places into the first corner. The Brazilian kept his head down and managed to keep himself in third, closing on the front two. However, he was unable to make it past Kush Maini or Noel Leon and was forced to settle for the final step on the podium.
A ‘boring’ race
Camara joked about how uneventful his race was despite the action around him. “I think mine was a bit boring.” He told media including Motorsport Week, “Just staying behind someone the whole race. I enjoyed the laps where I had the clean air, but I was just trying to maximise when I could.
“I think the outlap was a very strong one. Then obviously I think maybe without the VSC, we could pass Noel, but it’s racing. It happens sometimes.”
Despite not being able to turn the podium into a win, Camara admitted that it was ‘a positive weekend’ overall.
“The good thing is that we had good pace, a good car. Overall, a positive weekend.”
The result put Camara just two points behind one of his championship rivals, Gabriele Mini. It also closes the gap to Nikola Tsolov, who leads the title fight. Now sitting at 22 points.
After a difficult run in the first half of the season, Camara explained to the media that this bump in performance was necessary for his championship hopes.
“I think we had a few rounds where we always scored points. I think this is quite important for the championship. It was a good way to finish this first part of the championship, let’s say.
“Now it would be good to have a break, have a look also at what we can improve, what we can do better for the next one. But now just go for holidays and recharge the batteries.”
Summer break ahead
Going into the summer break, the Invicta driver reflected on his season so far. He told the media that he had been fighting at the front for the majority of the year, so all he intends to do is continue with their current approach.
“I think we’ve had good weekends. We’ve been up there. I think this last weekend was quite good for us. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really change much. We just keep working on how we’ve been doing the whole season. Always try to find something that we can improve for the next round.
“It’s true that we closed the gap, but it’s still a very long way. So we just need to make sure that we keep our heads down, keep working and try to close the gap and have a chance to fight at the end of the season.
“The start [of the 2026 season] has not been the best or my strongest point this year, but I don’t know what really to say. I’m doing my best every week and just make sure that I can maximise what I can and trying the best for the team.
“This is really the goal of the season. Just keep learning, enjoying, and every time just getting stronger.”
When asked about his fight with Maini at the end of the race and their charge to catch Leon, Camara explained how at the end the risk wasn’t worth the reward.
“He had a moment, so I was thinking maybe I had a chance, but I didn’t want to risk it too much going to the inside. Maybe he didn’t see me.
“After that, I was just trying to stay with him, catch Noel. I was hoping for Kush to try something. But nothing really happened. So, I was just staying there, trying to get closer, but not today.”
With a few weekends off, Camara will have to reset and prepare for the final push to the end of the season.
READ MORE: Noel Leon secures maiden F2 Feature Race win at the Hungarian GP
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