Ex Alpine Academy junior, Victor Martins has joined Williams F1 Academy.
Martins previously was part of Alpine’s Academy from 2018-19 then 21-24 during which he finished runner-up in 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup – he won the title in 2020 after dropped from Alpine – and won the 2022 F3 title in a tense season finale at Monza, Italy.
He has since spent the last two seasons in F2 where he took two wins and four pole positions en-route to a pair of top-seven championship finishes, and is currently sat eighth in this season’s championship after just one race following the cancellation of the Australian Feature Race due to rain.
Martins is “super happy” to join the team as he joins fellow F2 driver, Luke Browning in the academy, who was his teammate in the final three rounds of last season after ex Williams Academy driver – Zak O’Sullivan suffered budget issues which forced him to drop out of the season before Azerbaijan.
“This is a new chapter for me, but my goal remains the same – to push myself to the limit, both as a person and as a racing driver, and to make it to Formula 1.
Martins proceeded to express his belief that Williams can help him achieve his ambitions which currently is set on winning the F2 title at the third attempt after a tough 2024 season which saw ART GP struggle to adapt initially to the new regulations.
“Williams is an iconic team with an incredible history, and I’m confident this is the best place to be to help me achieve my goals.
“This year, I’ll put all my focus into winning the Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship with ART Grand Prix and maximising this opportunity with the Driver Academy both on and off the track.”
Williams Sporting Director, Sven Smeets added that he is “thrilled” to sign Martins who will conduct testing of previous Williams machinery raced in recent seasons with full developmental support, alongside Browning who will also get testing time in the cars.
“We will continue to support Victor’s development on and off the track as part of the Academy and look forward to working with him in 2025.
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