FIA Formula 3

Victor Martins to start on Formula 2 pole in Melbourne after Gabriele Minì cops grid penalty

Gabriele Minì put his PREMA on pole position but was handed a three-place penalty for impeding Jak Crawford during qualifying.

Andrew Rickert

14 Mar 2025 — 2 min read

French driver Victor Martins will start on pole position for the FIA Formula 2 season opener in Melbourne after rival Gabriele Minì was handed a grid penalty. (XPB Images)

MELBOURNE–French driver Victor Martins will take pole position for the FIA Formula 2 season opener in Melbourne after rival Gabriele Minì topped the session but was later penalised.

It was an action-packed session on Friday night at the Australian Grand Prix with Minì taking pole position on his final attempt after setting a lap of 1.29.286 around Albert Park.

Minì took pole ahead of Martins but was later handed a three-place grid penalty for both races after the FIA stewards found he had impeded DAMS Lucas Oil driver Jak Crawford during the session.

In a sign of the tight conditions on track, Max Esterson and Oliver Goethe collided at the penultimate corner early during qualifying, with both drivers later escaping blame for the crash.

It was Victor Martins who set the early pace but the times began to fall throughout the session, with the Italian PREMA driver swooping in to take pole at the end of qualifying.

"It was an amazing session," said Minì at the end of the session.

"To be honest, every push lap we did, we were within the top two or three, and on the last lap, we managed to put a really good lap in, and that was good enough for pole."

"We've been working hard during the winter, and it's good to see that it pays off."

Pole position for the first race of the season for @VictorMartinsFR !

After P1 in practice and securing P2 in qualifying, he moves up to pole following a penalty for his rival.

A strong start to the weekend—let’s go for the races 💥 pic.twitter.com/vVkq1SBVeX
— ART Grand Prix (@ARTGP) March 14, 2025

Meanwhile Martins said that team ART Grand Prix had come into the year with a much better setup than the year before.

"I think we have the performance we were targeting, to start like this, the championship, everything is coming easier."

"You know what you do with the team, the development, which direction to go when you have a good feeling in the car, it's much easier. So, let's say the confidence is here. Everyone is happy"

Martins will now start on pole ahead of Richard Verschoor for the feature race.

The 2025 FIA Formula 2 season begins with a 23-lap sprint race at 2.15pm AEDT on Saturday, with Leonardo Fornaroli and Joshua Durksen to begin the reverse-grid race on the front row.

Martins will start seventh in the sprint after a series of harsh penalties were handed to six other drivers for illegal modifications during pre-season testing.