Rafael Câmara

Rafael Chaves Câmara, born on 5 May 2005 in the Boa Viagem district of Recife, grew up in a family where motorsport already mattered a generation before him: his grandmother Niége Rossiter was one of the pioneers of racing in Recife in the 1960s. He started karting in 2011 in the Pernambuco state championship and finished runner-up in the OK Junior World Championship in 2019. In 2021 he won the WSK Champions Cup and the WSK Super Master Series and was European runner-up, before joining the Ferrari Driver Academy together with Oliver Bearman at the end of the year.

Câmara made his single-seater debut with Prema in 2022, racing in three Formula 4 series at once: he finished second in F4 UAE and third in both Italian and ADAC Formula 4, taking the rookie title in the Emirates and in Germany. After fifth place in his first Formula Regional European Championship season, he dominated the series with Prema in 2024: seven wins, more than any driver before him in a single season, seven pole positions and a 75-point margin over James Wharton at the end.

In 2025 he moved to Trident in FIA Formula 3 and sealed the title with victory in the feature race at the Hungaroring with a round to spare, the first driver to do so since the series was founded in 2019. He was also named FIA Rookie of the Year. In 2026 he leads the Formula 2 championship in his first season with Invicta Racing, with three wins and 207 points.

Câmara gained Formula 1 experience in tests with the Ferrari SF-25 and the Haas VF-25. In August 2026 he beat Jack Doohan, Leonardo Fornaroli and Ryō Hirakawa in a test at Portimão, and in October Haas signed him on a multi-year deal to replace Esteban Ocon from 2027. His debut in the top class then came earlier than planned: after Ocon’s early exit from Haas, he makes it at the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix, in front of his home crowd at Interlagos.