Victor Martins hailed a ‘great day’ around Silverstone in F2, which put him on pole for the Feature Race at the British GP, with a 1:39.731.
After a painstakingly close qualifying session, with every turn and margin making the difference. The Frenchman beat out Alex Dunne and Jak Crawford to the top spot.
A strong Friday
When speaking to media after the session, Martins talked about how he felt strong all Friday in his ART machinery. He said, “Today was ours. I think we did a great day again. FP was really strong. I think we knew exactly what to improve for quali. Then run one was strong again.”
“I was sitting P1, a bit upset and not so happy about the balance I had, but definitely we did the right choice. We changed something, and then I was, I wouldn’t say much better, but it was just more comfortable, and I delivered a good lap to get P1.”
Martins confidence lasted throughout qualifying, with Martins confessing that he knew his pole lap was going to be good enough for at least the top three.
He said, “I think, honestly, from the first few corners in sector one on my last lap, I knew if I was just doing not more than what I should do, I was going to get at least a top three again. Definitely aiming for pole, but I think the lap was really good. I think sector two, I had a bit more, definitely.”
The pace was so strong in the ART that Martins felt there was more time on the track, even in his pole lap. He admitted, “On the second lap, I still had tyres, I think I could have improved sector two, but definitely the overall lap was quite a good one, a clean one. And definitely I’m on the good side today, so it was good.”
A long journey
Martins hasn’t had the easiest F2 journey. He had a stellar rookie year in 2023 finishing as the rookie of the year above the likes of Ollie Bearman, a F1 graduate.
However, 2024 was a difficult year, with the new F2 cars being introduced and ART struggling to find their footing under the regulation shift. The Frenchman admitted coming into 2025 he wanted to reset, and the title was his goal.
Throughout the 2025 F2 season, Martins has had glimpses of greatness and title potential, with the highlight of his season being a podium in Jeddah. He also swapped the Alpine driver academy for the Williams academy, which has paid dividends, taking part in FP1 sessions.
Now starting on pole for the Feature Race, Martins is hoping to leave Silverstone with a big haul of points. The Frenchman said he feels confident for the weekend: “I think I’m quite confident that since the beginning of the day, we were always there. Every lap I completed was really strong.”
“Even in FP, the last few laps were always there. We didn’t have so much deg, so I’m quite confident that we can have a good car, can deliver every time good laps with some clean driving. And I think Red Bull Ring was a bit like something to put on the side. We know what went wrong.”
Tyre degradation
One of the biggest talking points over the last few weekends has been tyre degradation. A small tyre margin can have a massive effect when the grid is as close as the F2 grid often finds itself. Especially in the sprint race, where there are no planned pit stops.
When asked about the challenge of tyre management, the Williams junior said, “I think it’s always a compromise between pushing and saving. You know, sometimes you can save, but sometimes it’s just too much, and then you end up not putting any energy in the tyres.”
With the high speed flowing corners of Maggotts and Becketts posing a challenge to both driver and tyres. Martins noted the front left as a specific area that struggles at Silverstone.
“For sure, front left is going to suffer, especially on soft. Then the rear on the thermal side is going to be critical. But I think if tomorrow we have a dry race, we will get some data, we will analyse what is good, what is bad, and then go into a future race with some changes or whatever. But definitely it’s going to be challenging.”
The sprint race will be harder for Martins, having to climb from tenth on the grid looking for points. However, Martins hopes will still be on the lead of the race for both the Sprint and the Feature.
