Rafael Câmara claimed victory of the season during the Feature Race at the 2026 F2 Barcelona-Catalunya Round, view the full report here.
In Saturday’s Feature Race, Kush Maini claimed a dominant victory during the Sprint Race, with Gabriele Minì and Nikola Tsolov completing the podium. Notably, throughout the race, several drivers struggled with track limits, resulting in two five-second penalties for Rafael Villagómez and Roman Bilinski.
Now, after finishing P6 in the Sprint Race, Rafael Cǎmara lined up in P1 after taking a back-to-back pole, alongside Alex Dunne in P2, and Gabriele Minì in P3. Villagómez followed in P4, as Tsolov completed the top five. Originally set to start P2, Joshua Dürksen now lined up in P7, serving a 5-place grid penalty for a Qualifying yellow flag infringement.
The F2 Barcelona-Catalunya Feature Race gets underway
Early drama unfolded during the formation lap, as Oliver Goethe was unable to get off the line and was pushed back to the pit lane. At lights out, Dunne got off to a strong start, taking the lead on the run down to Turn 1 as Câmara dropped to P2. Meanwhile, Villagómez jumped up to P3 after diving down the inside of Minì and Tsolov.
A safety car was deployed on Lap 1 as Goethe attempted to start the race from the pit lane before his MP Motorsport car stopped on track at the end of the pit lane exit. Dunne led the field away during the safety car restart on Lap 3 with Câmara just 0.5s behind. Colton Herta took P6 from Tsolov with a smooth move at Turn 13, with Beganovic following him through down the main straight.
Notably, the drivers who started on soft tyres have so far moved up the grid, while those who started on Hards, such as Tsolov, have fallen back.
The pit window opens
As track temperatures increased to 45 degrees celcius, drivers began complaining about their tyres. However, at the front, Câmara managed to stay within DRS range of Dunne, while behind, Villagómez fell under pressure from Minì. The Italian soon used DRS to get past Villagómez into P3.
With the pit window open, Martinius Stenshorne was the first driver on soft tyres to pit, while Câmara was told to go long. In the meantime, Race Control investigates Spanish home hero Mari Boya for a false start, but ultimately took no further action.
Câmara closed in on Dunne on Lap 13, attempting to fight for the lead before naturally inheriting it as Dunne pitted. Running in clean air, Câmara set a personal best in the first sector, while the other front-runners and drivers on soft tyres pitted.
Dunne navigates traffic
As Dunne hit traffic behind Ritomo Miyata, Invicta Racing informed Câmara of a strategy change. The team aimed to avoid a five-car train ahead of Dunne, with Câmara continuing his run on his 20-lap-old soft tires.
Câmara eventually pitted on Lap 23, making his way out in P9 behind Beganovic, Villagómez, Minì, and Dunne, who eventually made his way back into the race lead as Tsolov and Van Hoepen pitted. Meanwhile, running on new tyres, Câmara soon overtook Beganovic and Villagómez, taking P3.
Câmara and Tsolov dominate the final ten laps
On the hunt for P2, Câmara began to close in on Minì before smoothly making the move past on Lap 28. The Brazilian driver used DRS to get ahead of Dunne down the main straight on the following lap, regaining his starting position.
Further back, Tsolov steadily made his way up the grid, aiming for a podium finish after making a late pitstop. The Campos Racing driver secured P3 at the exit of Turn 10 on Lap 34, leaving Minì in P4 as he looked to take P2 next.
Soon racing wheel-to-wheel, Dunne attempted to defend his position, but Tsolov eventually got past around the outside of Turn 4, using his tyre grip advantage. As Dunne fell back, Minì was quick to get within DRS range of the Rodin Motorsport driver, fighting for the final spot on the podium. Meanwhile, on the final lap, Cian Shields received a 5-second time penalty.
Through it all, Câmara managed to convert his pole into victory with a 9.8s lead over Tsolov in P2 and Dunne in P3.
