20-6-2023
Though Victor Martins began his racing career a bit later than most – starting in karting at 12-years-old – the French driver has quickly earned his position as an up-and-coming talent to keep an eye on having won the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship. Victor has always kept the mindset of putting 100% effort into everything he does, demonstrating this during his first Formula 1 test in the race winning A521 last month where he showed the level of focus and dedication he has when given the opportunity to achieve his goals. Away from the track, Victor is also an avid supporter of other sports, recently attending both Roland-Garros and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as expressing an interest in learning to cook, specifically his favourite cheat meal – truffle pasta.
We caught up with Victor after his successful weekend in Spain to learn more about the young Alpine Academy driver. Here are six things you might not know about number six.
- How many languages can you speak?
- I can only speak two languages for now. I speak French obviously, and English but I am also trying to learn Spanish and Italian. I am especially interested in learning Italian because it is an important language to know in motorsport.
- Are there any causes that are important to you?
- I think it's very important to advocate for people with disabilities. I have some people in my family who have disabilities, so this cause is very close to my heart.
- What is something you think fans would be surprised to learn about you?
- Not many people know this, but before starting in motorsport I used to be a competitive gymnast. I started in gymnastics at 5 years old and I was the French champion in my age group. It was my sport before I got into racing. I was fully committed to gymnastics until around age 10 and then I moved into motorsport at 12-years-old.
- Did you have any nicknames growing up?
- Now, most people just call me Vic but when I was doing gymnastics, they called me the small biscuit for a few years. I don’t remember how the nickname came about but it definitely sounds much better in French – petit biscuit.
- If you could spend the day with anyone in the world, who would it be and where would you spend it?
- I would go to the United States with my brother and spend the day dirt biking with my friend, Dylan Ferrandis, he is a French motocross driver racing in the US. I dreamed of becoming a motocross racer as a boy – that was the first form of motorsport I wanted to do while I was competing in gymnastics. Now that I am in the racing world, I definitely want to try motocross at some point.
- Do you collect anything?
- I keep everything. If I get something, I can't get rid of it, I’m crazy with stuff like that. I feel like everything is an important part of my journey, so I want to keep it all and it is a special feeling to have your memories around to look at and hold.
Keep an eye out for Victor’s No.6 car in Round 8 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship at the Red Bull Ring in Austria next weekend.