Formula 2 report: Rafael Camara wins strategy lottery for first F2 victory in Barcelona

Camara’s race got off to the worst possible start as Dunne left him for dead off the line. The feisty Irishman, known for being tough in wheel-to-wheel battles, struggled for pace during the opening stint but made himself difficult to overtake in Catalunya. 

When Dunne eventually pitted, Invicta made the defining call of the race by telling Camara to stay out—and he managed to do eight extra laps. This paid dividends in the closing stages, as he reeled in and sailed past Mini and Dunne to clinch a vital win for his F2 championship hopes. 

“I am really, really pleased,” said Invicta Team Principal James Robinson. “I am also really relieved. I think that is the biggest emotion; it often is when you get a win.

“When we won the championship last year, I remember relief being the overriding emotion. I feel very much the same today. It’s great to finally convert the undoubted pace in Rafa's car into a win and points.

"It gets the championship campaign back on track," Robinson concluded.

Just like the Spanish Grand Prix in Formula 1, F2’s feature race was shaken up by Pirelli’s decision to bring softer tyres than usual. This eventually opened the door to Camara’s victory, but not before Dunne and Rafael Villagomez put him under massive pressure with super aggressive, punchy starts. 

As Dunne took the lead, Villagomez absolutely threw his Van Amersfoort Racing car down the inside of Mini and a charging Nikola Tsolov to pinch P3. Mini was essentially sandwiched by the pair off the line. However, the championship leader then took both places back a few laps later. 

After Camara pitted, Mini was all over the back of fellow Alpine Junior Dunne. At one point, he even tried an audacious move for the lead around backmarker Joshua Durksen that had echoes of Hakkinen vs. Schumacher at Spa in 2000 but didn’t quite manage to pull it off.

While the two pink cars fought, late pitters Martinius Stenshorne and Laurens van Hoepen began to make up ground. The latter was particularly impressive, at one point taking two places in T12 alone, and he eventually managed P5. However, Camara was the biggest overcut beneficiary by far. 

Once he arrived at the back of Mini, it was already over. Nursing his soft tyres through the opening stint gave him a massive pace advantage. Dunne wasn’t as compliant, fighting him all the way from turns 1-4, but in the end Camara made the move stick, holding on to take a statement first win in the series. 

Kush Maini made a brilliant start to the sprint, overtaking Noel Leon, winner of the last two reverse grid races, and holding him off through the opening corner. Title contender Tsolov also jumped Nico Varrone and Colton Herta on the outside of T1 for third, as Dunne fell back through the field. 

Stenshorne then clattered into Durksen, sending him across the gravel trap at turn 10. Mini made his own way past Herta shortly afterwards, before Tsolov made a textbook move on the outside of Leon at T1 for second place. Mini and Herta then followed him through as F2’s in-form sprint driver wilted in the Spanish sun. 

Camara had a huge scrap for P6 with Villagomez, who defended a lunge at the inside of T1 with excellent precision. He was ahead at the apex, meaning that Camara wasn’t entitled to much racing room. However, Villagomez later got a penalty, so he didn’t fight Camara or Dino Beganovic as they cruised up and overtook him. 

Towards the end, things got really tasty as Varrone battled with Sebastian Montoya and Stenshorne for P11. Varrone went off-track, held position against both drivers, then nearly crashed with Stenshorne, who he ran wide on the exit.

Up front, Maini pulled away, while Mini, Tsolov, and Herta ran nose to tail. Herta barged past Tsolov and looked on for his first F2 podium. Camara also closed on Leon in P5, before Herta did the inexplicable and ran into the gravel trap on the final lap.

Maini, Mini & Tsolov took the podium. Somehow, Herta ended up P5. On the weekend of his Cadillac F1 practice debut, it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Mini, Tsolov, and Camara lead the way heading to the next round in Austria.