Martins praises ART Grand Prix transformation after positive start to Sakhir test

It was a strong start to in-season testing for ART Grand Prix and Victor Martins, as the Frenchman finished with the quickest time on the opening day of running.

A 1:42.536 put him narrowly ahead of Campos Racing’s Josep María Martí to the tune of 0.048s, but it was a momentum-building day in Sakhir says the ART driver.

“It was a good first day for us, to gather some data. We did a lot of aero tests, just to get information about what we can still improve on the car in some areas.

“The afternoon was more about performance, qualifying laps and comparing to others on the first set of option tyres,” he explained after the session. “I think it went well. What we see is confirming what we expect with the car since the beginning of this season. So, I think it’s quite positive.

READ MORE: Martins quickest for ART Grand Prix on Day 1 of Sakhir test

“Regarding the performance, you never know. Again, you can’t tell exactly what the others are doing and things like that, and if you can directly compare against it or not. But being on top is always good and it gives me confidence.

“The serenity in the team is there and we are focused on what we are working towards this year.”

That feeling of being at one with the car is a sensation he did not experience at this stage last year.

The French squad may have struggled to get up to speed with the current generation F2 car, but this time around, Martins is feeling major differences, and it is fuelling his confidence.

He added that the team has worked immensely hard to turn things around, and their efforts began to pay off last season at the halfway stage. 2025 has only been an extension of that according to the driver.

“It started last year, around mid-season and into the end of 2024. We started to understand the car and how it was working. I think the window is really small – how to bring the car into the window. It’s about compromise.

“Between here, Melbourne and Barcelona, I think I’m happy with the car. Around three different layouts, we know where we are and honestly, every time I go on track, I know that ART knows what to do.

“It’s not where we were last year – not being sure about what we’re doing, what the target was and if it was possible to achieve it. Now I know the target and I know how to achieve it. So, it’s a very different feelings compared to last year, but in a good way, a much better way.”

Martins claimed the first Pole Position of the 2025 season in Melbourne following a grid penalty for Gabriele Minì, but he’d shown great speed anyway during Round 1.

Testing on the first day was a continuation of that promise according to the French driver, who says that things went smoothly in terms of their run plan.

With two more days of testing to go, Martins says he and ART will be maximising their track time to build as much knowledge as possible ahead of Round 2 in Bahrain in just over a fortnight’s time, with race running the focus for the second day of action.

“I’m happy but again, we cannot directly compare 100% with our rivals because we are not on identical strategies. We are not going out on the same tyre at the same time. So we can only refer to what we’re doing, and what we’re doing is good.

“Tomorrow will be about race runs because I didn’t do them today. We’ll focus more on getting good data and things like that. We’ll see how the day goes and how the car behaves.”