Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Victor Martins’ start to the Formula 2 season has had ups and downs, with the rookie sitting 15th in the standings after four rounds.
The ART Grand Prix driver has showed really strong pace since the beginning, qualifying second on debut at Bahrain and claiming pole position at the second attempt in Jeddah.
However, mistakes of his own making and a technical infringement that led to disqualification from Baku’s feature race means Martins’ only points-scoring race results are third place in the season-opening Bahrain sprint race and second in Jeddah’s sprint race.
The Alpine junior is not looking for excuses and knows perfectly well what he needs to do to return to the front of the field.
“I don’t think it’s luck. First of all, I think it’s all coming from my side. It’s my mistake,” a critical Martins told Formula Scout during F2’s in-season test at Barcelona.
“But of course, we analysed a lot. I have the perfect support from the team, from Alpine who tries to give me their thoughts, their ideas on that to guide me.
“Then on myself, I think it’s just a matter of don’t want too much, to not expect too much from my performance that I show in qualifying, for example, and just to go from there, keep learning throughout the whole season,” he explained.
“In the end, it is just to manage a bit better, maybe push more in some areas, to manage those little moments that could get you into a mistake, maybe to push less and to score the points because in the end it’s a really small mistake but big consequences.
“But I’m fully confident, I don’t lose it. It’s just a matter of putting the level of pushing at the right level.”
Martins admitted that his speed has surprised him, and the fact that he has been quick since the beginning reassures him heading into the European tour.
“Of course, performance has been great, even better than what I was expecting, even with the team.
“In the end, performance is good. I will get more opportunities. So just head down and we will get the points,” he concluded.