Rafael Câmara delivered another statement performance in the 2026 FIA F2 season as he secured his fourth pole position of the campaign in qualifying for the Belgian GP. The Invicta Racing driver overcame uncertain weather, two red flags and a frantic final restart to set a 1:56.306 around Spa-Francorchamps. His late effort placed him 0.040 seconds ahead of Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, with Alex Dunne completing the top three.
Câmara initially faced uncertainty over whether qualifying would take place in wet or dry conditions, while the late stoppage forced him to abandon a push lap and quickly reset for one final attempt. He responded under pressure, putting together the fastest lap when it mattered most.
Speaking during the post-qualifying press conference, which Pit Debrief attended, Câmara discussed handling the disruption, improving his race starts and staying focused on his F2 title challenge despite growing speculation about his future.
Câmara masters uncertain conditions during F2 Qualifying at the Belgian GP to claim fourth pole
The weather created uncertainty for Câmara and Invicta before the session had even begun. With rain falling after a dry Free Practice, the team had to prepare for the possibility of either wet or dry qualifying.
Once the rain stopped, Câmara could concentrate on improving the balance of his car and executing a clean lap. However, traffic and the late red flag complicated the final part of the session.
“Yeah, it feels good, in terms of qualifying, at the beginning we didn’t really know if it was going to be wet or dry, but yeah, after it made our life a bit easier, it stopped raining, so after that just managing to make the basics well when preparing your own things, and also all the second round just fighting a bit too long with the setup, so make sure you have good balance and clean it up after. It was a bit of a mess also with the red flag, that everyone I think was, some drivers did a full lap basically, so yeah, that was a bit tricky to come back and then cool down and go back again.“
Resetting after the late red flag
The late stoppage forced Câmara to abandon a committed lap before preparing for another attempt almost immediately. Without the benefit of DRS during parts of the interrupted lap, he had planned to attack the middle sector more aggressively. The red flag then broke his rhythm, leaving him with little time to reset before the session resumed.
“Yeah, I mean you do the, like you go in T1 without DRS and then after T5 without DRS again, so you need to be a bit more committed in sector 2, you know that you need to gain time with that, and then, so yeah, it’s a bit strange going fully committed and after you get a red flag and you need to go again, so for sure it’s not easy, but we managed well and was able to get a good lap after.“
Câmara targets a clean start and victory after being fastest in F2 Qualifying at the Belgian GP
Pole position after Qualifying gives Câmara the opportunity to control Sunday’s F2 Feature Race, at the Belgian GP, from the front. However, converting his qualifying speed into victory will require a cleaner start than he managed on his previous appearance from pole. The Brazilian also hopes to score strongly in the Sprint Race and complete a consistent weekend at Spa.
“Yeah, it’ll be very nice, last time was not the case, not got the best start, so hopefully this one we get a clean one and we can go ahead, clean race, so yeah, looking forward for the races, hopefully tomorrow also we can have a good race and yeah, a good weekend.“
Starts remain a work in progress
Câmara acknowledged that his starts have not consistently matched his qualifying performances this season. He has found the process more difficult in F2 than in Formula 3, although he does not believe one repeated issue has caused every difficult getaway.
Instead, Câmara feels he and Invicta have encountered different problems and gradually learned from each of them. That progress has left him more confident ahead of Sunday’s race.
“Hopefully, no yeah the start has been not the best this year, for sure it’s a bit more tricky than F3 but I think at least the mistake that I’ve been doing or sometimes not putting together with the team I think was never really repeating, so I think like I said with other things I feel like we’re getting more used to things and getting stronger, so I think we are working in the right direction and hopefully, I mean hopefully not, but I think we’re doing a good job enough to be decent on this start so yeah quite comfortable with that, so just keep doing our things, be focusing in doing well the basics and it should be good.“
F2 remains the priority amid future speculation
Câmara’s performances have led to growing discussion about his prospects for 2027 and a possible future in Formula 1. However, he insisted that external speculation has not changed his approach. Câmara remains focused on the factors within his control and believes performing strongly in F2 must take priority over considering his next career step.
“Yeah, I think what I’ve been doing this year, I didn’t really change through what is happening or what it goes around, I just really focus on things that I can control and I’m just really focusing this F2 year, make sure that I’m doing everything that I can with the experience that I have in the best way, so yeah just keep the head down, focusing F2 and not really, I think obviously the goal for every driver is to be there driving full season but first you have the F2 so you need to make sure that you do a good job there and this is what I’m focusing in.“
Managing Spa’s qualifying traffic
The search for a tow often creates congestion during qualifying at Spa, where the long straights make track position particularly valuable.
Câmara expected the final runs of F2 Qualifying at the Belgian GP to become chaotic and admitted that the traffic problems seen during the Formula 3 session had caused some concern. Nevertheless, Invicta positioned him well during both runs and avoided the worst of the disruption.
“Yeah, pretty similar, I think in Spa it’s always a thing to tow, you want to get there, you want to get a good position, so I think this is why it’s always a bit chaos in qualifying, so you’re already in a way expecting that and yeah also looking at F3 it was a bit scary you know because I was like hopefully we don’t get that in F2 but I think everyone was not slowing down that much because otherwise it’d be a big mess but we felt good both runs, we were able to be in good position so we were quite happy with that.“
Balancing risk and reward around Spa
Spa’s length gives drivers several opportunities to find time, but a mistake in one corner can compromise the remainder of the lap.
Câmara said he did not change his overall approach because of the circuit’s length. Instead, he concentrated on maximising each section, finding a useful track position and completing a clean lap without focusing on the possibility of making an error.
“Yeah basically the same. I think you just really focus in what you can maximize. You don’t really change the approach or because it’s a longer lap you think, I don’t think you’d never really think where you’re going to do a mistake or if you’re going to do a mistake. You just try to do the best you can and yeah always try to be in a good position. I think if you’re alone and then you need to take a lot of risks especially sector two. So yeah just make sure that you’re in a good position and you focus and make a clean lap.“
Turning Friday pace into weekend results
Câmara has regularly demonstrated strong pace on Fridays, but maintaining that level across qualifying and both races requires the team to respond to different conditions.
The threat of rain made choosing a qualifying set-up particularly difficult at Spa. Câmara explained that drivers must also manage their mental approach, avoiding both overconfidence and excessive caution when fighting at the front.
“I mean for sure it’s not easy to be there fighting on qualifying so I think the biggest challenge is just make sure you get a good I think always trying to get a good car for the quali. Like this one was raining before and then you didn’t really know if it was gonna be heavy rain or was gonna be a dry session so with the setup as well you go a bit safer from what you’re expecting. So yeah I think you always you want to get a good run in FP so you know in which position you need to be in quali and then from there on you manage yourself during the session.“
“But for sure it’s not easy to be always there. I think also the way you approach the mental side you just need to make sure that you really need to control yourself to don’t overdo it or also to be too relaxed. So plenty of things that I think you want to be there and then be really in your window.“
Tyre temperature not a concern after the stoppage
Although the drivers had limited time after the red flag, Câmara did not feel the stoppage significantly affected his tyre preparation.
The tyres remained warm because the interruption was brief, allowing him to complete his warm-up and secure his preferred track position. His main concern involved avoiding unnecessary stress on the supersoft compound before the final push lap.
“Yeah I think the warm-up was not really a problem. You did I don’t know I was I got the red flag 2 to 9 so tyres were hot also the red flag was not long so that’s also the tyres doesn’t cool down as much so you you can do easily your warm-up you can position yourself where you want and I think yeah I was just maybe considering to don’t overdo it that I think was the main thinking especially super soft this year so you don’t want to get a big tag to the laps and yeah afterwards just make sure you’re in a good position and it felt like the tyres were holding well for the second push“
Adapting the car for the races
The aggressive approach required in qualifying will not necessarily suit the longer demands of the Sprint and Feature Races.
Câmara expects Invicta to move towards a safer set-up that protects the tyres while still providing enough performance through Spa’s fast corners and long straights. Managing the supersoft compound until the mandatory pit stop could prove particularly important.
“Yeah I think in terms of what you do to set up, just trying to really optimise every session. Probably in qualifying you go a bit more aggressive and then on the races a bit more safer so you can have the tyres lasting a bit longer. Also the driving you change some stuff but setup for sure is a big thing. So yeah let’s see how we’ll be with the super soft that I think was, like Alex [Dunne] said, maybe not the good choice but we’ll see if we can survive until the pit stop.“
