After a race win and six podiums in 2023, Valencian Nerea Martí has secured the final Campos Racing seat and will return to F1 Academy in a Tommy Hilfiger entry, as she aims to take on the championship fight.
Nerea Martí will return to Campos Racing for her second year in F1 Academy - in a Tommy Hilfiger sponsored-entry.
Martí, 22, is one of Spain's most promising female talents and will tackle the all-female series promoted by F1 after scoring six podiums and one victory last year, eventually finishing fourth in the drivers' standings.
"I'm over the moon. Being able to continue with Campos Racing for another year in the F1 Academy is incredible. It's very special to do it with Campos Racing, being a Spanish team and one that we worked with last year, so we all know each other", Nerea said. "The team is strong, and with everything we learned last season, this year we'll be able to be at the top.”
Nerea's #30 Tatuus will be supported by fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, as the brand continues its involvement in sports sponsorship and in the world of F1, where it has a long history since the early 90s. The brand will also will also design and provide all F1 Academy staff uniform.
“The world of racing is developing at an incredible pace and the F1 Academy is at the forefront of this movement" - Tommy Hilfiger stated. "I look forward to working with Managing Director Susie Wolff, leading driver Nerea Martí and the entire F1 Academy team as they break barriers in a traditionally male-dominated sport.”
The Valencian driver is in her fifth season of single seater racing, having made her debut in the 2019 Spanish F4 championship. On her debut, Martí claimed an outright podium and then continued her rookie season with more top ten finishes.
At the end of her first season in formula cars she took part in the second W Series selection tests and she was admitted onto the grid of the all-female series, therefore making the step up to Formula Regional machinery.
While she would need to wai one year to make her debut due to the pandemic-cancelled season, Martí was one of the main protagonists of the 2021 season; shefinished all the races in the points and scored her first podium in Hungary. With 61 points, she was fourth in the championship, by far the top rookie. As part of the W Series Academy program, she was awarded with a test session in FIA F3 machinery at Magny Cours.
In her second season in W Series, Nerea scored her first pole positions and two more podiums - at Miami and Le Castellet - and was again a consistent front-runner.
At the same time, Martí made her debut in touring cars, as part of the first BMW Spain factory team: she took her first national title on debut, winning the Spanish Endurance Championship aboard a BMW M2 Cup. One year later, Martí stepped up to the BMW M4 GT4 in the Spanish GT Championship (GT-CET) and secured a second title.
At the launch of F1 Academy, Nerea was continued her commitment in single seaters as well and joined Spanish squad Campos Racing. While she lost a podium at debut due to a technical infringement, one week later she took pole position and two second place finishes on her home track at Circuito Ricard Tormo, Valencia. She returned to the rostrum in Zandvoort with a third place, then again in Monza third race.
The Spaniard continued to be competitive throughout the season and claimed a breakthrough victory - her first in single seaters - at Circuit Paul Ricard. She would wrap up the season with a second place at COTA that gained her fourth place in the standings, surpassing Abbi Pulling.
She returns to Campos for her sophomore campaign, where she will team up with Carrie Schreiner and Chloe Chambers , who will represent Sauber and Haas F1 teams respectively.
“It’s great to have Nerea driving one of our cars again for 2024", commented Adrian Campos, Campos Racing Team Principal. "She proved to be a clear contender for wins and podiums last year, and I feel confident that we will be able to further rise the bar this season."
"With more experience in the series, I have no doubts our goals ae to be more ambitious yet in 2024. We have put together a nice group of female drivers and we are restlessly working to arrive in Jeddah on top form.”
Her F1 Academy campaign is set to kick off on 8-9 March at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, as part of the Saudi F1 Grand Prix support bill. Having first joined the F1 paddock at the 2023 season finale in Austin, USA, the F4 all-female championship will in fact be part of the F1 support package on all the 7 rounds planned in 2024.
