“Truly, it isn’t putting on any stress”. That is what Victor Martins suggested Motorsport.com ahead of the Formulation 2 season which he entered as one among many drivers tipped to battle for championship honours in 2024.
In the end, he was the highest-placed 2023 driver to return for the model new season, having accomplished fifth on 150 elements, an entire 20 higher than future Haas F1 driver Oliver Bearman. This after profitable the sooner yr’s F3 title!
Nonetheless, the season has to date did not keep as a lot because the lofty expectations with the opening 5 rounds guaranteeing that the rest of the advertising and marketing marketing campaign was merely a hurt limitation practice.
Whereas this would possibly, partly, be put proper right down to the clear points that ART was having in getting on top of things with how most interesting to utilize the all-new F2 chassis, it is also potential that every one the pre-season hype had in actuality crept beneath the Frenchman’s pores and pores and skin.
Lastly, a run of merely 4 excessive 10 results in the opening 10 races of the season derailed any hope that Martins had of gaining an F1 promotion, an opportunity that turned an actual actuality when Esteban Ocon’s Alpine exit was confirmed following May’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Alpine ultimately regarded in-house for Ocon’s substitute, lastly deciding on Jack Doohan in August – nevertheless this adopted what was extensively seen as a shootout check out between the Australian and former F1 driver turned Alpine World Endurance Championship pilot, Mick Schumacher. Observe the scarcity of Martins on this.
Jack Doohan will affiliate Pierre Gasly at Alpine for his rookie F1 season
{Photograph} by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
Whereas Martins had unquestionably suffered with poor luck throughout the early part of the yr – an engine failure in Bahrain, being caught out by purple flags in Australian qualifying and being the innocent bystander in a Monaco lap one crash – there have been moreover very dear errors from himself like a lap one crash in Saudi Arabia and a woeful qualifying at Imola.
Blended, this appeared to position Martins out of rivalry for a seat which, for lots of, was his to lose must it develop to be on the market.
Nonetheless, the Frenchman has since develop to be a tantalising prospect as quickly as additional, with an uptick in kind seeing him develop to be one among many F2 kind drivers with 4 second-place finishes throughout the remaining eight races.
Now eighth throughout the championship, Alpine has seen ample to position Martins as its candidate for the WEC rookie check out which may occur in Bahrain on 3 November.
Alpine endurance employees principal Philippe Sinault said: “We have the prospect to run Victor Martins throughout the Rookie Examine session. He is an excellent driver everyone knows properly, Alpine Academy member and dealing tons with the Formulation 1 employees throughout the simulator.
“We want to give him a model new experience behind the wheel of an endurance prototype and he’ll have the flexibility to convey a latest perspective to our Hypercar, which is on a regular basis fascinating at this part of the programme.”
This would possibly present a attainable subsequent step for Martins, with solely an F1 reserve place displaying seemingly throughout the transient time interval.
And the prospect of securing a WEC race seat is a smart prospect, with simply recently appointed sporting director Nicolas Lapierre retiring from his driving place creating one opening, and the best way ahead for Schumacher and questions over whether or not or not Mercedes would allow Jules Gounon, who’s the current reserve driver and has plenty of outings to his establish already, to complete a full advertising and marketing marketing campaign creating extra space.
Alpine is fourth throughout the 2024 Hypercar standings
{Photograph} by: Andreas Beil
Speaking of his preliminary different throughout the check out, Martins said: “I am super pleased with this opportunity, and I am very grateful to Alpine Endurance Crew for allowing me to proceed finding out on this planet of motorsport.
“It’s a likelihood for me to proceed to assemble my experience with new engineers and a model new vehicle, along with an opportunity to point my potential.”
Nevertheless whereas the prospect to compete in WEC and the long-lasting Le Mans 24 Hours are susceptible to be a horny prospect, Martins conceded: “Although I am very centered on my single-seater journey, it is an issue that I accept with pleasure and I hope that we’re going to maximize the Rookie Examine day, every on my side for finding out, however along with allow the employees to have good information as part of their enchancment.
“I’m unable to attend to seek out this Hypercar, which seems to be like very fast!”
So is Martins the WEC reply that Alpine is looking for, or is he merely a subject ticked for the rookie check out?
Properly, the reply would possibly make sure to every. He is the perfect reply to fill the potential driving void for the long run and can seemingly develop to be a top-level experience in WEC. Nevertheless given that even throughout the assertion launched by Alpine confirming his check out he is pouring chilly water on the prospect of a change at this stage of his occupation, it seems that evidently a full-time crossover is simply not foremost on his radar.
Whereas there’s no harm in working a third F2 season, it isn’t one factor that is seen in a broadly constructive gentle, which signifies that many drivers linked to F1 teams fall as an alternative into reserve roles, with numerous ranges of testing programmes to take care of their hand in and take into account their F1 potential.
Merely as was the case with Doohan, that’s the most likely selection for Martins.
So having answered positive to him being the perfect reply to Alpine’s points – which he undoubtedly has the potential to be – the reply to the question, will he be the eventual reply, may be a no at this stage.
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