After a commanding start to his debut FIA Formula 3 campaign, Rafael Câmara now leads the 2025 F3 Drivers’ Championship. The Trident driver secured back-to-back Feature Race victories in Melbourne and Bahrain, establishing a 26-point lead over MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz in second place. Despite this strong position, Câmara remains focused on consistency rather than chasing individual race wins.
Championship mindset: “Still a long way to go”
Speaking to the media, including Pit Debrief, during a virtual press session ahead of the 2025 Imola round, Câmara addressed his position in the standings and his outlook for the rest of the season.
“I hope I’ll be fighting for the championship,” he said. “It’s still a long way to go, so it’s difficult to know.”
While acknowledging the unpredictability of the remaining eight rounds, he pointed to his past experiences as a key asset in approaching the title fight with a measured mindset. His campaign in the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA), where he battled for the title, provided vital lessons.
“But, I think, of course, it helps you to know how to manage a championship when you win once and know how to manage yourself during the races, when to push, when to not push. So I think it’s very helpful.”
He continued, “And yeah, I’ll just keep focusing on our job with the team and be as better as possible in the end of the championship to fight for another one.”
Câmara focused on consistency
Although Câmara’s early success in the 2025 F3 season has boosted morale within the Trident camp, the Brazilian insisted that his approach remains unchanged heading into the upcoming rounds.
“I think leading the championship now, of course, gave us some confidence from the first two rounds. But yeah, I think for myself, I will not change anything. So, I’ll just keep doing the same things and maximise every weekend to be consistent as possible and see where we end up.”
Bahrain test crucial for long-run preparation
Reflecting on the opening two rounds, Câmara highlighted the value of the in-season test in Bahrain. This session, held before the second race weekend at Sakhir, proved crucial in helping the team prepare for the season’s demanding conditions.
“I think as far as racing, [it] was quite useful, especially for, I think, us as a team. We didn’t do any long runs before Melbourne. So I think it was very useful to test the long-run, especially with big [tyre degradation] in Bahrain.”
The Bahrain layout, known for its combination of high- and low-speed sections, provided an ideal testing ground. Câmara echoed Tramnitz’s sentiments, noting that the team gained meaningful insights that later informed their successful Feature Race strategy.
“And like Tramnitz said, you have high-speed, low-speed, so you’re able to see quite a lot of things. And in the end, I think we were quite happy with the test and it gave us also some content for the race.”
A race-by-race approach for upcoming triple header
As the season heads into its first triple header of the 2025 F3 season—Imola, Monte Carlo, and Barcelona—Câmara is adopting a focused, step-by-step approach. With several weeks having passed since the last F3 event, he likened the upcoming Imola round to a restart of the championship.
“Yeah, I think we can say that we’re restarting again the championship because it’s so long the break. But, yeah, I think just taking race by race, focus on the moment and make sure I’m doing everything in the right way, prepare well with the team.”
Câmara acknowledged that Monte Carlo, where he has never raced before, will present a unique challenge. However, he remains optimistic.
“And then especially Monaco, that will be a new track for me, never been street circuit, so it’ll be quite challenging. But I think we’re going to be okay.”
Qualifying the key to F3 success
As he looked ahead to the coming rounds, Câmara underscored the importance of Qualifying—particularly at circuits where overtaking proves difficult.
“I do think that Qualifying is the most important, especially the tracks where like Monaco, I think Imola as well, that are much difficult to make the overtakes.”
Although the reverse-grid format of the Sprint Race poses its own challenges, Câmara admitted he must improve in those races to maintain his advantage across full weekends.
“But I still think that the Sprint Race, you need as well to score some points. It’s a point to improve for myself, that would be not very nice. But yeah, I think once you start in pole, it makes your life much easier. Or even there in top five already, you can do a very good, you can leave the weekend with some very good points.”
Strong team environment at Trident driving early 2025 F3 success
Câmara also credited his early success to the atmosphere and preparation within the Trident camp. Since joining the team, he has felt confident and well-supported by the crew around him.
“I think since I joined them, it was quite a good environment. The team works very well. And I think the tests we’ve been doing, already after the post-season test last year, I think all the preparation we did for this championship was quite good. So I think it was not also a big surprise that we were starting in a good way. But yeah, just super happy with the team, feeling confident with the car.”
Nonetheless, he remains cautious of growing threats from rival teams like Rodin Motorsport and MP Motorsport, who have made steady gains since the opening round.
“And I think, like I said many times, it’s a long way to go. Of course, the other teams are improving. Ready in Bahrain was much closer. And yeah, I think we just focus on our side and our job and keep doing the same thing so we can be in good shape for the championship.”
