Victor Martins: Inside His Williams Simulator Role, F1 Hopes, and WEC-FE Future

Victor Martins, former Formula 3 champion and one of Oscar Piastri's main rivals in junior formulae, hasn't quite made it to Formula 1. But the Alpine Hypercar driver, tipped for a Formula E move with Nissan, now serves as Williams' test and development driver. At the Belgian Grand Prix, he told Autosport all about his job.

Role at Williams: More Than Just a Simulator

Martins insists his impact on the FW48 is not direct but significant in development. "I'm not going to have a direct impact like changing a suspension, because I haven't tested the car in real life. But I'll speed up that development, using my experience and feedback to provide the best possible information," he said. He works closely with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon to understand areas for improvement, prepare for their race weekends, and focus on energy management.

Simulator Challenges and Personal Growth

Being a simulator driver without having driven the latest F1 car is challenging. "We know how difficult it is to get actual mileage; there aren't many FP1 opportunities. But I have enough experience to reproduce the car's behavior in the simulator, feel it, and know where to go from there," Martins explained. He admitted that a chance to drive the real car would be invaluable, and he keeps pushing for it.

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Two Simulators for Two Different Goals

Martins is also developing a simulator specifically for Williams' young driver academy. "The FW48 development simulator replicates the car's movement, problems, strengths, and weaknesses. For the junior simulator, we try to get as close as possible to how a car behaves on track, using models from junior series like F3 and F2," he said. Both simulators can run simultaneously at the Grove factory, but with very different targets: one for F1, the other for nurturing young talent.

Focus on FW48 and Future Prospects

Although many resources are dedicated to next year's FW49, Martins is more focused on current FW48 development. "I'm more dedicated to FW48 development, like race preparation and energy management. But occasionally I test things for upcoming years," he revealed. He also emphasized the importance of collaborating with many engineers in the team.

Regarding the future, Martins doesn't rule out F1 but also sees opportunities in WEC and Formula E. "F1 remains a dream, that's why I keep a foot in the door at Williams. This role teaches me a lot, especially the electrical side, which is useful if I move to FE. Hypercar systems are close to F1, so it's complementary," he concluded. As reported by Autosport, Martins attended the Belgian GP as Williams' reserve driver.