Can F2's relaxed title favourite prove a point to Alpine?

One win. Nine podiums. Three poles. Top rookie. Victor Martins had a standout first season in Formula 2, but now the Alpine F1 junior faces the difficult second album, the campaign by which, whether they like it or not, so many drivers in the category are judged.

And the task couldn’t be more difficult for the 22-year-old Frenchman, who will begin his championship mission in Bahrain, now spearheading the ART Grand Prix squad and battling to top one of the best driver line-ups we’ve seen in F2 for some time. That’s despite Martins’ former team-mate, reigning champion Theo Pourchaire, departing to compete in Super Formula, and the rest of the top four – Frederik Vesti, Jack Doohan and Ayumu Iwasa – also moving on.

Although it was Pourchaire who ultimately tasted success in 2023, Martins’ single victory actually matched his countryman’s haul, showcasing the fine margins by which the season can be decided. He relishes his status as the highest-placed driver from last term.

“Honestly, it’s not putting on any pressure,” he professes. “It’s just giving me confidence ahead of the second season in F2. Of course, it will be an important year for me, for Alpine, for the team and for the people who have been supporting me.

“But in the end, it’s just to continue in the same way, to continue working like I did last year and just correct the few mistakes that I made and keep the same mindset, which worked quite well for the overall season last year and it will work again this year. At least, I have the confidence that it will.”

The mistakes to which Martins alludes mostly came during the early phases of his rookie season, with an opening-lap collision in the Bahrain feature race and an individual error while holding the net lead in Jeddah causing him to record two retirements from the opening four races. Asked how these errors can be removed, he replies: “I think it’s just experience and knowing what happened, having analysed them a lot through the winter break and also during the season last year and accepting them to make a step forward. I know where they came from, so it’s just a matter of putting it on track.”

Martins hopes to follow in the footsteps of his ART team-mate in 2023 Pourchaire by snaring F2 the title

Photo by: Jake Grant / Motorsport Images

Although Martins was at fault on both those occasions, a slow pitstop in the Jeddah feature race had caused him to push harder than was necessary to ensure his position at the front, with team principal Sebastien Philippe conceding that the team must also do better.

“For sure, last year, the speed was there,” assesses Philippe. “If you look at the second half of the season, consistency was much better. We had too many mistakes last year on his car, coming from the team first and also from Victor, who I think was trying too much at some points. But we just have to fine-tune every area from last year to keep the same type of performance and just to be a bit more opportunistic in some situations. We lost so many points in the first half of last year.

“We are close to being able to deliver well but I would say there will be some good contenders. It will be a big fight, I think. So just to make sure that we are consistent and to try, as much as possible, to avoid mistakes from both the team’s side and the driver’s side.”

"At the moment, he is quite relaxed, quite confident in what he is capable of doing. But the competition will be hard, so let’s try to focus on learning this new car first and see how it goes" Sebastien Philippe

While some drivers burst onto the scene and are an immediate hit, others take more time to mature in a category and are successful over a period of time. Oddly, Martins finds himself in a peculiar middle ground.

In Formula Renault Eurocup, he finished fifth in 2018 before progressing to runner-up in 2019 and, in 2020, he was crowned champion. Formula 3 was a similar story: fifth in his maiden year before championship success in 2022. Martins was fifth again in his rookie F2 season, and Philippe insists that a fast start to the new season will be crucial to any title ambitions, with a break of nearly two months following the flyaway races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

“We all know that when you are starting the second season in F2, you are always under pressure because it’s the moment when you need to deliver,” adds Philippe. “Now, it’s part of the game and he needs to cope with this pressure. I think, at the moment, he is quite relaxed, quite confident in what he is capable of doing. But the competition will be hard, so let’s try to focus on learning this new car first and see how it goes.”

Naturally, Martins has his eye on success in F2 being a springboard to F1. But even if he did become champion, this is far from a guarantee of progression. Since GP2 was renamed F2 in 2017, only three drivers have graduated the following year into F1, with two of these in the first two seasons – Charles Leclerc and George Russell.

Martins and Bearman duelled in Jeddah last year - could it be a preview of this year's title fight?

Photo by: Mark Sutton

Since then, only Mick Schumacher has made the direct leap. Yes, Nyck de Vries made his ultimately failed move via Formula E, and Oscar Piastri is now proving that a year on the sidelines is not the end of the world, but any driver would rather be racing than not.

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With this in mind, it’s likely that the early start to F1’s silly season could hinder those set to compete in F2 this term. A further roadblock for Martins is fellow Alpine Academy product Doohan, who has already made clear his determination to convince team boss Bruno Famin that he is worthy of an F1 seat should either Pierre Gasly or Esteban Ocon move on.

“For sure, you think about it,” concedes Martins. “But in the end, as I said, it’s about results and what you will do on the track. Alpine have been supporting me since almost the beginning of my career and it has all been done because of my results on the track.

“The confidence and the faith that they have shown in me, I just need to show results to show my potential and win. That’s it. Then I will get some opportunities. Of course, you see some movement in Formula 1, some people leaving and going to different teams, and it can open doors but it’s ultimately all about how I do in F2.”

While agreeing with the notion that success in junior categories is likely to create chances in F1, Hitech boss Oliver Oakes is not so sure that young talents should focus on the moves happening in the grand prix paddock.

“I think it’s quite bad and good today, the whole social media and internet thing with the young drivers and all that type of stuff, because some of them will see something happen in F1 and it’s already in their head of, ‘Oh no, what’s going to happen in a year or two?’, when actually, the truth is that they need to perform,” reckons Oakes. “And if they perform in either F2 or F3, they will get opportunities.

“We’ve seen in F1 with the latest news that people didn’t see coming, nothing is set in stone. There are always contracts, there are always ways out, and I think over the years, even Red Bull, with some of the moves that they’ve made, it just shows that if you perform in F2 and F3, you get an opportunity. That’s fantastic.

“I know we all talk a lot about the road being blocked but actually, I look at it quite differently. I think that Piastri and Logan [Sargeant], the last two of the crop, and [Yuki] Tsunoda, they’re still there and they’ve all had opportunities. That just shows the strength of the junior categories.”

Martins will have to dislodge Doohan from Alpine's thinking if he is to secure an F1 race berth

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

While Doohan will have his opportunity to prove his worth to Alpine across 10 days of private F1 testing, Martins could feature in FP1 sessions towards the end of the year, although he’s “not aware of any [plans] at the moment. Obviously, on my side, I would like to get some but honestly, I’m just really focused on Formula 2 and I know if I’m performing well, I will get some at the end of the season. That would be naturally given to me regarding the results. But for now, I don’t know and it’s not planned at all.”

F2 revealed its first new car since 2018 at last year’s Italian Grand Prix, with aerodynamics more akin to modern F1 cars, ground-effect technology and a striking rear wing not dissimilar to that used in Super Formula. Pre-season testing took place in Bahrain recently and was disrupted by wet weather on day one, adding a further restriction on running time.

“Obviously, the car has changed so it will be a matter of getting ready, getting a good understanding of the car, but that is what we have done in Bahrain,” says Martins. “It was only three days, which were in the end two days because of the rain, but I think we are ready for the first few rounds and then we will have some more [time] in Barcelona for testing.

"I have never had any problems working with team-mates. I’m always quite open-minded. I also know that [Zak O'Sullivan] can bring some good things to the team" Victor Martins

“I don’t think it’s changed that much – at least, the feeling in the car. It’s just maybe only visible on the aero package but, in the end, the feeling is still the same because the tyres have not changed, so the contact with the ground is the same, the grip is the same. The compound is from Pirelli and the same tyre.

“Then the brakes are the same, the same engine – so it’s just the aero package which we need to understand how to work around and see how the car behaves. But in the end, it’s quite close. The feeling from the first laps was quite good and it felt like the pace was already good.”

Alongside getting to grips with the latest generation of car, however similar it may initially feel to the previous iteration, Martins will also have to adapt to his new role as team leader, with last year’s F3 runner-up Zak O’Sullivan in the sister car, although “on paper” Martins suggests that this role “doesn’t exist”.

“Obviously, I am a second-year driver and he is a rookie,” he says. “He is in the same position that I was with Theo last year but, in the end, I have never had any problems working with team-mates. I’m always quite open-minded. I also know that he can bring some good things to the team, some good feedback and also some good driving style. Sometimes you can think that you’ve done a good job but maybe someone else can do it differently and it is better, so you can learn from that.”

Martins has felt comfortable in the new car during testing

Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Regarding who could stand in his way for championship glory, Martins struggles to narrow down the list, perhaps adding further credence to the notion that the class of the 2024 grid is a step up on recent campaigns.

“I don’t know. It’s not so clear,” he reflects. “Also, during testing, you never know who is doing what at the same time as you, so it’s quite difficult to actually compare. Also, because some teams are focusing more on qualifying runs, some teams are focusing more on race runs.

“In the end, you cannot really compare and see who is the fastest so far. But I would say the guys from last year like [Ollie] Bearman, [Zane] Maloney and some others – [Kush] Maini will be quick with Virtuosi [now Invicta] and I think some of the rookies will be there also.”

Abundance of talent promises a season to remember

This season’s Formula 2 grid is one of the most exciting for years, with proven race winners and potential championship contenders almost everywhere you look – even with the top four drivers from 2023 electing not to return. Among the roster, there are two rookies who are likely to face more scrutiny than their peers – Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Ritomo Miyata.

Italian Antonelli, the reigning Formula Regional European champion, has skipped Formula 3 as Mercedes looks to fast-track his career, and is already being touted as a possible contender to claim Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 seat for 2025. Japanese Miyata, a long-time protege of Toyota, enters with Rodin Motorsport as the reigning Super Formula title holder.

It’s not hard to see why so many have been caught up in the hype surrounding 17-year-old Antonelli. Following a glittering career in karting, he transitioned into cars in late 2021 and has since claimed five titles, mostly secured with Prema Racing, the team with which he will race in F2.

With 34 race wins in two years across Italian and German F4, the FIA Motorsport Games F4 races, and FRegional Middle East and Europe, it’s understandable why Mercedes felt Antonelli is capable of making the sizeable leap to race in F2. He even scored a victory on a one-off in a GT3 Mercedes in Italian GT, aged 16…

Reigning Super Formula champion Miyata heads in the opposite direction to Pourchaire in joining Rodin Motorsport

Photo by: Rodin Motorsport

Aged 24, Miyata is considerably more senior than most F2 rookies. His has been something of a meteoric rise by the standards of Japanese motorsport, where much more emphasis is placed on paying your dues while under the protection of manufacturer support. With Toyota patronage, he has won the F4 title (twice!) and Super Formula Lights. Then, in 2023, he conquered not only Super Formula but also Super GT – the fifth driver to achieve this feat in the same season, but comfortably the youngest.

The real intrigue surrounding Miyata comes from the debate as to which championship between F2 and Super Formula is tougher to succeed in. A definitive answer is unlikely to emerge, but opinions are likely to be swayed by not only the progress of Miyata, but also that of reigning F2 champion Theo Pourchaire, who has moved in the opposite direction to compete in Japan.

This season’s Formula 2 grid is one of the most exciting for years, with proven race winners and potential championship contenders almost everywhere you look – even with the top four drivers from 2023 electing not to return

It’s not just Antonelli and Miyata who hold the intrigue, with all of the top five drivers from last year’s F3 standings stepping up. Reigning champion Gabriel Bortoleto is now a McLaren F1 junior, and the Brazilian has joined Invicta Racing (formerly Virtuosi). While Bortoleto showed great consistency in 2023, runner-up Zak O’Sullivan won the most races. The Williams protege lines up alongside Victor Martins at ART Grand Prix.

Paul Aron graduates with Hitech GP, Franco Colapinto (like O’Sullivan, the Argentinian is backed by Williams) is with MP Motorsport, while new Red Bull Junior recruit and Fernando Alonso-mentored Pepe Marti represents Campos Racing. Another F3 race winner from 2023, Taylor Barnard, is on the grid with PHM Racing.

Apart from Martins, those with F2 race-winning pedigree already are Ferrari starlet Ollie Bearman (Prema), Enzo Fittipaldi (Van Amersfoort Racing), Dennis Hauger (MP), Richard Verschoor (Trident) and new Aston Martin charge Jak Crawford (DAMS). This is a series not to be missed…

F3 graduate Pepe Marti joins Campos as one of the cluster of promising rookies to join the fray in 2024

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool