Campos Racing’s Pepe Martí charged his way from thirteenth on the grid to secure his first F2 Feature Race podium of the season at Monza. This marked the Spaniard’s fifth visit to the podium in 2025. While the 20 year-old has enjoyed strong results in Sprint races, the Feature races have proved to be a challenge, with low qualifying positions making his Sundays far more difficult. However, by capitalising on the chaos that unfolded, Martí showcased impressive pace and bold overtakes to claim a well-deserved P3 finish.
Reflecting on his race
Speaking in the post-Feature press conference, attended by Pit Debrief, the Spaniard reflected on his podium and performance: “Yeah, well, firstly, like you said, first Feature Race of this podium of the season. It’s obviously come much later on than I wanted. But nonetheless, yeah, a very action-packed race. I knew we had pace even yesterday or before yesterday, because in qualifying, when the red flag came out, we were actually very, very competitive.”
Starting further down the grid, Martí admitted that the race was always going to be a “catch-up” game for him. But with a strong launch off the line, the Spaniard’s start saw him gain several places off the line. He noted that while double-stacking behind his teammate Arvid Lindblad costed him several places, he described the rest of the race as chaotic and eventful.
“And yeah, unfortunately, we started far beyond, further back than we wanted or deserved. So we knew it was a bit of a catch-up game. And today was just about that. Yesterday, we had a pretty decent start. And I was expecting today that some drivers would have not a great start. And so it was. I think I gained like five or six positions in the first lap. It was quite an eventful one. Then, yeah, the race almost turned on its head when the safety car came out.”
“And I had to double-stack behind Arvid [Lindblad]. I lost, I think, three or four positions, which was a bit of a shame. But yeah, obviously, then everything kicked off. So it was a very eventful race. And then, yeah, the fights at the end were also quite crazy. But, good race.”
Staying out of trouble in Turn 1
The Monza Feature Race saw many drivers, including Martí himself, cut across the Rettifilo chicane as he fiercely battled with Van Amersfoort Racing’s Rafael Villagomez. He explained that his battles with the Mexican were particularly aggressive and risky, but ultimately managing to avoid contact with Villagomez allowed him to safely finish the race.
“Yeah, in the last two fights, I’d say, mostly with Rafa [Villagomez], I thought he was moving very aggressively, generally on the brakes. There was one time where I almost really went into the back of him in T4, which I have no problem with because we didn’t crash. But in the end, he’s just taken massive risks for particularly no reason.”
On the final lap, Martí explaining how a braking misjudgement from AIX Racing’s Joshua Dürksen forced him into an unexpected move he didn’t intend on executing. However, managing to hold on to secure third, he was satisfied with claiming his first Feature Race podium of the season.
“And then, yeah, in the last lap, I think it was a bit of almost a misunderstanding, because I really wasn’t trying to overtake Joshua [Dürksen], because on the brakes, I was already happy with third, and I was like, Ok, I’ll just finish here. And then he broke much earlier than I anticipated, so I had to go to the inside and almost avoid crashing into him. So yeah, it was a bit of an action-packed last lap, but nonetheless, yeah, happy with the result.”
The overtake that secured P3
Reflecting on the decisive move for his podium, Martí defended the overtake, justifying that it was within the racing guidelines. While contact was made, the Spaniard justified and felt that the move he made was fair.
“I thought it was ok. I thought it was nothing too crazy. It was just that he obviously wanted to keep himself in the corner, and then we eventually made contact. But yeah, I broke where I thought I could break. I got more than alongside, which is what the rule states. And then, yeah, I had the priority for the corner. So yeah, that was the move.”
Driving standards
With Lindblad colliding with Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Dunne and Invicta Racing’s Roman Staněk, the race ultimately saw six retirements. Martí admitted he didn’t get to see much of the incidents that unfolded firsthand. However, he explained how mistakes like that ultimately comes down to cold tyres and limited running on the soft tyres.
“Well, I already mentioned what I thought about my personal racing. But, yeah, to be honest, I couldn’t really see much. I saw some stuff on replays on the screens. But to be honest, adding on to everything they said, I think you have to take into account that both of those happened on very cold tyres. We barely had any racing time before on the soft. And it’s very, very easy to commit a mistake like that.”
Martí empathised with Lindblad, drawing to a mistake he similarly made last year. While critics online have been highly critical of the 18 year-old, the Spaniard defended his teammate. He stressed that a single error shouldn’t define the driving standards of the grid, which are made up with some of the best young talents in the industry.
“So, I definitely agree that if there was a lock-up or there was a mistake, but I did the same last year here and I hit Paul Aron. So, I can tell you, I’m quite certain that I can tell you that it’s quite easy to do. So, I think it’s quite hard to judge the driving standards of a whole category of 20 of the best racing drivers in the world by one mistake.”
Tension in the car with chaos unfolding
In an intensely stressful race, it was challenging for drivers to stay focused and deliver a clean performance. Martí highlighted the importance of precision at Monza, where fewer corners make each one more critical and costly if a mistake is made. Echoing Hitech TGR Luke Browning‘s thoughts, he emphasised on maximising what you can control within your own car.
“Yeah, 100%. And I think one of the things I’d like to add to what they said is obviously here in Monza you have less corners, so each corner takes on more importance and every mistake counts more. So, yeah, you have to be very clinical and obviously, like Luke [Browning] was saying, you have to be very conscious of where you’re braking, what you’re doing at each braking, and obviously, yeah, trying to get the most out of your own car, because that’s essentially the only thing you can control.”
Martí weighs in on Herta’s potential F2 move
With rumours of Colton Herta’s move to Europe for an F2 campaign next year circulating the paddock, Martí shared his perspective on the bold move:
“I think I’d say the same as Luke [Browning]. Wish him best of luck, because here the competition’s quite ruthless and quite strong, so I think whoever he races with and whoever he races against, he’ll have to do a lot of work. And I’m not saying that he won’t do good.I’m just saying he’s got hard competition wherever he races.”
Front-wing damage did not stop Martí
When asked whether front-wing had impacted his performance, the Spaniard revealed he hadn’t even realised it was damaged.
Martí said: “I had no idea. I hope that it’s not the floor and I won’t get DQ’d [disqualified] in half an hour. But, no, I didn’t feel anything. So, I don’t think I have anything to worry about in terms of that.”
A moment of doubt as chaos unfolded
Pit Debrief asked the top three how they managed to stay calm and maintain a clean race amid the incident-filled race, and whether they’d doubted they’d finish, to which the Spaniard responded: “I had a moment where I thought I wasn’t going to finish. But that was a very pinpoint moment.”
Martí was then asked when, to which he replied: “With Josh [Dürksen].”
Overall, Martí had nothing bad to say about the driving standards during the race on Sunday. Adding that while he trust some drivers completely, there are some he doesn’t trust at all.
“No, but overall, I think the driving standards in there were always okay. And following upon what we had spoken about before, I think that anything that happens in a race is occasional in the end. It’s something that can happen once, maybe can happen again, but normally doesn’t happen twice. And in answering your question about trust, there’s drivers that I trust a lot and there’s drivers that I don’t trust at all.”
Martí explained that how his approach varies when racing different drivers. Recalling an incident from Sprint Saturday, the 20 year-old acknowledged and took responsibility for the incident. Furthermore, Martí emphasised the importance of handling unfortunate racing incidents like matured adults.
“And you race very much differently depending on who you’re racing against. Like, I definitely race Luke [Browning] very differently to how I race Joshua [Dürksen]. And even yesterday, we had a small coming together and we had a small conversation about it. I took blame for what happened, which is what I thought as well. And yeah, it’s racing, so you always have to act like grown-up people in the end, which is what we are, and we have to get on with it as well.”
Qualifying key to success in last three rounds
With three rounds remaining, Martí remains aware that qualifying continues to be the biggest weak point for him. While he showed strong pace during his first lap, a shortened session denied him the chance of any improvement, to which he acknowledged the need to focus on improving his first laps of qualifying.
“Well, that was a very painful fact. But nonetheless, I think it’s quite clear. I mean, like I said before, I had good pace in the last lap in qualifying. The only problem is there was no last lap. Therefore, what’s clear is what I need to improve, which is the first laps in qualifying.”
“Because in the end, if I look at statistics between first set, second set, I’m normally top three guys that improve the most. So what’s clear is that my starting point is sometimes too far back. And that’s what needs to change. I’m aware of how to change it.”
Since his podium, Martí has moved ahead of Lindblad in the Drivers’ Standings, now sitting in sixth with 112 points. The Spaniard expressed confidence in his abilities to turn things around moving forwards. With the next round in Baku just two weeks away, Martí is optimistic he’ll be able to continue on his upward trajectory.
“And I know exactly how at a mental point I also have to be. So I’m confident that I’ll get a turn around. And then we have Baku in two weeks’ time. So I have still some time to get working on it. And yeah, I’m confident that we can continue this trend upwards.”
