The British driver once again proved to be one of the standout performers of the weekend, securing his second podium in the category on Saturday and adding more valuable points with a fourth place on Sunday, where he also set the fastest lap. Martí, however, was less fortunate, with a red flag in Friday’s qualifying and an ill-timed safety car on Sunday denying him a deserved reward for his efforts
The fourth round of the 2025 FIA Formula 2 season brought mixed fortunes for Campos Racing at the iconic Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. Arvid Lindblad continued his impressive form, solidifying his status as a genuine title contender with a second podium of the season, while his teammate Pepe Martí endured a challenging weekend where luck seemed to desert him at every turn. From the red flag in Friday’s qualifying that forced him to start mid-pack to the Sunday safety car that ruined his race strategy, Martí’s weekend was one of frustration. Nevertheless, with two more rounds in the coming weeks, the Spaniard has every chance to bounce back and reclaim his rightful place in the standings.
The weekend started on a promising note for Campos Racing. In the Friday free practice session, Lindblad and Martí finished second and fourth respectively, with Lindblad clocking a 1m27.916s, just nine thousandths of a second behind Alex Dunne, while Martí posted a 1m28.164s in his Red Bull-liveried car. However, the qualifying session once again proved decisive. After the first set of tires, Lindblad was fourth with a 1m27.815s, while Martí sat 11th with a 1m28.220s. With just five minutes remaining, Lindblad set a personal best first sector and a purple second sector, positioning him for a potential pole. However, disaster struck when Kush Maini went off and hit the barriers, bringing out the red flags. With six minutes left on the clock, the session was not restarted, leaving Lindblad sixth and Martí 11th – just missing out on a reverse grid pole for Saturday’s sprint
Lindblad started fifth on the reverse grid for the 25-lap sprint race. The British driver made a lightning start, overtaking Oliver Goethe off the line and then sweeping around the outside of Luke Browning at the first chicane. Martí, meanwhile, found himself in the thick of the action but was pushed wide in a clash with Gabriele Minì, dropping to 17th. Lindblad bided his time behind Ritomo Miyata before making his move on lap 12 to take second place. Although race leader Jak Crawford had a two-second cushion, Lindblad mounted a fierce final push, crossing the line less than a second behind the American – another brilliant podium finish for the Briton, who has now stood on the podium for two consecutive rounds. Martí, his race compromised from the start, finished 16th.
Sunday’s 35-lap feature race promised an even tougher challenge, with critical tyre management likely to determine the outcome. Lindblad opted for the supersoft tire, while Martí chose the soft, aiming to extend his first stint as much as possible. All drivers gained a position before the start when Sebastián Montoya stalled on the formation lap, forcing the Colombian to start from the pit lane. When the lights went out, Victor Martins stalled on the grid, allowing Lindblad to complete the first lap in third place behind Dino Beganovic and Leonardo Fornaroli. Further back, Martí had climbed to 10th and was the fourth-highest runner on his strategy. The Spaniard quickly began picking off rivals, first passing Roman Staněk and then Ritomo Miyata. Up front, Lindblad pressured Fornaroli, and the top four all pitted together on lap 6. Martí briefly took the lead on lap 8 after passing Joshua Dürksen on the main straight. From that point, the Catalan’s goal was to manage his advantage over the drivers on the alternate strategy who had already pitted. Unfortunately, this plan was shattered when the safety car came out following Rafael Villagómez’s incident, erasing Martí’s hard-earned gap and making any hopes of a comeback on supersoft tyres a distant dream. When the green flags waved again on lap 19, the drivers on fresher tyres quickly began to close in. Martí, still running in second, finally pitted on lap 31. Lindblad, meanwhile, had steadily climbed the order, overtaking Max Esterson, Gabriele Minì, and Amaury Cordeel, ultimately finishing fourth and securing the bonus point for the fastest lap. Martí crossed the line in 14th after his late stop.
After Imola, Lindblad and Martí sit fifth and sixth in the drivers’ standings with 45 and 41 points respectively. Campos Racing holds second in the teams’ championship with 86 points, just one behind the leaders.
FIA Formula 2 action resumes in just a few days on the narrow, unforgiving streets of the Principality of Monaco for the fifth round of the season this coming weekend.
Arvid Lindblad (Campos Racing Driver in FIA Formula 2): “I think it was a good weekend, in which we made a good step forward. We were really competitive all weekend long. The first lap in FP, the car felt really good and we were very fast. In qualifying, in the fight for pole, all throughout, we got a bit unfortunate with the red flag as we were eight tenths away from the line whilst on for pole. Quite comfortably, so yeah, a bit of a shame what happened. But anyway, still good pace and then Saturday’s race was a good one, from P5 to P2. Good speed all throughout and in the feature race we were in the fight for the win. We started P6 up to P3 on lap one. But the safety car made a huge impact as the race was decided during pit stops. I'm pretty gutted because I felt the win was on the cards today. But anyway, still think it was a very positive weekend and looking forward to Monaco now.”
Pepe Martí (Campos Racing Driver in FIA Formula 2): “Honestly, quite disappointed with the weekend. I think after qualifying P11, there's not much more we could have done. I think we were very unlucky with both starts. And from then on, we were very compromised. On Saturday, we got pushed off and ended at the back of the group and managed to make our way back to P14. But obviously, no points awarded for that. And today from P11, we were P2 on the alternate strategy, but the alternate strategy was completely cut out of promise when the safety car came through in lap 15. Without the safety car, we probably would have been fighting for a top five, so it's a bit disappointing. But at the same time, the qualifying is where the weekend went wrong. So very focused on Monaco now to obviously do the job in qualifying, which is ultimately important there. Yeah, very focused for it, very excited for it. It's a great track. It's done me good deals in the past. So yeah, I'm excited to get going over there.”
