Victor Martins will be racing for the first time as part of a Formula 1 weekend: The former Formula 3 champion will be driving Alexander Albon’s Williams in Barcelona
Formula 2 driver Victor Martins will make his Formula 1 debut on Friday in Barcelona. The Frenchman will take the wheel of Alexander Albon’s FW47 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and compete in the first free practice session for the traditional British racing team.
“I’m really excited to be sitting in the FW47 for the first time in Barcelona! It will be an incredible experience to drive for the team,” said Martins, who has a double program ahead of him as he will also be competing for ART in Formula 2.
“I’m working hard to prepare as well as possible so that I can make the most of my time in the car and turn it into a valuable session for myself and the team. I’m very grateful to everyone at Williams for this opportunity and I’m looking forward to enjoying every second,” said the Frenchman.
In the run-up to the event, Martins was given the opportunity to drive a Williams FW45 from the 2023 season in Monza during so-called TPC tests with older cars in order to prepare for his practice session.
“We are proud that Victor will be completing his first Formula 1 session with Williams in Barcelona,” said sporting director Sven Smeets. ”He continues to prove that he is a very talented driver, and this session is an important step in his career as part of our Academy.”
A debut F1 appearance for Victor
Victor Martins will be stepping into the FW47 for FP1 in Barcelona this week.
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— Atlassian Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) May 27, 2025
“His participation in the TPC program and simulator work at Grove have prepared him well, and we look forward to seeing him in the garage this weekend.”
The 23-year-old was part of Alpine’s junior program until last year and was signed by Williams after the season opener in Australia. Martins won the Formula 3 championship in 2022 and is currently completing his third season in Formula 2, where he finished fifth in 2023 as the best rookie.
This season, bad luck seems to be following him around, as he would have started from pole position in the canceled Formula 2 main race in Melbourne. In group qualifying in Monaco at the weekend, he was fastest in Group A but was beaten by Alex Dunne in Group B by 0.003 seconds on a slightly better track.
At the start of Sunday’s main race, he took the lead before the first corner, but was taken out by Dunne, causing a mass crash that blocked the track. Dunne was given a ten-place grid penalty for the maneuver for Barcelona.
With Martins’ outing on Friday, Williams has already handed over two of the four mandatory practice sessions to rookies (see overview of Friday drivers). In Bahrain, academy colleague Luke Browning sat in Carlos Sainz’s car.
