Written by Juan Arroyo, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
The Red Bull Junior Team announced Josep María Martí as the newest member of their driver academy through social media on Thursday, finally putting months of heavy speculation over the Spaniard's future to bed.
The announcement comes just a day before the final round of Formula 3 at Monza; the Campos Racing driver will debut a new Red Bull-branded helmet from free practice on Friday. He will join fellow F3 driver Sebastian Montoya, and F2 drivers Zane Maloney, Isack Hadjar, Dennis Hauger, Enzo Fittipaldi, Ayumu Iwasa, and Jak Crawford in the academy.
"It's a childhood dream come true to become part of a Formula 1 team," Martí said. "Red Bull have been the leading force from the last years and are the reigning champions. It's an organisation that's done so much for the sport for so long, carrying a lot of champions and younger drivers so to be part of that team is an unbelievable thing for me.
"I'm really excited to get going and to get started with the team on the right foot. I hope it's a relationship that lasts for a long time. I'm really proud. I've had some rough moments and better moments in my career and to have this happen to me, I'm extremely grateful."
Martí is currently third in the F3 standings, having spent a large part of the year in contention for the drivers’ title. The Spaniard has achieved three wins and a podium in his second season of FIA F3 thus far. With 39 points on offer in Monza, he is still mathematically able to match the championship leader’s points tally, though it would require him to get pole position, and win both races with the fastest lap in each.
The Spaniard previously finished third in the 2021 Spanish F4 championship, his first full season driving single-seaters. He made his debut in FIA Formula 3 in 2022 with Campos Racing, achieving a single points finish across the year. In January, Martí raced in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship with Pinnacle VAR, achieving two victories on the way to a seventh place in the final standings.