Martins confident ART have what it takes to ‘smash it’ in 2025 after positive pre-season

27 February 2025

ART Grand Prix driver Victor Martins hailed a positive pre-season test for him and the team, with the Frenchman confident that they have what it takes to hit the ground running in Melbourne.

Martins made a strong start in Barcelona, topping the timesheets of Day 1’s morning segment with a 1:25.790, putting him 0.467s ahead of PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Minì in P2.

He repeated that trick on Day 3, this time leading an ART 1-2 ahead of Ritomo Miyata, his 1:24.673 the fastest lap of the opening three hours.

The 23-year-old was on course to go faster in the closing stages of the session having put on a new set of Soft tyres, but made a mistake at Turn 5. Despite that, Martins is feeling good heading into Round 1.

“I think the day went well,” said Martins. “But let’s say, we were targeting putting on the new Softs but I made a mistake, so we couldn't actually accomplish what we wanted to do.

Martins set the fastest time in the morning session of Day 1 and 3

“But on the fresh Softs we got a first feel of what we were doing during the test which is testing things, trying some new things, or let’s say, confirming some stuff.

“Also, I was working on my driving approach to the corners, how to drive the cars still, because it still feels like a new car even if I have had one year with it. So, the afternoon was about race simulation.

“It was good to feel the degradation, and to see if the package was working well in long runs also. I think we are pretty happy about where we are.

“Of course it's testing, so we never know who is putting what on at what time. But for what we did, we are quite happy with what we saw, and where we are. So, we are confident to go ahead to Round 1.”

Martins had spoken of the intense work he and ART had done over the winter after a 2024 season where they finished seventh in the Teams’ Standings having won it the year before.

Martins is feeling confident ahead of the 2025 season getting underway

So, while the test was positive in terms of pace, it was also good for them to confirm all the work they had done back at the factory, on a real track, and most importantly, it was seen across both cars.

“We confirmed pretty much everything that we did during the winter, which is positive,” he said. “It’s a great time to thank the team also for the work they did during the winter, so let’s bring that into the year.

“I think the confidence is there, the pace, for Ritomo, my teammate, and myself is good on both quali and long runs. So, I think we have everything in our hands to go into Round 1 with good confidence, and to smash it from the first race.”

Looking ahead to the season as a whole Martins added: “It will be a long season, but I am looking forward to it. We have worked too much to not go into Round 1 and not be happy with what we have done over the winter.”