Then & Now: Josep María Martí on his learnings with Campos Racing and journey to Formula 2

Josep María Martí and Campos Racing are practically synonymous in FIA single seater racing.

The Spaniard has driven for the team almost exclusively since graduating from karting to cars, and in the FIA pyramid in Formula 3 and Formula 2, the combination has achieved success together.

The Red Bull Junior Team driver sat down to reflect on those years and what he’s learned as he reaches the halfway stage in his second season of F2.

WELCOME TO F3

“I was coming from Formula 4, I skipped Formula Regional and to be fair, I was expecting to be regularly competitive-ish and I took a big hit. I struggled quite a bit at the beginning in my lack of experience.

“I kind of struggled. As a team we were maybe not the most competitive in 2022, and I think we did a really good step forward with the team and developed across the year.

“Towards the end, things got a bit more feisty. In Monza, I got the first points which was quite good. Then into 2023, I took a massive step forwards.

“I think the off season helps a lot to process everything. You can look back at all of the races, analyse everything and what you’ve done wrong. You take a whole lot from that process.

“It’s a really good time to reset and you understand what you’ve done wrong, what you’ve done right, and you try to improve on your strengths and minimise your weaknesses.”

SECOND YEAR STEP

“I thought 2023 was a massive step forwards as a driver – super competitive from the get-go and had a really competitive year.

“We missed out on a top three in the Championship by basically nothing, but I felt like we were the second quickest or the overall quickest driver across the whole year. If I hadn’t done some mistakes, I probably would have been challenging Gabriel for the Championship.

"I was trying to drive how someone else was driving and maybe trying a bit too hard rather than just enjoying the journey"

“So that was great, but to be honest, it was a great year. I learned a lot and got picked up by the Red Bull Junior Team. So it was a really important year for me personally. Then I did the jump up to F2 and here we are.”

ONTO F2

“First year was quite troublesome. We had a freaking lot of DNFs which was my biggest problem because I missed out on so much running. Like I barely did any laps in Baku. Coming into 2025, do I really know Baku that well?

“The familiarity with all the tracks – it wasn’t as high as I would have liked. I felt like in 2024 I was a bit silly mentality-wise. I was trying to copy someone else in Isack rather than be myself.

“I think I made some steps in my first year in F2. I think results don’t show that, but I felt the leaps forward, especially with the off-track side of things. Towards the end of last season, I felt I recovered that bit I’d lost because I was trying to drive how someone else was driving.

“That was down to a bit of not knowing what to do and maybe trying a bit too hard rather than just enjoying the journey.”

FEELING BETTER THAN EVER IN 2025

“I feel confident this year. I feel confident in my capabilities in 2025. I feel calm that I can perform well and hopefully we can have some more good results.

“I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that you can’t always depend 100% on yourself. I mean you can do, but you can’t do as much and can still be unlucky.

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“But I’d say the biggest one is that you can’t give anyone anything out there. It sounds selfish but to be honest, the sport is a very self-centred sport. I’ve faced a lot of setbacks in my career but I’ve always grown from that. I know what I’ve done wrong and what I’ve done well in the past, and I think I can use those experiences to be successful.”

WORKING WITH CAMPOS

“Campos has grown massively since I joined them. When I joined them in F3 in my rookie season for the team, they’ve moved into EuroCup and F1 Academy, so there’s so many people working back at base, it’s actually insane.

“I used to know probably 80% of the people. Now maybe it’s only 50. I’m really, really proud though. I think people underestimate what Adrián Campos Jr has done for the team.

“Losing your father is probably the hardest thing so to continue after that and to do as amazing as he’s done – he’s an amazing Team Principal. I’m privileged to drive in a Campos Racing car.

“If we were second last year as a team, hopefully this year we can go one better and make Adrián Sr very proud.”