Rafael Câmara converts Bahrain pole to victory as he continues dominant F3 run
Brazilian Rafael Câmara converted pole to feature race victory for the second round in a row in the FIA Formula 3 championship.
SAKHIR–Rafael Câmara won from pole position to take victory in the FIA Formula 3 feature race in Bahrain despite having to claw back his lead from rival Callum Voisin.
Voisin got past the polesitter on the brakes into turn one, holding a narrow lead ahead of his Brazilian competitor for a handful of laps before Câmara regained the position on lap five.
The Trident driver managed his race from there, building a lead of more than six seconds to take the chequered flag ahead of Voisin and Tim Tramnitz.
“Quite happy with the result, the team did an amazing job," said Câmara.
"I had a very good car for the race, after yesterday it was a good comeback, very happy with the result.
"Thanks a lot to the team and now we keep our heads down for the next round."
It was a deserving victory for Câmara, who had started twelfth in the reverse-grid sprint race but stalled on the grid, having to fight his way through the field in an unheralded effort that still left him out of the points-paying positions.
The victory in the feature race, his second in the two rounds so far of the championship, means he extends his lead of the drivers' standings, now on 56 points ahead of Tramnitz on 30 points. Voisin is now tied with Noah Strømsted in third on 27 points, with sprint-race winner Nikola Tsolov completing the top five on 23 points.
"I think from my side I just keep the same approach, focus on my job," said the young Brazilian.
"I’d say it’s almost perfect to start like this but there’s a long way to go. There are still eight rounds and anything can happen, I can be the fastest now, but we don’t know for the next race.
"I am quite confident with the team that I have, we have been doing a good job, and we just need to keep going like this and we will be fighting for the championship in the end."
Kiwi Louis Sharp was 23rd, with Aussie James Wharton 28th on Sunday in Bahrain.
The FIA Formula 3 championship returns 16-18 May at Imola for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
