Victor Martins got his weekend off to a flying start in Jeddah, topping the timesheets for ART Grand Prix in Free Practice ahead of Round 3 of the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship.
The Frenchman set a benchmark time of 1:45.671 as lap times tumbled throughout the session on the streets of the Corniche Circuit.
It was a busy start to proceedings, with AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen setting the early pace at 1:49.034 before the field gradually chipped away at the times. Martins was quick to move to the top early on with a 1:47.735, before Kush Maini and then Roman Stanek briefly stole the spotlight, with just 0.046s separating the top three.
The times kept improving as the track evolved. DAMS Lucas Oil’s Maini managed a 1:46.437 to lead the way for a time, closely followed by his team-mate Jak Crawford, who was just 0.013s behind. But Martins wasn’t done yet—he responded with a 1:46.432 to retake P1 by the narrowest of margins.
Leonardo Fornaroli then slotted into the mix, just 0.019s off the lead, as the field closed right up in a typically tight F2 session.
With 15 minutes to go, Duerksen went back on top with a 1:46.387, but Invicta Racing’s Roman Stanek wasn’t about to let that stand for long—he laid down a 1:46.217 to put himself back at the head of the pack.
PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Minì briefly hit the top spot before Stanek struck back with a 1:45.820, looking like the man to beat heading into the final few minutes.
However, Martins found another gear late on, punching in a 1:45.671 to finish the session fastest of all, ahead of Stanek by just over a tenth.
Dino Beganovic left it late to climb to third for Hitech TGR, with Duerksen ending up fourth. PREMA’s Minì and Sebastián Montoya slotted into fifth and sixth respectively, followed by Fornaroli, Crawford, Josep MarÃa MartÃ, and Maini rounding out the top 10.
Image: FML
