Victor Martins has moved onto the role of test and development driver for Williams in F1 2026, alongside his Alpine WEC race drive.
Martins left Alpine academy to join Williams in 2025. He got few FP1 outings with the British outfit last year, while he competed full-time in F2. With no chance in F1 in 2026 for the time being, the Frenchman confirmed his switch to endurance racing in WEC with Signatech Alpine in 2026.
He was announced to join the French team earlier on Monday as he returns to the Alpine family. But his deal will only focus on the endurance racing and not F1. Hours after the confirmation, Williams announced Martins as its test and developmental driver for 2026 season.
He would graduate from the Williams academy as a result and join Oliver Turvey and Harrison Scott in the role to help the F1 team and drivers Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz during race weekends. He will help in refining of the team’s driver-in-loop simulator, not just of F1 but also driver academy too.
“Williams is an iconic team with an incredible history and I’m excited to be part of the project to bring this team back to the front of the grid,” said Martins. “I’ve already had experience working with Alex and Carlos during race weekends, and I’m looking forward to continuing this work with the team in 2026. Thanks to James Vowles, Sven and everyone at Williams for the opportunity.”
And Sven Smeets, Sporting Director, said: “We’re glad to welcome Victor into his new role as Test and Development Driver in 2026. He is a talented driver who has consistently given invaluable guidance and feedback to the team, improving our on-track performance and supporting Alex and Carlos throughout the 2025 season. His recent experience driving the FW47 in Barcelona FP1 and supporting the TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) programme gives him the real-world context to make real impact on the development of the FW48 and future car programmes.”
Alpine WEC run (as per press release) –
Martins has been a leading open-wheel star in recent seasons, with three full campaigns in FIA Formula 2 yielding 18 trips to the rostrum – three of them on the top step – and a best championship finish of fifth. The Frenchman was appointed a member of the Williams Driver Academy last year. He has participated in a number of Formula 1 test sessions for the renowned British team as well as for Alpine, and in late 2024, he similarly got a taste of the famous French manufacturer’s A424 during FIA WEC’s annual Rookie Test in Bahrain.
Belying his total lack of prior endurance experience, Martins came out-of-the-blocks flying, rapidly getting to grips with Hypercar machinery to comfortably top the rookie timesheets in the morning – concluding the day third-fastest amongst the newcomers. The 24-year-old Essonne native – a national gymnastics champion as a child – will form part of a six-driver, two-car line-up at Alpine. Series returnee António Félix da Costa is already confirmed in the #35 A424 – which triumphed in the championship’s milestone 100th race at Fuji in Japan last September – while Frédéric Makowiecki stays on-board the podium-finishing #36 entry.
“Joining Alpine Endurance Team in the FIA World Endurance Championship is a significant step in my career and a responsibility I take very seriously,” Martins commented. “Alpine is a brand with a strong racing heritage and clear ambitions at the highest level of endurance racing. Competing in my first 24 Hours of Le Mans with this team is a huge motivation, and I’m looking forward to working closely with everyone to push performance, build consistency and contribute to the long-term success of the programme.”
“We are obviously very pleased with this collaboration, which represents a strong and exciting opportunity for the project,” echoed Alpine Team Principal, Philippe Sinault. “Victor will bring his natural speed, but also his experience at the highest level and his technical understanding, all of which will allow us to continue progressing collectively.
“Since Victor took part in the 2024 Rookie Test with the A424, there has been a clear mutual desire to work together. We share the same mindset and approach, and I have no doubt that his integration into the team will be swift and that he will very quickly be able to contribute to improving our overall performance.”
Here’s Carlos Sainz on his inputs on 2026 car
Here’s Williams taking Kean Nakamura-Berta
