Rafael Villagómez left Monza with a strong sense of progress after one of his best weekends so far in the 2025 F2 season. Villagómez was firmly in the fight for a podium during the F2 Feature Race at the 2025 Italian GP, running in the top four throughout, before narrowly missing out on a top-three finish in the final laps.
The Mexican ultimately crossed the line fourth, having been passed late on by Campos Racing’s Pepe Martí, but his performance underlined the gains he and his team have made this year. Speaking afterwards, Villagómez reflected openly on the emotions of the weekend, the race strategy that nearly paid off, and where he and the team will focus their efforts for the remainder of the campaign.
Podium so near, yet so far
After a competitive race in which he had been running strongly, Villagómez admitted that missing out on the podium by such a fine margin was difficult to accept.
“It’s a funny one. You’re always going to be disappointed with P4, because at the same time, the podium was so close. We were pretty much there the whole race. To lose it inside the last five laps is painful.”
The fourth-place finish was a reminder of how unforgiving racing in F2 can be. However, Villagómez made no excuses about the result, acknowledging that Martí had executed his race perfectly in the final stages while he began to struggle with tyre life.
“But, Pepe did a really good job, he was really quick. We were starting to struggle a bit with the rears, so there’s not much we could have done.”
Weighing up the DRS opportunity
Monza, with its long straights and heavy braking zones, is notorious for stressing the rear tyres, especially when drivers are forced to push hard to defend position. Despite this, at one stage, the Mexican believed he had a real chance to challenge for second place, particularly when he managed to overtake Martí. With DRS available, he hoped to close on AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen ahead.
“When I got past Pepe at one point, I thought I could get to Duerksen with DRS. I just needed to manage things for a couple of laps and not overpush and just wait for that. We saw yesterday that people that had the better tyres at the end could make quite a bit of difference, especially at a track like this.”
The lesson was clear: sometimes restraint and tyre preservation can open the door to a late-race charge. Unfortunately, in this case, the balance tipped against him, as Martí’s stronger tyre condition meant Villagómez could not execute the move he had planned.
Aiming for second, but settling for fourth
However, the Mexican driver reiterated that his plan was always to time his run for a push towards the podium. The disappointment, though, was that the strategy never fully materialised.
“So the idea to wait for a chance in order to get to P2 was always there, but it’s just a shame it didn’t happen that way. But that’s racing. We have to learn from Campos, and I think Pepe was very clever, so I’ll learn from that and when the next opportunity comes, do a better job.”
Start difficulties and the overcut strategy
Looking back on the race as a whole, Villagómez pointed to the team’s chosen strategy as a key part of their competitive showing. With the entire field starting on the Supersoft Pirellis, the overcut became a popular tactic.
“The start wasn’t that great for us. We struggled a bit like yesterday, but it was clear with the strategy we were aiming to send it as much as possible and overcut a lot of the grid.”
The turning point came with the Safety Car, which arrived just as pit stops began. The neutralisation reset much of the field and prevented early stoppers from gaining the full undercut advantage.
“It was going well but then we had the Safety Car that arrived at the right moment, so no one really got lucky in that way. Some people went a bit earlier like Richard for example, I was just behind him before he pitted and then the Safety Car came out.”
Villagómez explained how this timing essentially levelled the playing field, negating some of the advantages of alternative strategies. The Mexican, however, did not allow frustration to creep in, instead staying focused on maximising what was still possible. Once racing resumed, Villagómez focused on consistency and keeping himself in the fight at the front.
“After that it was about keeping calm and doing the best job possible. There was quite a lot to do today, so it was a great race.”
Improvements since last season
When asked to place the Italian GP weekend in the context of his 2025 F2 season, Villagómez was quick to highlight how much stronger he and the team have been compared to 2024. Despite some mid-season difficulties, the trend has been positive.
“In the big picture of the season, we started a lot stronger than last year. We had a little bit of a struggle phase in the middle of this year, but the pace has been good in the races.”
However, Villagómez admitted that the weekend might have been even stronger had he been able to execute better in Qualifying. A late setback meant he could not get the most out of fresh tyres when it mattered.
“This weekend it was a shame that we couldn’t do another lap on a new set in Qualifying, because I believe the pace was strong. But in the end, I think our main focus is Qualifying for us as a team. We know that when we qualify, well, we can always race well.”
Qualifying has been a recurring theme in his season. With overtaking never easy in F2, even on a slipstream-heavy track like Monza, starting position is crucial. Villagómez was clear that this area is where the greatest gains can still be made. As the championship moves on to the next rounds, beginning with the Baku GP, Villagómez has set his sights on one target: unlocking better one-lap pace to give himself a stronger foundation on race day.
Progress, lessons, and determination
Villagómez’s Monza reflections painted a picture of a driver who knows both his strengths and the areas to improve. Fourth place was close enough to a podium to sting, but it also confirmed his ability to compete at the front in the 2025 F2 season. His words revealed pride in the strategy and calmness he and the team displayed, respect for Martí’s decisive performance, and a sharp awareness of how Qualifying could hold the key to unlocking further success.
With Baku and the remaining rounds ahead, Villagómez will aim to turn the promise of the 2025 F2 Italian GP weekend into podiums. The combination of improved starting positions, strong racecraft, and an ability to learn from rivals suggests that the next time he finds himself fighting for a top-three finish, the result may well go his way.
