Tough 2024 'didn't exist' as title favorite warns: '2025 will be different'
Interview
Victor Martins did not have the 2024 season he was expecting. With Formula 2 introducing a brand new car for last year, many teams struggled to extrac the performance and balance necessary to fight at the front on a weekend to weekend basis, ART, the Frenchman's team included. However, Martins looks confidently ahead to the 2025 F2 season and will settle for glory and nothing else.
2025 will mark Martins' third year in F2. During his tenure in the F1 feeder series, the young talent is still to clinch a rather elusive title. The first question he was asked had to do with his and Alpine's paths becoming separated ahead of the season opener in Australia, a sensitive topic which he resourcefully navigated. Then he was asked by GPblog regarding his aspirations on his third season in F2, a decisive one in his career.
"It's going to be an important year," he acknowledges. Being a seasoned F2 talent the Frenchamn is viewed by many as a favorite to the title, something he's unfeathered by. "I have no problem for people to put me as the favorite because in the end, I have been the rookie champion in 2023 (P5 in the overall standings, ed.)"
Last year was a difficult season for many teams and drivers, including 2025 F1 rookies, Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), even more so for Oliver Bearman (Haas F1), but for Martins and ART as well. "2024, for sure, I think I was one of the favorites also, but in the end, we didn't manage to put everything together. We struggled a lot with the car, with the package, overall."
But from darkness a bit of light may be drawn, something the ART driver is keen on doing: "I think I have experienced also a situation where I have not been in the past. I have been a bit surprised by not being at the front straight away, finishing on many pole positions in 2023, every time on the podium. I think I was most of the time up there fighting for victories and for sure, I learned a lot of things about how to manage these difficult moments."
A 'serene' Martins looks ahead at a potentially title-winning season
"I feel this year is going to be different. In my mind, I feel like I jumped from 2023 straight to 2025 and 2024 doesn't really exist, or let's say it doesn't for sure affect my goal, my motivation, my confidence in the team and the people I'm working with. I know I'm working with the best engineers in Formula 2 and they will give me the best car in quali in Melbourne," adds Martins.
Though his ambition runs high, it doesn't muddle up his focus and he sets out to finally clinch that elusive F2 title. "I know this year is going to be different, but I don't want to be like 'I need to win straight away. I need to do the pole from the first run.' I know that the package we have right now is really strong in both short and long runs. So for sure it brings more serenity into how you approach the weekend. But for sure my goal is to win the title and nothing else," he concluded.