F3: Ferrari junior Camara reflects on his FIA Formula 3 title

F1 Grand Prix, GP Hungary, Hungaroring

Having taken victory at last Sunday's Formula 3 Feature Race in Mogyoród, Ferrari's junior driver Rafael Camara picked out consistency as his most important achievement, which helped him seal the title with a round still to complete.

In challenging conditions, Ferrari Academy member Rafael Camara claimed his fourth victory of the F3 season in Sunday's Mogyoród F3 Feature Race to seal the drivers' championship, with the season-closing Monza round still to go.

Reflecting on his title, Camara said: "I’m very happy. All the hard work we did all season has paid off, so super happy. It’s a time where we can finally relax a bit because all season, regardless of if you are losing or if you’re winning you always keep working hard.

"You always focus on the things that you can improve, you never really enjoy the moment even if you’re winning or losing, you just try to keep the focus very high and never leave anything on the table.

"So, to finally relax is very good and also after you feel very tired because it has been a very long journey and now, I can enjoy a bit with the team and with everyone.

"They deserve so much. What they did for me was something amazing. All the hard work the team was doing before the season already from last year.

"Obviously, the new car was a big question mark, and how we were going to start the season. After Australia it was a big relief for me and the team, we knew we were going the right way and now it’s time to enjoy a bit.

With one round still to go, Camara has already recorded four wins, five podiums, five pole positions and four fastest laps. Asked whether he had expected to display such a strong performance during his rookie season, Camara was quick to say that he did not have such expectations.

"Obviously no. I mean it was a big surprise. I think after all the preparation we did obviously you always want to win, you always go into a Championship thinking that you can win the Championship, thinking that you’re going to fight for what you can.

"But I was never expecting to start how we started in Australia. It was almost a perfect weekend, apart from the Sprint Races, but I think like I said after Australia I knew we were in a good place, and I just needed to keep myself always in a good spot with the team.

"With myself as well, I had to understand what I needed to do each weekend. Making sure I’m always consistent, as a rookie I think it was a very good year, and I will try to focus now for Monza and finish on a high.

Camara has secured five pole positions from nine qualifying sessions so far. Pushed on to reveal how he managed to deliver such a dominant performance in qualifying, Camara highlighted the fact that he somehow found the limit very quickly despite the heavily-limited track time.

"The only thing that is a bit different in Formula 3 compared to the other categories is that you are very limited in lap time. Sometimes you are not even fully on the limit in quali, especially in some races where we had a different compound from FP to quali where you don’t even know where the grip is.

"But understanding where the limit is and being fast straight away is a strong point on my side, as every time on the first runs we already had good pace and when you start already with good pace, it is much easier to set up what the car needs to improve.

"I also feel as the driver, it’s just more simple for what you need to do each run, and I think that’s why quali has been so strong," the Brazilian added.

Asked about his title fight, Camara said: "Everything can change so quickly, so you never relax. You know you are first but as you see on the Standings, sometimes I was fighting with one driver, sometimes it was another driver, every time it was changing.

"I always try to keep it clean, do a good job, don’t get involved in any crashes and be consistent. Even with that, sometimes we were further than P2, sometimes we were very close.

"We had a bit of luck, for example Austria unfortunately Nikola Tsolov got a disqualification, otherwise it would be much tighter. In Spa we got a bit unlucky that we couldn’t race, as it was a race I could have scored many points.

"It’s how it goes. A Championship is always very tricky, everything can change very quickly, you just have to make sure you are always in the right mindset.