Victor Martins also testing with Alpine at Spa

While Alpine had initially announced Esteban Ocon in the A524 for this year and Jack Doohan in the A522 for 2022, the Enstone team stated yesterday that they would give another one of their reserve drivers, Frenchman Victor Martins, some track time. He will drive the Alpine this Wednesday at Spa as part of tire tests organized by Pirelli.

The objective of these tests is to obtain information about the future tires that the teams will use and the behavior of the cars with these tires, essential data since the single-seaters will not evolve much in terms of regulations next year. It is also an opportunity for the French driver to take his revenge on a track that did not bring him luck this weekend.

The French driver indeed experienced an electronic failure right from the start of the qualifying session, forcing him to start from the back for the two Formula 2 races. In the feature race, misfortune struck the French driver once again when Mexican Rafael Villagomez lost control of his car, spinning and making contact with the ART driver’s car, resulting in his 6th retirement in 20 races. Despite this, the French driver does not lose hope for the remainder of the season.

« On a selective circuit, with stable weather and a terrific pace, we could hope to move up. For several weeks now, we have had the potential to play upfront, we must not lose this newfound serenity because of incidents beyond our control.

With this test, especially on a circuit as technical and demanding as Spa-Francorchamps, the Frenchman hopes to collect important data for the team and gain even more experience at the wheel of a Formula 1 car. He had already done a private session earlier in the year at the Spielberg circuit. This test had given him confidence behind the wheel, as he had followed it with two good weekends at Silverstone and in Hungary.

This was a new positive test for me, and an excellent opportunity to learn as much as possible. Having the track to myself and taking maximum pleasure with the car were additional bonuses after a difficult start to the season in Formula 2. This clearly reaffirmed my confidence as a driver, he had mentioned following this session.

The ART driver hopes that this test will produce the same effect and that he will be able to string together good weekends. Essential results if he hopes to secure the second seat at Alpine, which has been highly sought after since Carlos Sainz’s transfer to Williams was announced.

The competition will nevertheless be tough since Jack Doohan or even Mick Schumacher are also recruits considered by Alpine. The Frenchman must therefore take advantage of this test to prove himself and catch the eye of the French team with a view to a place in Formula 1 next year.