Rafael Villagómez Jr. (Spanish pronunciation: [rafaˈel βiʝaˈɣomes]; born 10 November 2001) is a Mexican race car driver who is currently competing in the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship with Van Amersfoort Racing, having previously competed in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for three seasons. He won the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy competition in 2019.[1]

Rafael Villagómez Jr.
Villagómez driving the Dallara F2 2024 during the 2024 Spielberg Formula 2 round
NationalityMexico Mexican
Born (2001-11-10) 10 November 2001 (age 23)
León, Guanajuato, Mexico
FIA Formula 2 Championship career
Debut season2024
Current teamVan Amersfoort Racing
Car number15
Starts6 (6 entries)
Wins0
Podiums0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finishTBD in 2024
Previous series
2023
20212023
2021
20202021
2020
2020
FR Middle East Championship
FIA Formula 3 Championship
F3 Asian Championship
Euroformula Open Championship
French F4 Championship
F4 British Championship

Career summary

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Lower formulae

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In 2020 Villagómez made his car racing debut in the French F4 Championship, whilst also competing part-time with Fortec Motorsport in the F4 British Championship.[2] He achieved a second-place finish at Le Castellet and, with 121 points, finished sixth in the championship.

In the British series he scored a maiden podium finish with third in only his second race. However, in the following races the Mexican was unable to replicate this result and finished eleventh in the standings, only ahead of four other drivers.[3]

Euroformula Open Championship

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2020

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Villagómez participated in the final round of the 2020 Euroformula Open Championship at the Circuit de Catalunya with Drivex as a guest driver.[4]

2021

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Villagómez at the 2021 Euroformula Open

He joined Van Amersfoort Racing for the 2021 season.

FIA Formula 3 Championship

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2021

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Villagómez driving for HWA Racelab during the 2021 Spielberg Formula 3 round

In 2021 the Mexican made his debut in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for HWA Racelab, racing alongside Matteo Nannini and Oliver Rasmussen, becoming the first driver from Mexico to compete in FIA F3. Unfortunately for Villagómez, he was unable to score any points throughout the campaign, finishing 29th in the standings with a best race result of 13th. He drove for Van Amersfoort Racing in the post-season test.

2022

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Villagómez driving for Van Amersfoort Racing during the 2022 Spielberg Formula 3 round

The following year, Villagómez returned to Formula 3, partnering Franco Colapinto and Reece Ushijima at Van Amersfoort Racing. In Imola, he achieved his first ever points finish. At the end of the season, he partook in the post-season test remaining with Van Amersfoort Racing in September.[5][6][7]

2023

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Villagómez driving during the 2023 Spielberg Formula 3 round

Having competed in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship during the winter, the Mexican returned to Formula 3 in 2023, once again driving for Van Amersfoort Racing.[8][9] The campaign proved lacklustre, as it only yielded a pair of tenth-placed finishes at the season finale in Monza, leading Villagómez to finish 25th overall for the second successive season.[10][11]

FIA Formula 2 Championship

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Villagómez was invited to partake in the 2022 F2 post-season testing with Van Amersfoort Racing.[12] He returned to the test in 2023, once again driving for VAR at Yas Island.[13]

2024

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In January 2024, Villagómez was announced that he would step up to the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship, remaining with Van Amersfoort Racing for a fourth consecutive year, partnering up with Enzo Fittipaldi.[14]

Karting record

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Karting career summary

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Season Series Team Position
2010 SKUSA SuperNationals — S4 60th
2017 WSK Final CupOK Parolin Racing Kart 24th
2018 IAME Euro Series — X30 Senior 1st
IAME International Open — X30 Senior 24th
IAME International Final — X30 Senior 116th
2019 South Garda Winter Cup — KZ2 Birel ART Racing 94th
WSK Super Master Series — KZ2 65th
Trofeo delle Industrie — KZ2 21st
Trofeo Andrea Margutti — KZ2 32nd
WSK Euro Series — KZ2 42nd
CIK-FIA International Super Cup — KZ2 117th

Racing record

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Racing career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2020 F4 British Championship Fortec Motorsport 17 0 0 0 1 47 11th
French F4 Championship FFSA Academy 18 0 0 0 1 121 6th
Euroformula Open Championship Drivex School 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship HWA Racelab 20 0 0 0 0 0 29th
Euroformula Open Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 18 0 0 0 5 135 8th
F3 Asian Championship BlackArts Racing Team 15 0 0 0 0 6 17th
2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 18 0 0 0 0 2 25th
2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship Pinnacle VAR 12 0 0 0 1 44 13th
FIA Formula 3 Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 18 0 0 0 0 2 25th
2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 24 0 0 0 0 13* 22nd*

As Villagómez was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete F4 British Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 DC Points
2020 Fortec Motorsport DON
1

6
DON
2

3
DON
3

9
BHGP
1

Ret
BHGP
2

14
BHGP
3

13
OUL
1
OUL
2
OUL
3
KNO
1

8
KNO
2

7
KNO
3

8
THR
1

11
THR
2

8
THR
3

9
SIL
1
SIL
2
SIL
3
CRO
1

9
CRO
2

Ret
SNE
1

11
SNE
2

Ret
SNE
3

Ret
BHI
1
BHI
2
BHI
3
11th 47

Complete French F4 Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Pos Points
2020 NOG
1

6
NOG
2

4
NOG
3

5
MAG
1

14†
MAG
2

10
MAG
3

5
ZAN
1

5
ZAN
2

6
ZAN
3

7
LEC1
1

6
LEC1
2

6
LEC1
3

4
SPA
1

5
SPA
2

4
SPA
3

9
LEC2
1
LEC2
2
LEC2
3
LEC3
1

7
LEC3
2

2
LEC3
3

5
6th 121

Complete Euroformula Open Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points
2020 Drivex School HUN
1
HUN
2
LEC
1
LEC
2
RBR
1
RBR
2
MNZ
1
MNZ
2
MNZ
3
MUG
1
MUG
2
SPA
1
SPA
2
SPA
3
CAT
1

12
CAT
2

13
CAT
3

12
CAT
4

Ret
NC† 0
2021 Van Amersfoort Racing POR
1

3
POR
2

5
POR
3

8
LEC
1

4
LEC
2

6
LEC
3

3
SPA
1
SPA
2
SPA
3
HUN
1

2
HUN
2

Ret
HUN
3

2
IMO
1

6
IMO
2

3
IMO
3

Ret
RBR
1

7
RBR
2

8
RBR
3

12
MNZ
1
MNZ
2
MNZ
3
CAT
1

13
CAT
2

11
CAT
3

11
8th 135

Complete F3 Asian Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DC Points
2021 BlackArts Racing Team DUB
1

Ret
DUB
2

Ret
DUB
3

12
ABU
1

20
ABU
2

19
ABU
3

14
ABU
1

Ret
ABU
2

12
ABU
3

12
DUB
1

12
DUB
2

9
DUB
3

8
ABU
1

11
ABU
2

14
ABU
3

14
17th 6

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 DC Points
2021 HWA Racelab CAT
1

19
CAT
2

18
CAT
3

28
LEC
1

25
LEC
2

27
LEC
3

23
RBR
1

21
RBR
2

18
RBR
3

19
HUN
1

23
HUN
2

21
HUN
3

24
SPA
1

27
SPA
2

23
SPA
3

Ret
ZAN
1

22
ZAN
2

13
ZAN
3

25
SOC
1

20
SOC
2

C
SOC
3

Ret
29th 0
2022 Van Amersfoort Racing BHR
SPR

17
BHR
FEA

12
IMO
SPR

9
IMO
FEA

20
CAT
SPR

14
CAT
FEA

Ret
SIL
SPR

26
SIL
FEA

Ret
RBR
SPR

Ret
RBR
FEA

15
HUN
SPR

17
HUN
FEA

21
SPA
SPR

23
SPA
FEA

19
ZAN
SPR

28
ZAN
FEA

Ret
MNZ
SPR

26
MNZ
FEA

Ret
25th 2
2023 Van Amersfoort Racing BHR
SPR

Ret
BHR
FEA

19
MEL
SPR

14
MEL
FEA

19
MON
SPR

16
MON
FEA

16
CAT
SPR

27
CAT
FEA

25
RBR
SPR

Ret
RBR
FEA

15
SIL
SPR

20
SIL
FEA

16
HUN
SPR

17
HUN
FEA

17
SPA
SPR

23
SPA
FEA

21
MNZ
SPR

10
MNZ
FEA

10
25th 2

* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula Regional Middle East Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DC Points
2023 Van Amersfoort Racing DUB1
1

17
DUB1
2

11
DUB1
3

20
KUW1
1

6
KUW1
2

5
KUW1
3

Ret
KUW2
1

6
KUW2
2

2
KUW2
3

14
DUB2
1

Ret
DUB2
2

20
DUB2
3

13
ABU
1
ABU
2
ABU
3
13th 44

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DC Points
2024 Van Amersfoort Racing BHR
SPR

19
BHR
FEA

12
JED
SPR

14
JED
FEA

9
MEL
SPR

15
MEL
FEA

7
IMO
SPR

11
IMO
FEA

16
MON
SPR

15
MON
FEA

Ret
CAT
SPR

17
CAT
FEA

16
RBR
SPR

19
RBR
FEA

16
SIL
SPR

14
SIL
FEA

16
HUN
SPR

11
HUN
FEA

10
SPA
SPR

21
SPA
FEA

Ret
MNZ
SPR

16
MNZ
FEA

8
BAK
SPR

16
BAK
FEA

Ret
LSL
SPR

LSL
FEA

YMC
SPR

YMC
FEA

22nd* 13*

* Season still in progress.

References

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  1. ^ "#RMYTA19 Rafael Villagomez wins the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy 2019". Facebook. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Mexican rising star Rafael Villagomez signs with Fortec Motorsport for 2020". 14 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Rafael Villagomez delighted with early progress after maiden podium". 3 August 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  4. ^ "F4 racer Rafael Villagomez steps up to Euroformula for Barcelona". 29 September 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Formula 3 returns to action with post-season testing in Jerez". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Jerez post-season testing Day 2 entry list". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Jerez post-season testing Day 3 entry list". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  8. ^ Wood, Ida (5 January 2023). "VAR and Pinnacle Motorsport reveal line-ups for FRMEC and F4 tie-up". Formula Scout. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Rafael Villagómez re-signs with Van Amersfoort Racing for 2023". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Standings Formula 3 2023". fiaformula3.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Villagómez: Back-to-back points finishes at Monza 'deserved' 2023 reward for Van Amersfoort Racing". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Formula 2 prepares for post-season testing at Yas Marina". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. 22 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Formula 2 Post-Season Testing set to get underway at Yas Marina". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Rafael Villagómez steps up to Formula 2 for 2024 season with Van Amersfoort Racing". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
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