Victor Martins returns to the end of the story with Alpine : "Our goals were no longer the same"

To find the composition of the academy ofAlpine for the 2025 season, you had to use your mouse wheel to scroll through the pages of the press kit forwarded to the media, to finally find mention of the young shoots sponsored by the A fléché. The team has not made any public communication on the arrivals and departures among its contingent of young drivers, but the future of Victor Martins has not left many doubts. Announced late as an ART GP driver in F2 For the third consecutive year, the Frenchman did not appear in the colours ofAlpine, but in a black and red outfit, the usual ART GP shades.

The French team made his departure official implicitly by not mentioning it anywhere in its press kit which only mentions two Formula 2 drivers: the Italian Gabriele Mini (Prema), 2nd in Formula 3 and the Indian Kush Maini (DAMS), winner of his first sprint race in Budapest last year, but only 13th in the championship. Victor Martins confirmed this news during a conversation with media including PlanetF1. To be honest, I don't want to waste time on this." begins the 23-year-old pilot. We broke up. We didn't really talk about it because we didn't want to continue on both sides. Ultimately, let's say my goal and their goal were no longer the same and that's why we wanted to break up."

"But in the end, the past doesn't matter. Only the future matters." continues Victor Martins. “I see my F2 season coming up very soon with ART and I am fully focused on that. I will not make any further comments on this.” Alpine has therefore visibly lost confidence in his driver. After his more complicated second F2 season (7th), the native of Quincy-sous-Sénart was no longer really favored by a team that turned to drivers from outside.

Clear goal for Martins: “To crush everything from the first race”

The arrivals of Franco Colapinto, Paul Aron and Ryo Hirakawa left no hope of reaching the Formula 1 in Alpine to Victor Martins. The best rookie of the year 2023 is also the victim of a choice ofAlpine to favour drivers with greater financial resources, such as the Indian Kush Maini, who has not really convinced during his first two seasons in F2. Martins' lack of patrons has certainly been detrimental to him, despite his talent which carried him to the Formula 3 title a little over two years ago now.

The doors to the premier category of motorsport seem to be closing a little more to the Parisian, who will have to have an exceptional season to hope to hang on to his dream a little longer. By setting the best time on the first day of pre-season testing in Barcelona, ​​Victor Martins has gained confidence. "We are quite happy with what we saw and where we are. So we are confident going into the season. » he assured in Catalonia.

“I think the confidence is there, the pace, for Ritomo (Miyata), my teammate and myself, is good both in qualifying and in the long runs. So I think we have everything in hand to approach the first round with good confidence and to crush everything from the first race.” No doubt filled with a sense of revenge after his ouster fromAlpine, the Frenchman has a season ahead of him to prove to Flavio Briatore and his ilk that they were wrong about him.

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