Red Bull's Martí now knows Marko too: 'Motorsport world is ruthless'

Ferrari have Oliver Bearman, Mercedes have the young Italian driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Red Bull Racing also have a top talent driving around in Formula 2, someone who put in a unique performance in his debut weekend in Bahrain. Indeed, Pepe Martí finished on the podium in both the sprint and main race. Only Charles Leclerc and Liam Lawson were previously on the podium twice during their first weekend in F2.

Martí (18) therefore speaks of a "positive start to the year", after coming off a "difficult" final part of 2023 in Formula 3. It was the period when results lagged and several DNFs were to be recorded. Looking back on that period, the Spaniard admits that at times he doubted himself.

At Spa, for example, a choice of slicks turned out badly when the track was too wet. It was a decision Marti had taken himself at the time. "I was called a lot of things after Saturday in Spa by a lot of people. And that obviously is not really helpful," Martí recalls. "And then we got to Monza, taken out in Turn 1 after doing the best you can and then taken out on Sunday. So we'll see. That does bring your morale down. It does bring your confidence down."

Red Bull and Marko have confidence in Martí

Those lesser results came just when Red Bull's youngster and protégée of Fernando Alonso had committed him to his current Junior Team. Helmut Marko is the driving force behind that programme and Martí has since experienced how the Austrian reacts when things do not go as hoped. Indeed, at Campos Racing in F2, a top weekend in Bahrain was followed by a lesser performance (seventh and a drop out, ed.) a week later in Saudi Arabia.

"Dr Marko is my boss," Marti said when asked by GPblog. "So, he's strict. And obviously he was happy with me in Bahrain, just like qualifying, like I did. And obviously he was not happy in Jeddah. And that's standard. You basically, if you're going to be someone's boss and you know, and you're going to support him, you also want him to deliver. So it makes total sense to me. And that's how it works. You know, motorsport is a ruthless world, so you have to always be at your best. And yes, that's my target for this year."

Martí is in the middle of learning period

For Martí, Australia is only the third weekend in Formula 2. It has been a rollercoaster so far, the Spaniard confesses. "So obviously I'm still learning and I feel like after Jeddah, if anyone's going to put some pressure on my shoulders, it's going to be myself. So yes, I'm not feeling pressures, but obviously I know that I have to perform."

Possibly filling in in Formula 1, as Bearman did previously at Ferrari, is not something that's possible for Pepe Martí this season. The Spaniard does not (yet) have a super licence required for that purpose. Nor are there currently any plans for the talent to drive a free practice at Red Bull Racing or Visa Cash App RB in 2024.