The British driver secured his first victory in the category during Saturday’s sprint race, becoming the youngest winner in F2 history. Martí and Lindblad added more points to their tally on Sunday, strengthening Campos Racing’s lead in the Teams’ Championship
It was another outstanding weekend for Campos Racing and its drivers at the FIA Formula 2 round held at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit as part of the Saudi Arabian F1 Grand Prix. Arvid Lindblad and Pepe Martí delivered stellar performances on the ultra-fast street circuit, securing a 1–2 finish in the sprint race. For Lindblad, this marked his maiden F2 victory and made him the youngest race winner in the series’ history at just 17 years, 8 months, and 11 days. These results, along with points collected in Sunday’s race, were enough to propel Campos Racing to the top of the Teams’ Championship standings.
Free practice sessions highlighted the extremely low grip levels on the Saudi asphalt. Despite multiple spins by several drivers, there were no red flags, allowing the Campos Racing drivers to complete eighteen laps each. Martí clocked a best time of 1m46.379s, while Lindblad followed closely with a 1m46.480s. In qualifying, held under scorching track temperatures, Lindblad made his intentions clear midway through the session by going fastest with a 1m44.250s lap. At that point, Martí had posted a 1m44.878s. As the session reached its decisive phase and the drivers switched to a second set of supersoft tires, both Campos Racing drivers were improving their times—until a red flag interrupted their attempts. With just five minutes left, only one final attempt remained. In the dying moments, Lindblad delivered a 1m43.743s lap to qualify fifth, two spots ahead of Martí, who secured seventh with a 1m43.831s.
Saturday’s sprint race was set for 20 laps. With the top ten from qualifying reversed, Martí started third and Lindblad sixth. As the lights went out, Martí charged ahead and overtook Gabriele Minì under braking at the end of the straight to slot in behind Richard Verschoor. Lindblad also gained two positions and was up to fourth. After a brief Virtual Safety Car period, Lindblad passed Minì to take third. Just ahead, Martí overtook Verschoor on lap four with a spectacular move around the outside of Turn 1 to take the lead. However, Verschoor reclaimed the position but left Martí with insufficient space, which would later result in a five-second penalty for the Dutchman. Approaching the halfway point, Lindblad passed Martí, and with Verschoor’s penalty in mind, the team was well positioned for victory. Despite Verschoor’s attempts to pull away, Lindblad and Martí stayed within a second of him, securing a dominant 1–2 finish for Campos Racing at the checkered flag.
Sunday’s feature race, scheduled for 28 laps, posed a physical challenge due to the intense heat. Both Campos Racing drivers opted to start on supersoft tires in an effort to hold position, as most front-runners chose the same compound for the opening stint. Lindblad and Martí completed the first lap in sixth and seventh respectively, though the Spaniard soon overtook his British teammate. Running behind Alex Dunne, Martí pitted on lap 6, mirroring the strategy of Leonardo Fornaroli. Lindblad followed a lap later, switching to the hard tire. After a brief Virtual Safety Car, green flags returned on lap 10. In a strategy-heavy race where tire management was crucial, Martí passed Dunne on lap 13 and later overtook Luke Browning as well. Meanwhile, Lindblad joined the same group led by Martí and engaged in an intense battle with Minì, finally passing him on lap 25. Martí drove a solid race and, despite Browning being within DRS range, the Spaniard was never seriously threatened. At the finish, Martí crossed the line in fifth, with Lindblad taking seventh.
After the first three of the fourteen scheduled rounds, Martí now sits second in the Drivers’ Championship with 41 points. Lindblad moves up to seventh with 24 points. As noted, Campos Racing now leads the Teams’ Championship with 65 points.
The championship will now take a short break before the exciting European leg begins, kicking off in Imola on May 17–18, followed by back-to-back weekends in Monaco and Barcelona.
Pepe Martí (Campos Racing Driver in FIA Formula 2): “We are very happy about this weekend. Obviously having a podium again, back-to-back weekend having podiums is very nice. Honestly quite upset that I messed up and wasn't able to contest for the win on Saturday because I felt we had enough pace to fight it. And then today was honestly quite a good day. I think starting 7th, finishing 5th was a really pretty good result. I think we maximized what we had and we were just quite unlucky as I was stuck in traffic for five laps, losing a handful of valuable seconds. So honestly it was a bit upsetting, but at the same time very happy about the weekend. I think we were doing steps forward. We were very competitive and will definitely be in the fight in the next coming weeks.”
Arvid Lindblad (Campos Racing Driver in FIA Formula 2): “Overall, I think it was a good weekend here in Jeddah with a lot of positive to take away. I think we showed a good step forward and showed our potential. We remained in P1 for most of the qualifying session and then finished in the top-5. And in the sprint race, being a really solid one, going from P6 to P2 on track and then winning the race at the end. I struggled a bit on Sunday during my first stint with super soft tires. The second stint was really good though. I mean, I managed to put a really strong pace. I think I was the fastest on track in the second stint. So, I think there's a lot of positives. We showed that our potential is really good and we're competitive. I need to focus on myself and keep working. I think we have a really good package.”
