The 2025 Formula 2 season was a rollercoaster for Frenchman Victor Martins, who had the pace to fight at the front, yet endured a season full of retirements and misfortune.
Before joining F2, Martins gained years of experience across various motorsport series, including the Championnat de France F4, Formula Renault Eurocup, and Formula 3 in 2021. During his first F3 season with MP Motorsport, he finished 5th in the standings before joining forces with ART Grand Prix in 2022 to win the championship. He continued his journey with the French team in F2 for two seasons, finishing 5th and 7th, respectively.
Despite starting the 2025 F2 season as a clear title favorite, Martins endured a pattern of strong qualifying performances that rarely translated into points and success.
From Melbourne to Jeddah
In the season opener in Melbourne, Martins originally qualified in P2, but was promoted to pole after the previous pole sitter received a penalty. The Sprint Race quickly saw his first retirement of the season on Lap 3, after dropping positions in the opening laps, losing the rear of the car at Turn 5, and colliding with the wall. Later, however, dangerous weather conditions forced the cancellation of the Featur Race, which meant that Martins was the only driver to be awarded points for his pole.
Bahrain featured another strong qualifying result of P2 before a disastrous Sprint start. As the lights went out, Martins was run wide by Dunne at Turn 1, bursting through bollards, which resulted in front wing damage. However, determined to continue, Martins made his way into the pits under a safety car to come out in P20 and make his way up to P15. The French driver went on to finish the Feature Race in 5th, earning his first race points of the season.
Round 3 in Jeddah saw more improvement in race results after qualifying in P2, taking a point in the Sprint with P8, and going on to claim his first podium of the season in third place.
Incidents beyond Martins’ control
In Imola and Monaco, Martins started off with strong performances until incidents and issues beyond his control limited his results. Martins qualified P15 in Imola and finished P4 in the Sprint. He later ended the Feature Race in 12th after his car stalled on the grid, forcing a pit lane restart.
The 24-year-old driver went on to suffer a weekend without points in Monaco, despite qualifying in P2, just 0.003 seconds behind the leader. After a P17 Sprint result, Martins was set for a front-row Feature Race start alongside Dunne, where he made a strong start and got ahead of Dunne. However, misfortune struck at Turn 1 as Dunne locked up and drove into the side of Martins, putting him into the wall and causing a massive accident with seven drivers retiring.
Points and challenges
The 2025 F2 mid-season from Barcelona to Spa saw strong recovery drivers, frequent points, and a podium. Though his pattern of strong qualifying sessions and rougher races was still visible. In Barcelona, Martins qualified P15 and gained ten points in the Sprint with decisive overtakes to claim P5, before securing more points in the Feature with a P8.
Martins’ weekend in Silverstone got off to a strong start with a pole position. However, a possible strong result soon slipped away from him as he finished 8th in the Sprint after dropping crucial positions. The next day, his bad luck continued, as he suffered a Feature Race DNF in the pits with front wing damage.
The French driver made a small comeback in the Spa Sprint as he made his way up from P6 to P2, claiming another key podium.
However, later, Budapest, Monza, and Baku were frustrating weekends, with qualifying ranging from P7 to P12 and Feature Races ending in retirements due to technical issues and on-track incidents. His Sprint performances showed some recovery, but his overall results remained mid-field and outside of the points, highlighting continuous misfortune and fading F2 title chances.
A long-awaited victory
The penultimate 2025 F2 round in Lusail marked Martins’ best of the season. Starting in P2 in the feature, Martins made a strong launch, took the lead from Fornaroli, and drove to a hard-earned victory. It was a special moment, as Martins displayed a level of confidence rarely seen earlier in the season.
However, the season finale in Yas Island ended with a P7 Sprint finish and an unfortunate DNF in the feature after Dunne hit the rear of Martins, causing both to spin and retire on track.
Eyes on 2026
Victor Martins finished his third Formula 2 campaign 11th in the Drivers’ Standings with 97 points after facing a season of highs and lows. A standout performance in Lusail saw him claim victory, while other rounds, like Budapest, ended in disappointment due to retirements and technical issues.
Looking ahead to 2026, Martins will race for Alpine in the FIA World Endurance Championship and serve as Williams’ F1 Test and Development Driver.
