Rafael Chaves Câmara (; born 5 May 2005) is a Brazilian

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

, who competes in the

FIA Formula 3 Championship The FIA Formula 3 Championship (FIA F3) is a third-tier international Open wheel car, single-seater racing championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for ...

for

Trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...

. Câmara is the 2024 Formula Regional European champion and the 2022 Formula 4 UAE runner-up, driving in both for

Prema Racing Prema Racing, previously known as Prema Powerteam, is an Italian motorsport team, owned and operated through the '' DC Racing Solutions'' parent company. Founded in 1983, the team is based in Grisignano di Zocco and currently operates out of It ...

. He is a member of the

Ferrari Driver Academy Ferrari Driver Academy is a driver development program by the Formula One team Scuderia Ferrari to promote young talent within its own organisation, with several drivers being selected and funded by the team, while under long-term contracts. Ov ...

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 The FIA Karting World Championship, officially known as the Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a kart racing competition organised by the CIK-FIA. Hosted annually since 1964, it is widely regarded as the ...

, driving in the OK Junior class for Forza Racing. Having finished fifth in the

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

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 The WSK Champions Cup is a European kart racing competition organised by the WSK. Its inaugural season took place in 2014. Today, the series holds championships in four: karting categories: KZ2 KZ2 is a kart racing class using 125 cc water-cool ...

and

WSK Super Master Series The WSK Super Master Series is a kart racing competition organised by the WSK. Its inaugural season took place in 2010. Today, the series holds championships in four karting categories: KZ2, OK, OKJ and 60 Mini. Notable champions have been Fo ...

, as well as taking vice-champion status in the European Championship.

Formula 4 (2022)

F4 UAE

In 2022, Câmara made his single-seater debut, competing in the F4 UAE Championship with

to prepare for his main campaigns in Europe. Having missed the opening round due to contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, Câmara scored his first podium at round two in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, before achieving his first pair of car racing victories at the same venue the following weekend. 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. Despite winning Race 1 at Yas Marina, a collision in the third race forced his retirement from the race and clinched the title for teammate

Charlie Wurz Charlie Wurz (born 2 December 2005) is an Austrian-British racing driver who currently competes in the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship for Trident Racing, Trident, having driven in the same series for Jenzer Motorsport in 2024 FIA Formula 3 Cham ...

. Câmara ended up second in the standings and first in the rookie championship with 6 wins.

ADAC F4

Remaining with Prema, Câmara competed in ADAC F4, partnering Wurz,

Andrea Kimi Antonelli Andrea Kimi Antonelli (; born 25 August 2006) is an Italian racing driver who competes in Formula One for Mercedes-Benz in Formula One, Mercedes. Born and raised in Bologna, Antonelli is the son of sportscar racing driver Marco Antonelli. Afte ...

, Conrad Laursen and fellow

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

member James Wharton. The season started out strongly, as two-second places and a victory in Race 3 at

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, ho ...

gave Câmara the championship lead. 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 Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain, Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" ( ...

and

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

respectively. His championship challenge was thwarted before the next round at the

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

however, as another contraction of

forced Câmara to miss the event. He finished off his campaign with two pole positions and podiums at the second

round, which earned Câmara the rookie title and third overall in the standings.

Italian F4

In tandem with his ADAC F4 campaign, Câmara also competed in Italian F4 with

. He experienced a competitive start to his campaign, inheriting victory at the season opener in

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

when race leader Antonelli experienced a gearbox failure in the closing laps. Another victory followed at Misano, where the Brazilian proved his opportunism by overtaking his Italian teammate at the safety car restart, which was then followed by another impressive weekend at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

, where, having stalled from pole position in Race 3, Câmara recovered to third by the checkered flag. More podiums came at

Vallelunga Vallelunga (Italian for ''long valley'') is a valley, or plateau,Tonino Floris, Marco Spada, ''Pedalando nel Lazio''p. 97 Edizioni Mediterranee, 1996 . near Campagnano di Roma, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in S ...

and the

Red Bull Ring The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Austria, Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from t ...

, before Câmara experienced his first and only podium-lacking event of the year at

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. He finished his season third in the championship, falling behind

Alex Dunne Alexander Dunne (; born 11 November 2005) is an Irish racing driver, who competes in the FIA Formula 2 Championship for Rodin Motorsport as part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, and serves as a reserve driver in Formula E for McLare ...

at the final round after a collision with the Irishman at the first corner.

Formula Regional (2023–2024)

2023

During pre-season, Câmara did a full season in the 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship with

Mumbai Falcons Mumbai Falcons is an Indian motorsports team established by Ameet Harjinder Gadhoke, Navjeet Singh Gadhoke and Teja Ranade Gadhoke in November 2019. Moid Tungekar is the CEO of Mumbai Falcons. History The team was founded in November 2019 by G ...

. Despite not winning a race, Câmara claimed six podiums that took him to third in the standings. Having tested with the team at the end of 2022, Câmara progressed to the

Formula Regional European Championship The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) is a FIA-certified Formula Regional, regional European Formula Three, Formula 3 racing series. On 12 October 2018, it was announced that the Italian autosport regulator Automobile Club ...

with

the following year, driving alongside F4 teammate Antonelli and category veteran Lorenzo Fluxá. He took his maiden win in the series during the first race at

. With a second win at

and three additional podiums, he finished fifth in the standings.

2024

Câmara remained with

for the 2024 FRECA season. He began the season with a fairly large lead, equalling his podiums from the previous season and claiming four wins in the first three rounds. Though going winless for the next two rounds, he cemented himself as a championship favourite with a win from pole at the first race at

Paul Ricard Paul Louis Marius Ricard (; July 9, 1909 – November 7, 1997) was a French industrialist and creator of an eponymous pastis brand which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard. Ricard was also an environmentalist and t ...

and a lead of 50 points from second place, fellow Ferrari junior

Tuukka Taponen Tuukka Taponen (born 26 October 2006) is a Finnish racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with ART Grand Prix. He previously competed in the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship with R-ace GP, finishing third overa ...

. After the summer break, Câmara won another race at

before a pointless weekend at the

. Despite the slight setback, he clinched the title in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

with one round remaining after a podium and a 4th place. One final win at

resulted in a total of 7 wins, the most wins in a single FRECA season. He scored points in every round except for one, never qualified outside the top four and had a 75-point lead over second place, James Wharton. Additionally, Câmara competed in the 2024 FRME season, remaining with

. He finished third in the championship with two wins.

FIA Formula 3

2025

Câmara was promoted to

Formula 3 Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

for 2025 with

, alongside

and FRECA rival

Noah Strømsted Noah Malling Strømsted (; born 29 July 2007) is a Danish people, Danish racing driver who currently competes in the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship for Trident Racing, Trident. He previously raced in the 2024 Formula Regional European Championsh ...

. He qualified on pole and won the feature races in both

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. In

, he took his third consecutive pole position, the first driver to do so since

Logan Sargeant Logan Hunter Sargeant (born December 31, 2000) is an American racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Sargeant is the nephew of billionaire business magnate Harry Sargean ...

in 2020. However, his feature race win streak came to an end, and he had to settle for third behind Santiago Ramos and teammate Strømsted. He claimed his fourth pole position in

, the first driver to accomplish this feat in the series and converted it successfully to his third feature race win having led every lap.

Formula One

Câmara joined the

in 2022 alongside

Oliver Bearman Oliver James Bearman (; born 8 May 2005) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Haas F1 Team, Haas. Born in London and raised in Chelmsford, Bearman began competitive kart racing aged seven, winning several national and cont ...

after competing in the FDA World Scouting Finals.

Karting record