Jun 8

Late heartbreak for Invicta Racing in Monaco

All images ©: Dutch Photo Agency

Invicta Racing endured a bittersweet weekend on the streets of Monaco, as Rafael Câmara secured the first pole position of his FIA Formula 2 career before seeing victory slip away in Sunday’s Feature Race, while Joshua Dürksen narrowly missed out on a podium in Saturday’s Sprint Race

Invicta Racing's qualifying results banner

The critical importance of track position in Monaco placed increased emphasis on Qualifying, and the Principality’s unique session format saw the 22-car FIA Formula 2 field divided into two groups of 11 drivers, with Rafael competing in the first and Joshua in the second.

With just 15 minutes available for each session, maximising track time was crucial, and Rafael immediately demonstrated encouraging pace during his opening run.

Unfortunately, when building up to a competitive lap, the Brazilian ran wide on the exit of the final corner and tapped the barriers but pressed on to complete the lap, setting a 1:24.366.

Nursing suspension damage, Rafael returned to the pits and Invicta Racing’s mechanics immediately set out to repair the car. A Red Flag with just under four minutes remaining – caused by an accident for John Bennett – provided the team with valuable extra time to continue repairs.

In a herculean effort, the Invicta Racing crew completed the work in time for Rafael to rejoin the session and, having slipped to ninth in the order, he used his first run back on track to build momentum before starting his final flying lap with just over 30 seconds to go.

Producing one of the standout laps of the season to date, Rafael’s time of 1:20.923 at the flag saw him surge to provisional pole position, guaranteeing himself a front-row start regardless of the second group’s outcome.

After opening with a brief delay following a spin for Laurens van Hoepen, Joshua started the second session by setting a benchmark 1:24.495 and continued to make substantial gains.

The Paraguayan improved to a 1:21.903 on his second attempt and lowered his time further to a 1:21.557 which was ultimately fast enough for fifth at the session’s end.

With a 1:21.053, Nikola Tsolov topped the second group but crucially fell short of Rafael’s benchmark, which handed the Invicta Racing driver the first pole position of his FIA Formula 2 career. Joshua, meanwhile, ranked 10th in the combined classification.

RESULTS

Rafael Câmara: P1 (1:0.923)
Joshua Dürksen: P10 (1:21.557)

With the top 10 positions reversed for Saturday’s Sprint Race, Joshua was due to start from pole position but lined up fourth after receiving a three-place grid penalty for impeding Kush Maini in Qualifying. Rafael, meanwhile, started from 10th.

Joshua made a clean getaway at the start to maintain fourth over the opening lap and immediately put himself in the fight for the podium by applying pressure to Gabriele Mini ahead.

Further back, Rafael enjoyed a strong launch and gained two places on the first lap to move into the points-paying positions with eighth.

As the Sprint Race settled into a rhythm, Joshua continued to chase down Mini for third but, despite repeatedly trying to force an error from the Italian, was unable to find a way through.

Joshua ultimately took the chequered flag in fourth place, finishing just three tenths of a second from the podium, while Rafael maintained eighth place to score one point.

RESULTS

Joshua Dürksen: P4 (5 points)
Rafael Câmara: P8 (1 point)

Thanks to his pole position in Qualifying, Rafael lined up at the front of the grid for Sunday’s Feature Race, while Joshua faced a more challenging afternoon, with an additional five-place grid penalty for a tyre infraction leaving him to start from 18th.

Rafael made a strong start from pole to successfully defend from Tsolov into Turn 1 and controlled the pace during the opening laps – breaking clear of DRS range on Lap 5 – to establish himself at the head of the field.

Conscious of the threat of the undercut strategy, Rafael carefully managed his pace to keep the leading group compressed and prevent rivals from gaining an advantage during the pit phase.

The Brazilian opened a two-second advantage over Tsolov before making his mandatory pit stop on lap 33 of 42, rejoining the circuit in the net lead after a clean tyre change from the crew under intense pressure.

Exiting the pits, Rafael struggled to get temperature into his Supersoft tyres, leaving him low on grip and vulnerable to Tsolov, who quickly closed the gap.

At the end of Rafael’s out-lap Tsolov launched an attack, and with the pair running side-by-side, the Brazilian locked a front tyre under braking and ran into the run-off area in Turn 1. Unable to turn the car around, he was heartbreakingly forced him to retire.

With the retirement denying Invicta Racing a likely Feature Race victory, Joshua was left as the team’s sole challenger and, after climbing to 16th over the opening laps, extended his opening stint to move up to eighth.

Hoping to capitalise on a late Safety Car which never transpired, Joshua made his mandatory pit stop on the penultimate lap. The Paraguayan rejoined in 18th and pushed hard on fresh Supersoft tyres to overtake Cian Shields and Mari Boya on the final lap, before being promoted to 15th following a post-race penalty for Colton Herta.

RESULTS

Joshua Dürksen: P15 (0 points)
Rafael Câmara: DNF (0 points)

RAFAEL CÂMARA

“This weekend is a tough one to take. Firstly, the team did an amazing job in Qualifying, and I’m very thankful for what they did for me. The last lap put us exactly where we wanted to be for the Feature Race. Starting from 10th in the Sprint Race, there were limited opportunities to make progress, and I think eighth was realistically the best we could achieve. On Sunday, the car felt strong and we managed the first stint and strategy very well to hold the net lead after the pit stop. Unfortunately, I struggled for grip on the Supersofts, which allowed Nikola [Tsolov] to close in before I went off at Turn 1 and had to retire. Having the race end in the way it did hurts, so I’m glad we have a chance to fight back straight away in Barcelona.”

JOSHUA DÜRKSEN

“Overall, it’s been quite a challenging weekend here in Monaco. The car felt very strong, but with the grid penalties for both races, it felt like our opportunities were limited. In the Sprint Race I tried to force Gabriele [Mini] into a mistake which unfortunately didn’t happen. Starting from 18th in the Feature, our best option was to run long and hope for a Safety Car, but unfortunately it never came. The car felt competitive again this weekend and it’s frustrating to not come away with more points, but we’ll regroup in Spain.”

JAMES ROBINSON, TEAM PRINCIPAL

“Monaco gives and Monaco takes, and it’s been a bittersweet weekend for us as a team. On one hand, we had the high of Rafa taking his first Formula 2 pole position in Qualifying, followed by the low of losing what was set to be a likely victory in the Feature Race on Sunday. Missing out on a win is never easy but experiencing it in Monaco after leading the whole race prior is a difficult one to take. On Joshua’s side, he showed good pace across the weekend, but the grid penalties across both races limited his points potential. I’m very proud of the whole team for their work this weekend, and I would sincerely like to thank our mechanics for their efforts to repair Rafa’s car in Qualifying. Given the pace we’ve shown, it’s disappointing to leave this weekend with just nine points but we’ll reset, rise to the challenge, and come back stronger.”