Ahead of the exciting Berlin E-Prix weekend, Pit Debrief sat down with Pepe Martí for an exclusive interview. The Spanish driver spoke about his expectations for the weekend, the development of Formula E and GEN4, and his goals for the remainder of his rookie season.
Martí’s aiming for a top five finish in the Berlin E-Prix
After a successful home race in Madrid, the team comes into the Berlin weekend on a bright note. Still, Martí treats the race weekend like he would any other. When asked by Pit Debrief about his expectations for the weekend, the CUPRA KIRO driver said:
“I would say it’s pretty similar to any other event. I think I’m just going to try and keep the same mentality that I’ve had for all the other races, where, I mean, it’s gone quite well. Obviously, there are things that I want to achieve this weekend, such as getting into the duels across one of the two races, hopefully both, in qualifying. Then if we can aim for a slightly better result than sixth, hopefully a top five at some point, it would be really, really good.”
With six rounds completed, the rookie has secured 19 points and sits 12th in the standings. Martí has continued to improve and demonstrate his progress over the first couple of rounds, so a top five could be in the cards in the near future.
Big changes coming in the future of Formula E
The latest technological advance introduced by Formula E comes in the form of the GEN4. While the new era of cars will be used for the first time next season, the excitement has already begun. When asked about his thoughts on the development of Formula E, the rookie reflected:
“The main thing that excites me is it’s going to be a much quicker car. That’s something I’m very much looking forward to. This car, you get a lot of detail from the technical side, but on the performance side of it, we’re maybe slightly behind other championships.
“So, it’s nice to see that the car is getting quicker, the car is also getting more efficient every year. I think it’s something that’s going to be very interesting for the championship, also for the drivers, and hopefully popularity-wise as well. Hopefully, the fans enjoy it, and more people get introduced to the sport.”
Martí settling in with CUPRA KIRO in Formula E
The CUPRA KIRO driver entered his first year of the all-electric series after impressing in Formula 2 for two years. Before his years in F2, he was in both F3 and F4 with the Spanish outfit, Campos Racing.
As Martí spent his years in the feeder series with Campos, the driver took on a new challenge with a new team. Taking on a different racing category, along with a new environment and unfamiliar faces, could add pressure for anyone. However, Martí has handled the big changes with grace.
When Pit Debrief asked how he settled into the new team and environment, he reflected on the experience saying:
“Definitely better than I expected or anticipated. I’ve been with the same team since F4, with Campos, so I didn’t really know what to expect in terms of going to a new team, a British team, so completely different to what I’m used to. Everybody has welcomed me in so well. Everybody’s been so nice to me from the very beginning. They sort of pushed to help me be as ready as I can be for any event or every weekend.
“To be fair, everyone is just doing their job so well that it makes my job easy. I just have to pull up to the race weekend, do as best as I can, and I’m 100 percent confident that the team does their job well, and that gets us good results. It’s honestly just a nice group of working people.”
Goals set for remainder of the Formula E season
While Martí has shown solid performance in the accomplished rounds, he aims for higher finishes and more points. His best finish in the first few rounds was a P6 in Jeddah. Now, the driver is set on a top-five finish in the near future. Asked about his goals for the remainder of the season, Martí said:
“Definitely to get a top five, that’s the main goal in terms of being ambitious where I want to go, is to get a top five. Hopefully, get a podium in the future, but being honest, I’ve tried to maintain the same goal from the very first race of the season, which was I want to get 50 percent of the races in the points. That was my main goal, that was what I sort of had my mind set on.
“Now it’s being complete, I’ve scored in four out of six races, but there is still 11 more races to go. There’s still a lot more things to take into account, tough tracks like Japan, tough tracks like London, which are going to be quite harder to make up positions in the race. Not like in Sao Paulo where you could be 15th and then by the end of the race find yourself on your way up to top five. I think it’s going to be quite hard to maintain that. So, I want to maintain my expectations relatively low, average, and sort of then surprise myself because I know that we can do a good job.”
Martí’s development as a racing driver in Formula E
The 20-year-old has shown steady improvement and a willingness to learn. Since the karting days, the driver has demonstrated talent and grit. While it sometimes leads to chaotic mistakes, the rookie learns more and more each weekend.
Asked about his biggest area of growth as a driver, he emphasised the importance of a good relationship with the team.
“Probably communication because it is very hard to express what you’re feeling in the car, and even more so here. You have so many sensors, so many systems that really reflect what’s going on in the car. Like for example, if I go into the traction control, or the way that we cut torque and stuff like that on throttle, being able to determine what causes it and find a solution for it is very, very important.
“The team needs good communication from the driver to be able to find the reason for it and also to find a solution. I’d say that’s definitely the hardest thing that I’ve found in terms of team communication when I came in and something that I’ve improved a lot since I arrived.”
The action is back on track at the Berlin E-Prix, where Martí will use his lessons to pursue greater gains.
