Ernesto Rivera on his recovery from injury and road back to racing

Campos Racing impressed on the opening weekend of the season in Melbourne, but one of the team’s full-time drivers had to witness their strong start from the sidelines.

Ernesto Rivera sustained a back injury racing during the pre-season build-up and was forced to miss Round 1. It was a tough setback for the rookie, but he has kept himself busy getting ready for his comeback.

Speaking during the Melbourne weekend, the Red Bull Junior Team driver explained how his recovery has gone and what he has been up to in pursuit of a return to racing.

“I feel much better now. It's been a tough couple of weeks not being able to race, but I’m feeling much better now,” he explained.

“I went to Mexico to see my doctor and everything, and I was going to physiotherapy three hours a day. Every day I’ve been getting a little bit better.

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“I cannot do much. Like two-and-a-bit weeks ago, I started to do a little bit of gym work, a little bit of swimming, a little bit of biking. But there’s not too many things to do, just sitting on the couch, watching Netflix, watching everyone race.”

While the initial days and weeks following his injury meant he was limited in what he could do, Rivera hasn’t wasted time working in areas that he has been able to be involved in.

He says he has taken part in every team debrief for example so that he doesn’t fall behind in terms of the car and team’s trajectory in 2026.

He’s also been working with Red Bull, maintaining sharpness and ensuring he’s maximising his time out of the car wherever possible to make sure he’s as prepared as possible for when he gets back in the F3 car later this season.

“I've been speaking to my team recently, Campos and Red Bull, trying to keep in contact. I'm in all the debriefs, asking a lot of questions as they are in their second year. So also trying to learn as much as possible. And it's interesting to see things from the outside.

“I've been analysing a lot of data, seeing what the common mistakes in Free Practice are, what's the evolution through Qualifying and the races, trying to learn as much as possible.

“I haven't been very frustrated because I know there's not much I can do. I just was trying to heal the best as possible and to heal well.”

Rivera also pointed out that he’s been able to see trends established already in the team and learn from his more experienced teammates in Ugo Ugochukwu and Théophile Nael.

He believes the team’s Qualifying performance in Australia and the driver’s ability to soak up pressure and deliver where it counts has been evident from the outset this season.

“It seems that the team executed really well in Qualifying. You can see the experience they both have on their last lap, especially Théo, he was under a lot of pressure and he executed really well. So that has been very impressive.”

Reflecting on the next steps he will undertake in his recovery journey, Rivera says he is aiming to be as ready mentally as much as he is physically.

Simulator work and more gym work will be taking up his time ahead of the next race weekend, a prospect he’s eagerly awaiting.

“Now, I’m trying to get fit again, recover a little bit of muscle and also prep mentally. I’ll do a lot of simulator to get back in the rhythm and I’m looking forward to being back to 100%”