Formula 3 welcomed a new champion this year in French driver Victor Martins who secured the title in his second season.
Victor Martins is a 21-year-old driver born and raised in Quincy-sous-Senart, France. Initially trying his hand at gymnastics, he moved on to karting at the age of thirteen where he finished third in the standings at the Challenge Rotax Max France in his debut season. The following year Martins won his first karting championship and would go on to win three more titles through the end of 2016.
Victor Martins joins an elite club of Formula 3 champions 💫#ItalianGP #F3 @VictorMartinsFR pic.twitter.com/MHQOFSnWbK
— Formula 3 (@Formula3) September 11, 2022
Single-seaters
In 2016, Martins made his single-seater debut in the French F4 championship for four races. He would finish fifth in the standings after taking two podiums. The next year he raced for a full season and came in second in the championship.
In 2019, he raced in the Formula Renault Eurocup, driving for MP Motorsport. Martins picked up six wins and fourteen podiums as he narrowly missed out on the championship by seven and a half points to winner Oscar Piastri. Returning for a second season, switching over to the ART Grand Prix team, Martins won the championship in dominant fashion – thirty-two points over Caio Collet.
In 2021 and 2022 he stepped up to Formula 3 and repeated his pattern from Formula Renault Eurocup. First a season with MP Motorsport (’21) finishing 5th in the F3 standings. Then the ’22 campaign with ART Grand Prix where he secured the title, albeit in a controversial manner on the final day.
2023 onwards
It is highly likely that Martins moves up to Formula 2 next season. Pirelli announced this year that €300,000 will be invested in the Formula 3 champion to help them graduate into Formula 2. And given his success with ART Grand Prix over the years, they are his likely destination. With Théo Pourchaire probably moving on from F2, Martins could team up with Frederik Vesti.
Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director stated: “Whoever comes out on top and wins the title will also receive 300,000 Euros from Pirelli to help them graduate to Formula 2 next season, as part of our long-standing commitment to promoting talented young drivers.”
