The Spanish driver made a championship comeback in the second round of the FIA Formula 3 and scored more points in the overall standings.
After an unlucky qualifying that relegated him to the last position, Martí went from 30th to ninth place in a spectacular race.
"Super happy with the comeback. We did a great job... and I'm very happy with the team, with the car and the whole team. We've learned a lot and I'm looking forward to continuing in this vein".
The Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne hosted this weekend the second round of the FIA Formula 3. Pepe Martí was looking forward to the race after his first victory in the category in the first round. On Friday in qualifying, an unfortunate accident left him without options and he was forced to start from the last position on the grid.
Starting from 30th place, in the first race on Saturday he managed to climb up to 16th place and after several penalties from other drivers, Martí finally qualified in 13th position. The Spanish driver was very close to the points.
On Sunday, in the second and final race of the weekend, the Campos Racing driver left everyone open-mouthed as he made a spectacular comeback to cross the finish line in ninth place, which ended up being seventh also due to penalties. He took six valuable points that tasted like glory. It was one of his best participations in Formula 3. It was such a great performance that Pepe was the protagonist of the day, and he monopolised a large part of the international broadcasting of the race.
"In qualifying we made a small mistake in which I lost the rear of the car in a fast corner with cold tyres. It wasn't the right time to push so hard, I went off the track and I was out of options. It was a great pity because I had to start last in both races of the weekend. At that point the chances of scoring good points were gone. However, we knew we had good pace and in the first race on Saturday we had a good start and were able to make a good comeback in 4-5 laps. We were in sixteenth position and after several penalties, in the end we qualified thirteenth. I'm happy with the result considering how the race went because it was really complicated. Sunday's race... what can I say... very happy. It was probably one of my best races so far. A great comeback... In one lap we had already gone from 30th to 21st, we had a spectacular pace. We kept moving forward until the race settled down and I lost the DRS of the cars in front. After 15 laps and already with very worn tyres, I couldn't go any further and crossed the finish line 9th, which ended up being a 7th place because of the penalties of other drivers. Super happy with the comeback. We did a great job... and I'm very happy with the team, with the car and the whole team. We have learned a lot and I am looking forward to continue in this line".
Pepe Martí and Formula 3 will have more than a month's break before returning to action next May (19-21) at the Italian track of Imola. The young driver will arrive in fifth position in the overall standings of the world championship.
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