Lessons, podium finishes, and what comes next for Pepe Martí
What a stunning debut year for in the Formula E paddock. The CUPRA KIRO driver didn't just survive his rookie campaign; he took two podium finishes, ended the year as the highest placed rookie, and made history as the first Spaniard in the championship to secure a podium.
That haul of 66 championship points was just enough to edge out fellow rookie by a single point. But it wasn't all smooth sailing for the young machine. Martí narrowly missed out on a place inside the top-10 after Round 16, the first of the London double-header finale weekend, ended in disappointment. Tokyo also brought mixed emotions with a DNF in the second race, coming just a day after teammate snatched a dramatic victory from Andretti’s .
"The race ended up with a DNF, which is what you never want," Martí said of Round 16 in London. "We got quite unlucky with the Full Course Yellow. It was thrown out for about one lap so about seven cars got a really good advantage. We weren't in that group, unfortunately. We had a good pace. I was moving forward. I would have probably finished right in front of Oliver (Rowland) in P10, so we could have scraped a point, but we weren't able to. I was not happy with myself."
Martí bounced back in the very next round, the final race of the 2025/26 campaign, charging to eighth place after starting 13th on the grid due to a penalty (having been classified 11th in qualifying). Holding 13th for most of the title-deciding race, he executed his two ATTACK MODE activations on Lap 23 and 31 before fighting into the top-10 over the final four laps. That drive pushed CUPRA KIRO to a total of 128 points, sealing the squad's most successful campaign in Formula E to date.
Across the year, Martí managed nine points finishes from 17 races, proving his critics wrong with sheer racecraft and a refusal to stay down when setbacks hit. Now, the 21-year-old driver is ready to close the book on this rookie chapter and look toward the upcoming GEN4 era of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, where he will continue with CUPRA KIRO for the 2025/27 season.