Rafael Villagómez secured his first FIA F2 podium with a third-place finish in the Sprint Race at the 2025 Barcelona F2 Round. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver returned to the rostrum for the first time since claiming second place in the 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship. Although a significant personal milestone, the result at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya does not accurately represent his overall form this season. With only three points-scoring finishes to date, including his Barcelona podium, the Mexican currently holds 16th place in the Drivers’ Championship on 10 points. Following a difficult rookie campaign in 2024 and three largely unremarkable seasons in F3, Villagómez faces mounting pressure to improve his performance and secure his future in the Formula ladder.
A disrupted start in Melbourne
Following a disappointing conclusion to 2024, which saw him fail to finish the final three Feature Races of the season, Rafael Villagómez returned to the track for the 2025 Melbourne F2 round. His campaign began inauspiciously. A disrupted Free Practice session—marked by three red flags and unexpected power cuts affecting several cars—left Villagómez, like the rest of the field, heading into Qualifying with limited preparation and little clarity.
Despite a crash by Trident’s Max Esterson, the session ran relatively smoothly. Villagómez placed 18th on the timesheets as the chequered flag fell. However, post-session penalties reshuffled the starting order. The Stewards had handed 10-place grid drops to Alexander Dunne and Amaury Cordeel of Rodin Motorsport, Kush Maini and Jak Crawford of DAMS Lucas Oil, and Trident’s Sami Meguetounif, following a breach of the sporting regulations during pre-season testing. In addition, Prema Racing’s Gabriele Minì received a three-place penalty for impeding Crawford. These sanctions promoted Villagómez to 12th on the Sprint Race grid.
Despite his improved starting position, Villagómez failed to convert the opportunity into points. Navigating a slippery track in challenging weather, he struggled to make significant progress and finished 13th. The cancellation of Sunday’s Feature Race denied him any further chance to recover, leaving Australia empty-handed and under pressure to rebound in the coming rounds.
A measured step forward in Sakhir
The next round at the more familiar Bahrain International Circuit began on a more positive note for Rafael Villagómez. The Mexican driver delivered a strong performance in Qualifying, placing eighth on the timesheet as the chequered flag waved. This result earned him a third-place start for Saturday’s Sprint Race due to the reversed grid format.
Although unable to match the pace of the Campos Racing and MP Motorsport pairings—Pepe Martí and Arvid Lindblad, and Richard Verschoor and Oliver Goethe respectively—or Hitech TGR’s Dino Beganovic, Villagómez managed to cross the line in seventh. Post-race, however, AIX Racing’s Joshua Dürksen was disqualified from third place after his car’s diffuser was found to be below the minimum height requirement. As a result, Villagómez was promoted to sixth and collected his first three points of the season.
In Sunday’s Feature Race, he started from eighth but failed to build on his momentum. He lost ground to both Campos Racing drivers, as well as Gabriele Minì and the reinstated Dürksen, ultimately finishing ninth and outside the points. Villagómez departed Bahrain with three points—an encouraging step forward, yet a modest return in what was already proving to be a challenging start to his 2025 F2 campaign.
Progress unravels in Jeddah
If Villagómez had drawn any optimism from his Sprint Race performance in Sakhir, the 2025 Jeddah F2 round marked a disappointing reversal. As in Melbourne, the Van Amersfoort Racing driver endured a difficult Qualifying session. His progress was compromised by a red flag caused by teammate John Bennett, who crashed into the wall at Turn 18. Villagómez ultimately qualified 20th, relegating him to the second-to-last row of the grid for both races.
Despite making up positions in both the Sprint and Feature Races, he finished 17th in each. The weekend yielded no further points and little encouragement, with his struggles in Jeddah serving only to underscore the inconsistency that continues to define his campaign.
Penalties and pressure in Imola
With only three points to his name, Rafael Villagómez entered the Imola–Monte Carlo–Barcelona triple-header sitting 14th in the 2025 FIA F2 Drivers’ Championship. However, any hope of a strong start to this demanding stretch of the calendar quickly faded in Imola. He qualified a disappointing 17th and, despite a spirited Sprint Race, failed to reach the points, finishing 14th.
The Feature Race offered no redemption. On Lap 13, Villagómez retired following a collision with Trident’s Sami Meguetounif at Turn 2. After reviewing the incident, the Stewards deemed Villagómez responsible. They ruled that while attempting a pass around the outside, Villagómez had not been ahead at the apex or the corner exit and was therefore not entitled to space. His move was found to be in breach of Appendix L, Chapter IV, Article 2 (d) of the FIA International Sporting Code.
As a result, the Stewards issued a 10-second time penalty, converted post-race into a five-place grid drop for the upcoming Monte Carlo Feature Race. Additionally, Villagómez received two penalty points on his licence, bringing his season total to two. He left Imola 16th in the standings, burdened not only by a lack of points but also by mounting pressure ahead of what promised to be a demanding weekend on the streets of Monte Carlo.
Turbulence on the streets of Monte Carlo
The Monte Carlo weekend began inauspiciously. In Group B Qualifying, Villagómez collided with the Tecpro barrier at Turn 19 after a battle for position with Alexander Dunne. The resulting red flag ended his session prematurely and left him at risk of being excluded from the race. However, the Stewards determined that he had not been solely responsible for the red flag and permitted him to compete.
In the Sprint Race, Villagómez attempted an ambitious move on Cian Shields at Turn 5 but failed to reach the required overlap to claim space. The Stewards held him wholly at fault and issued a 10-second penalty alongside two additional penalty points. Nevertheless, the Feature Race offered a reprieve. Avoiding the multi-car chaos on the opening lap and benefitting from further retirements, Villagómez climbed to ninth and collected his first point since Bahrain. While modest, the result brought relief after a difficult sequence of events.
A breakthrough in Barcelona
The final leg of the triple-header saw Villagómez qualify last, over 1.7 seconds adrift of the fastest time. However, in Saturday’s Sprint Race, he staged a remarkable recovery. Starting from P22, he capitalised on a late safety car by switching to soft tyres. With renewed pace, he carved through the field in the final laps and overtook Jak Crawford in the dying moments to seize third place. The result marked his first podium in FIA F2 and a rare high point in a troubled season.
However, he failed to sustain the momentum. In the Feature Race, Villagómez retired on Lap 25, becoming the only non-finisher of the event. Despite the setback, the podium remains a vital confidence boost and a significant personal achievement.
Signs of potential amid ongoing inconsistency
Rafael Villagómez’s 2025 F2 season has thus far been defined by sporadic flashes of promise amid an otherwise erratic campaign. His breakthrough podium in Barcelona demonstrated his ability to capitalise on changing conditions and deliver under pressure. Moreover, his points finishes in Bahrain and Monte Carlo showed determination and opportunistic racing.
However, his struggles in Qualifying, coupled with incidents and retirements in Imola and Monte Carlo, continue to limit his progress. With only 10 points from six rounds and a current standing of 16th in the Drivers’ Championship, the pressure to perform remains high. Nonetheless, his recent podium suggests that, with greater consistency and sharper execution, Villagómez can yet turn his season around. The upcoming rounds will prove pivotal in determining whether this result is a turning point—or merely a fleeting highlight.
