Rafael Câmara

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Chaves and the second or paternal family name is Câmara.

Rafael Chaves Câmara (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁafaˈɛw ˈkɐmaɾɐ]; born 5 May 2005) is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for Trident.^[1]

Rafael Câmara
Câmara in 2022
Nationality	Brazilian
Born	(2005-05-05) 5 May 2005 (age 19) Recife, Brazil
FIA Formula 3 Championship career
Debut season	2025
Current team	Trident
Car number	5
Starts	4 (4 entries)
Wins	2
Podiums	2
Poles	2
Fastest laps	2
Best finish	TBD in 2025
Previous series
2023–2024 2023–2024 2022 2022 2022	FR European Championship FR Middle East Championship Italian F4 Championship ADAC Formula 4 Formula 4 UAE Championship
Championship titles
2024	Formula Regional European Championship

Câmara is the 2024 Formula Regional European champion and the 2022 Formula 4 UAE runner-up, driving in both for Prema Racing. He is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy.^[2]

Career

Karting

Câmara began karting in 2011, where he competed in the Pernambuco’s State Championship. He would soon move into international competitions, after winning titles in all national and regional championships that he participated, garnering particular success in 2019 by finishing second in the Karting World Championship, driving in the OK Junior class for Forza Racing.^[3] Having finished fifth in the European Championship during his first year of senior karting, Câmara would close his karting career in 2021 by winning a number of series, such as the WSK Champions Cup and WSK Super Master Series, as well as taking vice-champion status in the European Championship.^[4][5][6]

Lower formulae

In 2022, Câmara made his single-seater debut, competing in the F4 UAE Championship with Prema Racing.^[7] Having missed the opening round due to contracting COVID-19, Câmara scored his first podium at round two in Dubai,^[8] before achieving his first pair of car racing victories at the same venue the following weekend.^[9] The penultimate event of the campaign brought even more success, as the Brazilian won three of the four races, putting himself in title contention before the season finale.^[10] Despite winning Race 1 at Yas Marina, a retirement in the third race owing to a collision clinched the title for teammate Charlie Wurz, with Câmara ending up second in the standings.^[11]

Câmara driving in the 2022 ADAC Formula 4 Championship at Spa-Francorchamps.

His main campaign would lie in Europe, where he would be driving in the Italian F4 and ADAC F4 series, partnering Wurz, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Conrad Laursen and fellow FDA member James Wharton at Prema.^[12][13][14] The season in the German championship started out strongly, as two-second places and a victory in Race 3 at Spa-Francorchamps gave Câmara the championship lead.^[15][16] Victory eluded him in the next two rounds, although the Brazilian was able to cement his place as the closest challenger to title favourite Antonelli, with a pair of podiums at Hockenheim and Zandvoort respectively.^[17][18][19] His championship challenge was thwarted before the next round at the Nürburgring however, as another contraction of COVID-19 forced Câmara to miss the event. He finished off his campaign with two pole positions and podiums at the second Nürburgring round, which earned Câmara the rookie title and third overall in the standings.^[20][21]

Câmara racing in the 2022 Italian F4 Championship at the Red Bull Ring.

In Italy, Câmara experienced a competitive beginning to his campaign, inheriting victory at the season opener in Imola when race leader Antonelli experienced a gearbox failure in the closing laps.^[22] Another victory followed at Misano, where the Brazilian proved his opportunism by overtaking his Italian teammate at the safety car restart,^[23] which was then followed by another impressive weekend at Spa, where, having stalled from pole position in Race 3, Câmara recovered to third by the checkered flag.^[24] More podiums came at Vallelunga and the Red Bull Ring, before Câmara experienced his first and only podium-lacking event of the year at Monza. He finished his season third in the championship, falling behind Alex Dunne at the final round after a collision with the Irishman at the first corner.^[25]

Formula Regional

2023

Câmara racing in the 2023 Formula Regional European Championship at the Red Bull Ring.

During pre-season Câmara did full season in the 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship with Mumbai Falcons.^[26] Despite not winning a race, Câmara harnessed six podiums that took him to third in the standings.

Having tested with the team at the end of 2022, Câmara would progress to the Formula Regional European Championship with Prema Racing the following year, driving alongside Antonelli and category veteran Lorenzo Fluxá.^[27]

2024

Câmara driving in the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship at the Hungaroring

Câmara remained with Prema Racing for the 2024 FRECA season.^[28] He won the Title in Barcelona with 1 round remaining. Additionally, Câmara competed in the 2024 FRME season while remaining with Mumbai Falcons.^[29] He finished 3rd in the championship, and won two races.

FIA Formula 3

Câmara would be promoted to Formula 3 for 2025 with Trident, alongside Charlie Wurz and FRECA rival Noah Strømsted.^[1]

Formula One

Câmara joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2022 alongside Oliver Bearman after competing in the FDA World Scouting Finals.^[30][31]

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season	Series	Team	Position
2014	Florida Winter Tour – Rotax Micro Max		14th
	Copa Brasil de Kart – Cadete		15th
2015	Florida Winter Tour – Rotax Micro Max		7th
2016	WSK Super Master Series — 60 Mini	Energy Corse	47th
	Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Mini Max		14th
2017	WSK Champions Cup — 60 Mini	Birel ART Racing	NC
	WSK Super Master Series — 60 Mini		5th
	WSK Final Cup — OKJ	Kosmic Racing Departement	32nd
	Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Rotax Junior		NC
2018	WSK Champions Cup — OKJ	Kosmic Racing Departement	33rd
	South Garda Winter Cup – OKJ		34th
	WSK Super Master Series — OKJ		37th
	WSK Open Cup – OKJ		4th
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ		15th
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ		42nd
	WSK Final Cup — OKJ	Birel ART Racing	11th
2019	WSK Champions Cup — OKJ	Birel ART Racing	NC
	South Garda Winter Cup – OKJ		83rd
	WSK Super Master Series — OKJ		10th
	WSK Euro Series — OKJ	Baby Race Driver Academy	16th
	Coupe de France – OKJ		19th
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ	Birel ART Racing	24th
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ	Forza Racing	2nd
	WSK Open Cup – OK		53rd
	WSK Final Cup — OK		14th
2020	WSK Champions Cup — OK	Forza Racing	11th
	South Garda Winter Cup – OK		15th
	WSK Super Master Series — OK		8th
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OK		5th
	WSK Euro Series — OK		8th
	Champions of the Future – OK		3rd
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OK		25th
2021	WSK Champions Cup — OK	KR Motorsport Srl	1st
	WSK Euro Series — OK		18th
	WSK Super Master Series — OK		1st
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OK		2nd
	Champions of the Future – OK		1st
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OK		35th
Sources:[32][33]

Complete CIK-FIA Karting European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	DC	Points
2018	Kosmic Racing Departement	OKJ	SAR QH 24	SAR R 23	PFI QH 7	PFI R 5	AMP QH 13	AMP R 17	LEM QH 15	LEM R 15	14th	16
2019	Birel ART Racing	OKJ	ANG QH 33	ANG R 15	GEN QH 15	GEN R 15	KRI QH 11	KRI R 30	LEM QH 9	LEM R 10	24th	10
2020	Forza Racing	OK	ZUE QH 34	ZUE R (10)	SAR QH 15	SAR R 5	WAC QH 3	WAC R 2			5th	39
2021	KR Motorsport	OK	GEN QH 2	GEN R 1	AUB QH 3	AUB R 2	SAR QH (8)	SAR R 29	ZUE QH 6	ZUE R 4	2nd	80

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2022	Formula 4 UAE Championship	Prema Racing	16	6	4	5	8	210	2nd
	Italian F4 Championship		20	2	4	3	10	239	3rd
	ADAC Formula 4 Championship		12	1	2	2	9	193	3rd
2023	Formula Regional Middle East Championship	Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited	15	0	0	0	6	131	3rd
	Formula Regional European Championship	Prema Racing	20	2	3	1	5	173	5th
2024	Formula Regional Middle East Championship	Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited	15	2	1	2	2	128	3rd
	Formula Regional European Championship	Prema Racing	20	7	7	7	12	309	1st
2025	FIA Formula 3 Championship	Trident	2	2	2	2	2	53*	1st*

^* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Pos	Points
2022	Prema Racing	YMC1 1	YMC1 2	YMC1 3	YMC1 4	DUB1 1 17	DUB1 2 12	DUB1 3 9	DUB1 4 3	DUB2 1 1	DUB2 2 4	DUB2 3 1	DUB2 4 7	DUB3 1 1	DUB3 2 1	DUB3 3 9	DUB3 4 1	YMC2 1 1	YMC2 2 2	YMC2 3 Ret	YMC2 4 24	2nd	210

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pos	Points
2022	Prema Racing	SPA 1 2	SPA 2 2	SPA 3 1	HOC 1 2	HOC 2 2	HOC 3 4	ZAN 1 2	ZAN 2 2	ZAN 3 5	NÜR1 1	NÜR1 2	NÜR1 3	LAU 1	LAU 2	LAU 3	NÜR2 1 2	NÜR2 2 10	NÜR2 3 3	3rd	193

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	Pos	Points
2022	Prema Racing	IMO 1 1	IMO 2 8	IMO 3 2	MIS 1 2	MIS 2 4	MIS 3 1	SPA 1 2	SPA 2 4	SPA 3 3	VLL 1 2	VLL 2 Ret	VLL 3 2	RBR 1 17	RBR 2 2	RBR 3	RBR 4 13	MNZ 1 4	MNZ 2 10	MNZ 3 C	MUG 1 5	MUG 2 3	MUG 3 Ret	3rd	239

Complete Formula Regional Middle East Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	DC	Points
2023	Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited	DUB1 1 5	DUB1 2 5	DUB1 3 4	KUW1 1 18†	KUW1 2 3	KUW1 3 Ret	KUW2 1 2	KUW2 2 Ret	KUW2 3 2	DUB2 1 2	DUB2 2 23	DUB2 3 16	ABU 1 3	ABU 2 11	ABU 3 3	3rd	131
2024	Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited	YMC1 1 5	YMC1 2 Ret	YMC1 3 Ret	YMC2 1 4	YMC2 2 6	YMC2 3 13	DUB1 1 4	DUB1 2 5	DUB1 3 1	YMC3 1 9	YMC3 2 1	YMC3 3 6	DUB2 1 4	DUB2 2 13	DUB2 3 8	3rd	118

† – Driver did not finish the race but was classified, as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2023	Prema Racing	IMO 1 3	IMO 2 Ret	CAT 1 11	CAT 2 6	HUN 1 7	HUN 2 10	SPA 1 1	SPA 2 5	MUG 1 6	MUG 2 2	LEC 1 8	LEC 2 12	RBR 1 1	RBR 2 Ret	MNZ 1 Ret	MNZ 2 2	ZAN 1 7	ZAN 2 Ret	HOC 1 4	HOC 2 4	5th	173
2024	Prema Racing	HOC 1 1	HOC 2 2	SPA 1 1	SPA 2 1	ZAN 1 2	ZAN 2 1	HUN 1 3	HUN 2 6	MUG 1 5	MUG 2 5	LEC 1 1	LEC 2 6	IMO 1 1	IMO 2 9	RBR 1 11	RBR 2 16	CAT 1 3	CAT 2 4	MNZ 1 2	MNZ 2 1	1st	309

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2025	Trident	MEL SPR Ret	MEL FEA 1	BHR SPR 12	BHR FEA 1	IMO SPR	IMO FEA	MON SPR	MON FEA	CAT SPR	CAT FEA	RBR SPR	RBR FEA	SIL SPR	SIL FEA	SPA SPR	SPA FEA	HUN SPR	HUN FEA	MNZ SPR	MNZ FEA	1st*	56*

* Season still in progress.