Pepe Marti has endured a challenging debut season in Formula 2 with multiple retirements.
The Spaniard was promoted to Formula 2 by Campos Racing this season after he finished fifth with the team in his sophomore year in Formula 3, winning three races and grabbing four podiums.
Partnering Isack Hadjar for 2024, Marti’s season got off to a brilliant start, finishing third and second in the two races at the season opener in Bahrain.
The 19-year-old scored points in the Sprint Race in Jeddah with seventh, but the Feature Race would mark the beginning of a torrid run of form, which Marti has struggled to recover from since.
Pepe Marti blames himself for his retirement in the Feature Race in Jeddah after suffering eight DNFs in his debut F2 season
Exiting turn two on the opening lap, the Campos driver lost the car and spun into the path of oncoming traffic, eliminating him from the race. Marti has gone on to suffer seven more retirements across the season, with just one podium and four points finishes coming in that time.
Speaking with the F2 website about his challenging season, Marti admitted that he blames himself for his Jeddah retirement and that while he has faced issues out of his control, he has also ‘not performed at the level expected’ of him.
“It’s not been the greatest year one can have,” he said. “We started off really well in Bahrain but after that it’s not been as great as I would have liked. We had a difficult weekend in Jeddah and from then it’s been a rollercoaster.
“Halfway through the season we had another high in Austria where we were fighting for the top five, consistently for the podium, and getting P2 in the Sprint Race. But it’s been a bit tough. I’ve had a lot of problems, a lot of DNFs – eight at the moment.
“I blame myself wholly for Jeddah but other than that we have always been implicated in stuff that we weren’t the causes off. It’s been a bit of a shame, obviously we had three crashes before Turn 1 which is not great, but the pace has also been up and down.
“We struggled at some tracks to be quick as a team and others where Isack (Hadjar) has been able to take advantage of the race pace and the quali pace, we’ve struggled due to some factors and obviously due to me sometimes not performing at the level expected of me.”
Can Pepe Marti partner Arvid Lindblad at Campos next season?
Campos have confirmed F3 driver Arvid Lindblad for 2025 after the 17-year-old had a hugely impressed debut season this year. Lindblad grabbed four wins – the most of any other driver – and finished fourth in the standings.
Marti’s teammate Hadjar is battling Gabriel Bortoleto for the title, with the Frenchman sitting just four and a half points behind the Brazilian with two rounds to go.
READ MORE: Formula 2 2025 driver line-up with every team’s confirmed entry for the grid
With Hadjar set to take a reserve role at Red Bull for 2025, the door is open for Marti to secure the second seat at Campos. But the Spaniard will need to end the season on a high note to keep himself in contention for the seat.
The Red Bull junior has proven he can fight at the front with three podiums this season, but he will need to find consistency in his performances if he is to challenge for the championship in 2025.