Victor Martins, a victory that does a lot of good

The road to the first victory resembled an obstacle course for Victor Martins. He had speed since the start of the season with three pole positions and above all a great level of performance displayed in qualifying. In the race, the protégé ofAlpine had a little more difficulty putting everything together, sometimes paying for his rookie status against rivals much more experienced than him.

Thus, the Ile-de-France native had to be content with a few podiums, notably in the Sprint Race, without really being rewarded on Sunday, sometimes a victim of bad luck. At Silverstone, the ART Grand Prix driver did not miss his chance this time, finally converting a pole position into victory.

« It means a lot to me, he whispered happily after the arrival. We worked a lot during the races to understand what kind of approach I should have, how to manage the tires but also to know what my state of mind should be in the race compared to qualifying. I think I found it a few rounds ago. It was only a matter of time to achieve this victory (...) It's great to be able to share the podium with Théo. We must continue like this. »

VICTOR MARTINS VICTORY IN SILVERSTONE 🏆🇫🇷

Theo Pourchaire on the 3rd step of the podium 👀💥 #BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/07b0lY4oNH

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) July 9, 2023

A penalty that almost ruined everything

But there again, Victor Martins almost lost everything again. In question ? A rather severe penalty from the race direction for having “gained an advantage” outside the track limits. He was in fact criticized for going wide at turn 3 on the first lap in order to regain the lead of the race ahead of Ayumu Iwasa. A sanction with which the main person concerned did not necessarily agree. According to him, it was above all a battle specific to a first round where the nervousness is often higher.

« I had a bad start and Ayumu was in the lead after the first corner, advances the Habs. Coming to the third, I knew I was going to regain position by staying on the outside line. From my point of view, neither of us deserved a penalty. This is primarily a first-lap racing incident. I didn't have enough space to stay on track so I went wide, but not by much. I then dove into turn 4 where I was also tight. This is how it all happened but at no time did I think I would receive a penalty."

Regardless, the marshals were not lenient and gave him a 5-second penalty. The peloton tightened due to the intervention of the safety car, Victor then had 10 laps to definitively shelter himself from his runner-up Zane Maloney (Carlin) and thus not see another victory slip through his hands .

« I did my best to keep my tires warm after the Safety Car, He explains. I then pushed it but not to the limit where you can start making small mistakes. I knew I had a very good pace so I had to maintain a regular pace for 10 laps to create this 5 second gap.."

Arriving in the lead with a 7 second lead, Victor Martins was then able to relax. He has finally entered the winner's circle for this 2023 season after missing the mark several times. A sigh of relief for him.

« It gives me more confidence but I will in no way change my approach in preparing for tests, qualifying, he calms down. I've always had pace, I have three pole positions under my belt... I feel like I have the confidence, a good car, the team behind me, the right people around me to do well. things. This victory will give me confidence in understanding how to do things. I don't want to say that there will be many more but I will in any case do my best to get them. » That’s all we ask for!

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