Martins to take over Albon's car in FP1 at Barcelona

Ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, Williams have announced that F2 driver Victor Martins will take over Alexander Albon's FW47 in the opening practice at Barcelona.

With Martins' FP1 outing, Williams will fulfil the team’s second of four mandated driver sessions this year while it will also mark the Frenchman’s debut drive in a Formula 1 weekend.

Martins is currently racing in the FIA F2 series with ART Grand Prix. He has so far secured a pole position in the opening round at Melbourne ans also stepped on the podium in the Saudi Arabia Feature Race.

In his debut year, Martins was crowned top rookie in 2023 and achieved five podiums in 2024, including a victory in Barcelona. The Frenchman previously impressed in Formula 3, where he won the closely-contested 2022 championship, securing victory at the finale in Monza. Across the season, he achieved two Feature Race wins and four further podiums.

As part of his preparations for the opening practice in Barcelona, Martins participated in the TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) programme in Monza earlier this year, driving the FW45 alongside fellow Williams Racing Academy driver Luke Browning.

Commenting on his debut drive on an F1 weekend, Martins added: “I’m super happy to be taking the wheel of the FW47 for the first time in Barcelona! It will be an incredible experience to drive for the team.

"I’m working hard to prepare as much as possible to maximise my time in the car and make it a valuable session for myself and the team. I’m hugely grateful to everyone at Atlassian Williams Racing for giving me this opportunity and I’m looking forward to enjoying every second of it!”

Speaking of Martins' FP1 outing, Williams sporting director Sven Smeets commented: “We’re proud that Victor will be taking part in his first Formula 1 session with Atlassian Williams Racing in Barcelona.

"He continues to demonstrate that he is a talented driver, and this session is an important step forward in his career as part of the Academy. His participation in our TPC programme and simulator work in Grove have prepared him well and we look forward to seeing him in the garage this weekend.”