Sergio Sette Camara: From Formula 3 Podiums to Formula E and Sportscars

Sergio Sette Camara is a Brazilian racing driver whose career ran from national single-seaters to European Formula 3, the Macau Grand Prix, Formula 2 and Formula E. He spent time in the Red Bull Junior Team and later worked as a McLaren development driver. The most recent programme on record is his 2025 campaign in the European Le Mans Series.

Who is Sergio Sette Camara?

Sergio Santos Sette Camara Filho is a Brazilian racing driver born on 23 May 1998. He moved from national single-seater racing into European Formula 3 in 2014 and later raced in Formula 2 and Formula E. His most recent programme on record is sportscar racing in the European Le Mans Series.

His career moved in a clear order: national single-seaters, then European Formula 3, then Formula 2, Formula E and sportscar racing. The sections that follow take those seasons in turn, starting with the years in which he first raced outside Brazil.

The Red Bull link shaped much of the middle of his career. He joined the Red Bull Junior Team on the strength of his 2015 form, was dropped from the programme in early 2017 and returned to it in 2020.

From Formula 3 podiums to a Formula 2 win at Spa, the Macau lap record and a long Formula E career.

How did his single-seater career begin?

Sette Camara became eligible for Brazil's national Formula 3 championship once he turned sixteen. He debuted at the fourth round at Interlagos in 2014 and finished the year seventh in the championship. The same season brought a guest appearance in European Formula 3 at Imola with EuroInternational.

At Imola he was a guest driver and so could not score championship points. He finished 14th, 20th and 21st in the three races that weekend. Those results gave him early exposure to a European field, which became the setting for his next full season.

What did the 2015 season bring in European Formula 3?

In his first full season, with Motopark, Sette Camara collected 57.5 points and finished 14th in the standings. He earned his first European podium at Spa, where he finished third, and added another third place at the Red Bull Ring. Scoring became more consistent as the year went on.

Spa was the turning point of the year. The early rounds were harder going, and the podium there gave him a result to build on for the rest of the season.

A weekend at the Masters of Formula 3 event in Zandvoort also went well. Sette Camara took pole for the qualification race, finished third in that race and then finished third again in the main race. The annual meeting rewarded his speed over a single lap and his consistency over a full race.

His 2015 programme also included a separate campaign in New Zealand. He made his Toyota Racing Series debut that year after replacing Dzhon Simonyan at Taupo. The series brought 199 points and a 20th-place overall finish.

Why is the 2015 Macau Grand Prix so notable?

Sette Camara's first Macau start included a seventh-place qualifying spot, an impressive result for a rookie on a circuit he had never raced. His fastest race lap set the outright lap record for the circuit, and it was more than 1.5 seconds quicker than his best qualifying lap. He still finished 22nd in the main race after trouble.

The qualification race was more positive. He moved up one place to sixth, which was the best race result of his weekend. The main race ended almost two minutes behind the winner, Felix Rosenqvist, and the outcome was far below what the pace suggested.

The lap record was the detail that stood out from that weekend. It showed that the car was capable of much more than the result, even though the main race itself was disappointing for a driver who had started the weekend well.

How did the 2016 season go?

In 2016 Sette Camara returned to Motopark as part of the Red Bull Junior Team. A first-corner incident at Paul Ricard started the year badly, but podiums at Pau and the Red Bull Ring followed. Grid penalties and a drive-through cost him in the second half, and he finished 11th overall.

Grid penalties removed a pole position he had earned, and a drive-through came while he was running second at Hockenheim. Those setbacks meant his pace was not fully reflected in the standings. He finished the year 11th in the championship.

Zandvoort again brought success. He finished fifth in the qualification race and third in the main race, which was the same pattern of strong finishes he had shown the year before at the same event.

What happened at the 2016 Macau Grand Prix?

Sette Camara arrived at Macau in 2016 driving for Carlin, a squad new to him. His teammates were Antonio Felix da Costa, Jake Hughes and Lando Norris. He qualified fourth, finished third in the qualification race and then finished third in the main race after a safety car period.

For half of the main race he led. The safety car came out after a crash involving Nikita Mazepin, and once it returned to the pits he was pressured immediately by da Costa. He lost the lead in a duel with da Costa and was then overtaken by Felix Rosenqvist, who also got past him after putting extreme pressure on.

Sette Camara held third place to the chequered flag. That gave him a podium at a prestigious race that draws strong fields from around the world, behind da Costa and Rosenqvist, and it was a strong result in one of the sport's best-known street events.

What did Formula 2 bring in 2017?

Sette Camara moved up to FIA Formula 2 with MP Motorsport for 2017, a move confirmed in November 2016. He was the youngest driver on the grid at the opening round in Bahrain. He qualified tenth for his first Formula 2 race, which hinted at his pace.

The Bahrain feature race ended 12th, but a time penalty dropped him to 13th. The sprint race went worse. A puncture on lap 1 forced an early stop, and he stalled in the pits. He then finished 18th with the fastest lap of the race, a lap of 1:43, but that earned him no point because he finished outside the top ten.

The rest of the early season was difficult. Baku, Austria, Silverstone and Hungaroring all brought no points. In Austria he qualified second and looked set for a strong result, but he was disqualified for an irregular fuel sample and sent to the rear of the grid. By the summer break he had scored zero points from 14 races.

Did Sette Camara win a Formula 2 race?

Yes. At Spa in the sprint race he started third, took the lead at the first corner and held it to the end. It was his first race win in Formula 2 and his first in car racing overall, because no race win had come since his karting days.

The Spa weekend was a turnaround. He finished eighth in the feature race and moved up to sixth once Charles Leclerc and Oliver Rowland were disqualified. The sprint win gave his season the momentum it had lacked.

At Monza he qualified 11th and finished sixth in the feature race. He started third for the sprint race, captured second place and lost the lead to Luca Ghiotto before holding his own for another podium. The final rounds were less productive. At Jerez, a stand-alone event for Formula 2 and GP3 with no German Grand Prix that year, he finished tenth in the feature race and 14th in the sprint. Yas Marina closed the rookie year with ninth in the feature race and eighth in the sprint.

What happened at the 2017 Macau Grand Prix?

Sette Camara returned to Macau for a third attempt in 2017 while racing in Formula 2 all year. He qualified ninth, finished third in the qualification race and led the main race for most of its distance. A last-corner collision with Ferdinand Habsburg dropped him to 13th.

He was quick from the first session. He was fastest in FP1 but hit the wall, and then his best qualifying lap was ruined by wall contact, which left him ninth on the grid. The qualification race went better, as he climbed from ninth to fifth on the first lap and then to third.

In the main race he inherited the lead once Joel Eriksson and Callum Ilott had both hit problems, and he held it until the final lap. He came under heavy pressure from behind before Habsburg, in a fast-charging car, overtook him around the outside on the final corner. Both drivers went into the wall. Habsburg crossed the line fourth in a heavily damaged car, while Sette Camara was classified 13th after leading most of the race.

How did the 2018 Formula 2 season go?

Sette Camara returned to Formula 2 for 2018 and finished second in the Bahrain feature race behind Lando Norris. He added a third-place finish in the sprint race that same weekend. The year ended with sixth in the championship and eight podium finishes.

The early podiums set a strong tone for the season. The season was far steadier than his first Formula 2 year, when he had scored no points before the summer break.

How did his Formula E career develop?

His Formula E career began with reserve duties at Dragon in 2020 and became a run of full-time seasons with Dragon, NIO 333 FE Team and then ERT Formula E Team. His recorded championship finishes were 22nd in 2020-21 and 20th in 2022-23, with a short spell as Nissan's reserve after that.

Dragon and the 2020-21 season

In February 2020 he joined GEOX Dragon as a reserve driver, alongside former European Formula 3 teammate Joel Eriksson. At the March rookie test in Marrakesh he was second fastest, behind Nick Cassidy of Envision Virgin Racing. In July, after Brendon Hartley left the outfit, Dragon promoted him to the second race seat for the Berlin season finale.

He was confirmed as a full-time driver for 2020-21. He scored his first Formula E points with fourth at the Diriyah ePrix, which was Dragon's best finish since the 2019 Swiss ePrix. London brought eighth place, and the season ended 22nd overall in the standings.

Dragon in 2021-22

Dragon retained him for 2021-22, with former Formula One driver Antonio Giovinazzi as teammate. His only points of the season came from ninth place at the London ePrix, which was the team's only points score of that campaign as well.

NIO 333 and ERT, 2022-23 and 2023-24

He moved to NIO 333 FE Team for 2022-23 and partnered Dan Ticktum. Fifth at the Hyderabad ePrix was the team's best result since 2018. He was eighth in Rome and fifth at the opening London round, although that fifth place was later disqualified because the team left a broken front wing unchanged when the session was red-flagged.

He finished 20th in the championship that season, while Ticktum scored double his points. In September 2023 the outfit, rebranded as ERT Formula E Team, announced it would keep him and Ticktum for 2023-24. He was released at the end of that season and replaced by David Beckmann.

Nissan reserve duties

For the 2024-25 season he joined Nissan as reserve and simulator driver. He made a return to the cockpit at the Berlin ePrix, subbing for Norman Nato, who had a clash with his World Endurance Championship schedule.

What was his link to Formula One?

Red Bull signed Sette Camara to its junior team after his 2015 Formula 3 form. He made a demonstration run at Motorland Aragon and then an official test with Toro Rosso following the British Grand Prix. He left that programme in early 2017 and later worked with McLaren as a test and development driver.

McLaren signed him in November 2018 as a test and development driver for the 2019 season. He returned to the Red Bull programme in 2020, his second spell in that structure. These roles were testing and development positions rather than race seats.

What is he doing in sportscar racing?

In 2025 Sette Camara competes in the European Le Mans Series with Nielsen Racing. His co-drivers are James Allen and Anthony Wells. The programme runs alongside his reserve role with Nissan in Formula E, so he was active in two different racing disciplines at once.

Sportscar racing is a different discipline from open-wheel racing, with multi-driver crews and a different mix of race formats. His move into that field reflects the shift in his career from single-seaters to endurance events, and his Nissan role keeps him active in Formula E as well.

How did his results compare season by season?

What is his legacy in motorsport?

Sette Camara's legacy rests on a few clear marks: the outright Macau lap record set in 2015, a Formula 2 sprint win at Spa in 2017, several podium finishes in European Formula 3 and Macau, and a long stint in Formula E with more than one team. He also served as a development driver for Red Bull and McLaren.

His record is one of steady progress through the junior categories. It shows a driver who was quick over a single lap, reached podium contention in several different series and built a long Formula E career across several teams.