Williams has signed former Alpine junior driver Victor Martins to its academy.
Martins, who’s at present in his third season of Components 2, will participate in a check for the group this weekend. Williams will run a 2023-specification FW45 at Monza underneath Components 1’s Testing of Earlier Vehicles guidelines.
Williams sporting director Sven Smeets mentioned Martins “has repeatedly demonstrated that he’s a proficient driver who’s able to successful championships.”
The 23-year-old received the Components Renault Eurocup with ART in 2020, then clinched the FIA Components 3 title with the group in 2022. After ending his first season of Components 2 in fifth place he fell to fifth within the standings final yr, taking a single win within the partial-reversed-grid dash race on the Circuit de Catalunya.
Martins took pole place for the primary Components 2 function race of the brand new season in Australia. Nonetheless the race was deserted because of rain on the morning of the Australian Grand Prix.
He’ll be part of fellow F2 driver and Williams Racing Driver Academy member Luke Browning within the Monza check this weekend.
Martins’ transfer comes two months after Franco Colapinto switched from Williams to affix Alpine as one in every of its 4 reserve drivers.
“Williams is an iconic group with an unimaginable historical past, and I’m assured that is the perfect place to be to assist me obtain my objectives,” mentioned Martins. “This yr, I’ll put all my focus into successful the Components 2 drivers’ championship with ART Grand Prix and maximising this chance with the Driver Academy each on and off the observe.”
He’s the ninth member of Williams’ Driver Academy. Together with Martins and Browning, the others are Lia Block, Alessandro Giusti, Oleksandr Bondarev, Sara Matsui, Dean Hoogendoorn, Will Inexperienced and Lucas Palacio.
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