Most Formula 2 rookies would be happy to sit fifth in the standings with one round remaining, with one win and nine podiums to their name. But not Victor Martins. The self-effacing, ever-critical Frenchman claims his 2023 has been “average”, despite sitting as the best-performing first-year driver.
The 2022 F3 champion, who is also a member of the Alpine Academy, moved up to F2 with ART Grand Prix for this season and has been widely praised for his performances - especially compared to third-year team-mate Theo Pourchaire, who is embroiled in a title fight with Prema’s Frederik Vesti.
Martins started the season as he meant to go on, claiming a third-place finish in the season-opening Bahrain sprint race before taking second the following round in Jeddah. Despite a brief drop in form the following three rounds, he bounced back with a double-podium in Barcelona before making it three-in-a-row next time out at the Red Bull Ring.
With three pole positions under his belt, an elusive first victory came at Silverstone, enduring three safety cars and a five-second penalty to take a sensational win. It meant “a lot, extremely a lot,” to the French driver.
“We have worked really hard on the races to understand what kind of approach, how to manage the tyres and the mindset I need to have for the races compared to Qualifying,” he said after the race. “I think I’ve found it since a few rounds and it was all about time, just to wait for this one until we had almost, I would say everything right because that was a tough race still today. But I will say now I had a great car; ART is doing a super job. Also, with Theo, it’s amazing to be the two of us sharing the podium. I think it’s there and we just need to continue that.”
That strong showing continued next time out at the Hungaroring, with yet another podium, and though he narrowly missed out at Spa, two more second-places came at Zandvoort and Monza.
Despite all that, Martins told Autosport ahead of the penultimate round at Monza that he rates his season as “average.”
Source: Autosport