Cross-interview – Théo Pourchaire and Victor Martins: “Our first meeting? One on top of the other in a kart!”

Gentlemen, you are both leading the championship. Does it matter at this stage of the season?

Theo Pourchaire : Of course it's important, because the goal is to win the championship! I know that if I don't win, the doors of the F1 will remain closed. I have to be consistent. Of course, the championship has 14 rounds on the calendar, so the first three are not the ones that count the most, but it was important to get off to a good start! It's done !

Victor Martins: For me it's the same, I need the title to move up Formula 2. It's always positive and nice to be in the lead after two rounds. This is all the more so since we have not yet been able to maximize our full potential. This means that we still have room for improvement. It's great, but we'll have to raise the level, because everyone will improve, including young kids like Isack (Hadjar) who are pushing hard!

You may be at the top of your respective championships, but your first rounds were not perfect, between bad luck and small errors. This gives the impression that you both have a lot left under your belt...

Victor: We are in different categories, but we both compete at ART Grand Prix, in the same team. We communicate a lot and we know what state of mind everyone is in, and I would say that Théo and I are in a fairly similar situation. In the sense that we are not yet maximizing everything at the moment. In the car, I admit that I didn't do everything right. In Bahrain, I had an avoidable collision (of which he was the victim, Editor's note) which had no reason to happen, and in Imola, I made costly mistakes. All this is frustrating because we could have more points. You have to free yourself and stay focused. We know we are fast, we just have to show it every weekend. It's frustrating but positive to say that there is still this margin, and that despite all this, we are ahead.

Theo: Frankly, I think the start of the season is not that bad. I made small mistakes, but I was able to make up for them! And then the others did too. I also had a lot of bad luck. I hope we ate our black bread on that. I'm happy, because the most important thing is to win the long races. And for now, that’s 2 out of 3! Piastres won the championship like that last year. 

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Our French FFSA Circuit Team is gathered for a discovery course under the aegis of Captain Jean Alesi. Land objective for our young drivers on the Monteils Circuit 🎯👊

???????? @TPourchaire, @IGK_Zack6, @VictorMartinsFR, @HadrienDavid and Esteban Masson 🤩 pic.twitter.com/bXYlRzho0Q

— FFSA (@FFSportAuto) May 16, 2022

Victor, you work at ART Grand Prix in F3, in car no. 7. Obviously, it brings back memories (Théo also played in number 7 at ART in 2020). Are you using Théo's 2020 season in any way? Through data perhaps?

Victor: We don't really use data from previous years. Maybe the engineers, but not us pilots. And then, it evolves all the time. The area where I tried to take inspiration from Théo was his first laps of the race. He is very observant, and he analyzes everything very well. He has always been very strong in this aspect. At ART Grand Prix, we often talk about activating this state of mind at the start of the race. And it works quite well for me!

Do you remember the first time you saw each other?

(They burst out laughing)

Victor: Do you remember it or not?

Theo: If that's what I think...I'm afraid so! 2014 ?

Victor: Exactly ! Our first meeting was… on top of each other in a kart (laughs)!

Theo: I'm glad you remember that. It was in Ostricourt (59), on a Thursday, in Free Practice. I had a brand new CRG chassis, and it’s an important detail! There was a double left, and there…

Victor: ... I remember... you had your season in Minimes, you had been champion. He was clearly the guy to beat. I was just starting out in karts. The year before, I was still doing leisure activities. At that time, I could barely walk in the paddock because my stomach hurt from stress (smile). In short, we were right between the two left turns, I had to be on the outside to let the others pass, because I was breaking in, I was discovering everything (laughs). And he came full ball from behind. We collided! I didn't have much, but you Théo, you broke everything (laughs).

Theo: Clearly! The new chassis didn't last long (laughs). It was the first outing of the year! It wasn't funny at the time, but looking back, it's something to laugh about.

What quality of another would you like to have?

Victor: For my part, this is clearly what I was talking about earlier. Namely his ability to make the difference in the first rounds. In F3 and F2, he was very strong on this. I think I'm doing pretty well now too. You have to be observant but opportunistic.

Theo: Where perhaps I sin a little compared to Victor is in qualifying. On a lap, when you have the pressure, when you have to put everything together to get a pole or a top 3, he is very comfortable, where I sometimes don't always put everything together .

It’s not so bad Théo, eh…

Theo: Yes, yes, but not always enough!

Can we count on you for France to win both F2 and F3 this year?

Victor: Of course ! We wouldn't be here otherwise!

Theo: Exactly, that’s what we’re here for and we’re going to do everything for it!

ALSO READ > VIDEO – Théo Pourchaire’s crazy chase in an Intermarché