22 March 2023

Alpine Academy drivers Jack Doohan and Victor Martins each achieved a podium at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Round 2 of the 2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship across a mixed weekend for the pair in Saudi Arabia.

 


Victor dominated Friday’s qualifying to grab pole position by 0.7 secs with a final flying lap before a red flag cut the session short. Starting from tenth place in Saturday’s reverse grid Sprint Race, the Frenchman stormed through the field for a second podium finish; his second visit to the rostrum this year. Unfortunately, despite a strong start to Sunday’s Feature Race from pole, an error while fighting for the net lead of the race saw Victor lose rear grip coming through Turn 4, forcing a spin and a subsequent retirement.

 

 

Jack improved on an unfortunate weekend in Bahrain to get his championship campaign underway in Saudi Arabia. After a strong run in qualifying to claim fourth place, Jack went on to collect his first championship points with a battling seventh place finish in the Sprint. Capitalising on the events of the Feature Race on Sunday Jack held on to those ahead of him to secure a spot on the second step of the podium.

 

 

Overall, it was a promising weekend that showed the potential of our Alpine Academy drivers who now look ahead to Round 3 of FIA Formula 2 for the series’ first-time racing in Australia where they join Formula 1 at Melbourne’s Alberta Park.

 

 

Jack Doohan, Invicta Virtuosi Racing: “Mixed emotions at the end of the weekend. I’m not completely content but happy to get 20 points on the board. We were missing pace a little bit in the Feature Race and I’m still not completely comfortable in the car, there are a few things we need to work on to make sure that we can get everything back to where it needs to be. On a positive note, to finish second and to be fighting up there for the win in circumstances like we are in now shows that when we can get our package together and when we can get more comfortable, we should be very strong. I’m happy to just consistently get some points on the board and look forward to carrying that over to Melbourne. I can’t wait to have my first home race on home soil, it’s going to be an amazing event, and I can’t wait to experience the atmosphere and the vibe. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there.”

 

 

Victor Martins, ART Grand Prix: “Jeddah has been intense in terms of emotions. I really enjoyed driving there for the first time and I can be proud of what we achieved as a team! I got my first-ever pole position in FIA Formula 2 and we showed some great potential over the whole weekend which is promising for the coming rounds in Australia and Azerbaijan. We analysed my mistake on Sunday which cost me a lot of points, but we are already looking ahead with big determination to do even better in Round 3 in Melbourne!”