Martinius Stenshorne on joining Rodin, partnering Alex Dunne and title hopes for 2026

21 January 2026

Martinius Stenshorne says he has a lot of work to do before the start of the 2026 FIA Formula 2 season if he is to achieve his goal of winning the title in his first year with Rodin Motorsport.

The Norwegian driver stepped up from Formula 3 – where he finished fifth in the Drivers’ Standings – for the final three rounds of the 2025 campaign.

Stenshorne had a strong showing in Baku, but left without scoring points, before joining Rodin for the final two rounds in Lusail and Yas Marina, and driving in the post-season test.

Speaking on the final day of running in Abu Dhabi, Stenshorne says he and Rodin had been working on improving both the car and his driving, as he looks to get up to speed before the opening round in Melbourne.

“I think to be the Champion in the first year, that's the goal,” says Stenshorne. “But there is still a lot of work to do, so we need to keep working, and focusing on ourselves.

“I have to keep improving my driving for this car and hopefully we are ready for the first race in Australia next year.

Stenshorne is aiming to win the title with Rodin Motorsport in his first year with the team

“We are testing some new stuff on the car of course, to try and find a bit of performance. Also, there are a lot of things to learn for me as well, both with the car and my driving. But there are still some things that I have to learn as well in my driving, so I am still improving that.”

STARTING EARLY WITH RODIN

Stenshorne is happy to have had the two rounds of racing with Rodin to end the year, even if it did not go as smoothly as he had hoped – with a P7 in the Lusail Sprint Race his only point scoring result.

This is his first time racing with the team, so the 19-year-old says those days at the track will be useful as he and the team getting to know each other better.

“Joining Rodin, it feels good to work with the team before next season,” he continues. “Everything is new for me, so learning to work with everyone is for sure helpful.

“So far, it's been good. Every team works in a different way, so for sure it takes some time to learn how they will be working as well.

“That is something that I am going to be looking at throughout the weekend, looking at how they work and how I work. It's good to be able to do that now and before the next season starts.

“It's also good to not be out of the car for too long. It's helpful to be back in already.”

Stenshorne feels he has learned a lot from driving with Rodin in the final few rounds of the season

JOINING FORCES WITH A GOOD FRIEND

While Stenshorne is still learning about Rodin as a team, the driver in the car next to him is someone he knows quite well.

The Norwegian driver and Alexander Dunne have been good friends for a while, often playing online games together, and they could be seen hanging out with each other away from the track.

Sporting Director Benn Huntingford says their friendship has helped the atmosphere within the team, and the two drivers had been pushing each other closely in testing.

Stenshorne hopes they continue to work well together, as he praised Dunne’s 2025 season, where he achieved two Feature Race victories and finished fifth in the Championship as a rookie.

“I know Alex very well,” says Stenshorne. “We play a lot of games together at home. I know him very well. He has done very well this season, so it's good to have someone very quick to learn from.

“I hope we will have a good relationship now that we are teammates as well, that always helps to work well together. But we are very good friends, we get along well, so far, it's been a good relationship, so we hopefully can continue to build on that.”

Stenshorne is enjoying working alongside Dunne at Rodin

FINAL THOUGHTS ON 2025

Stenshorne returned home for the winter to spend some time with family over the holidays and he also planned to do some karting to keep himself in a rhythm ahead of pre-season testing.

But while he has already turned his attentions to 2026 and all the aspects of the F2 car that he is still learning, Stenshorne also reflected on his 2025 F3 season.

“This season went alright, but of course we wanted more,” he adds. “Top five is of course a very good result in a Championship like that, but I think both me and the team, we were hoping for more this season.

“But we were just missing a little bit sometimes, and a bit of consistency in the performance unfortunately. But I think overall, considering some of the challenges we had this season, top five is still a good result.

“Now I am in F2 and of course I know a bit more now than I did when I jumped in at Baku. I think the main difference is the carbon brakes, and the amount of power you have, so hopefully I can take the learnings going forward.”