Driving forward: From F1 Academy to GT ambitions, Nerea Martí on building her next chapter
- RACERS
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Building on her single-seater success in F1 Academy, Nerea Martí has clear goals and ambitions for her future in the sport - and is laying the foundations for her promising next steps in GT racing with the support of the BMW M Racing Academy. We caught up with the young Spaniard as she visited the FIA WEC paddock, ahead of the second round of the Iberian Supercars.
At just 23 years old, Nerea Martí has already carved a path few drivers can claim — one that spans single-seaters, touring cars, and GT racing, supported by both global fashion brands and factory motorsport programmes.
Now, after two competitive years in F1 Academy and a longstanding relationship with BMW, the Spanish driver is embracing a season of preparation as she shifts her focus fully to GT and endurance racing.
“I drove two years in the F1 Academy — it was a really good opportunity, to be honest,” Martí says. “I learned a lot, I met a lot of people, I got to know new tracks. But at the same time, I have been combining it with GT racing with BMW for the last four years. That has always been one of the goals in my career.”
Martí joined the inaugural F1 Academy season in 2023 with Campos Racing, claiming her first single-seater win at Le Castellet, alongside six podiums that earned her fourth in the final standings. Returning in 2024 with the backing of high-profile brand Tommy Hilfiger, she added another four podiums and consistently strong top-five finishes to once again secure fourth overall.
But with the championship’s two-year limit reached, Martí knew it was time to channel her efforts into her long-term vision: a future in GT and endurance racing. That path has been forged with BMW — a brand that not only gave her a first opportunity in GT competitions but has continued to support her development.
"I think F1 Academy helped me to be a better driver in formulas and to give me more visibility", Nerea added. "Of course it helps for everything, because in the end there are a lot of people on a F1 weekend. But I was already working with BMW, we were growing together. And this is the goal that I have now in my life, because of course formulas are a bit difficult now. But I'm pushing to try to open new doors here."
Since her debut with BMW Spain Motorsport in 2021, Martí has won national titles, contested the Spanish Endurance and GT Championships and stood on five class podiums in the 2024 Iberian Supercars Endurance season, narrowly missing out on second place by a single point, in an almost 40-car field.
Now, she has been selected as one of four drivers in the first-ever BMW M Racing Academy — a programme designed to guide GT4-level drivers toward factory opportunities and the coveted GT3 platform.
“This year, of course, it’s a great opportunity to be with the BMW M Racing Academy,” Martí explains. “It’s a really good programme — we’re doing a really good job physically, mentally, and with the car. Everything is very professional. They’re pushing us to be more complete drivers in every way, and to start open new doors to keep growing in my career. Now that I have this opportunity I take it and try to do my maximum."
The BMW M Racing Academy 'Class of 2025' was formed after a rigorous selection process involving 12 top GT4 talents. The selected four — including Martí — receive intensive coaching across all aspects of professional racing, including simulator work, media training, fitness, engineering understanding, and racecraft refinement. For Martí, this support structure comes at the perfect moment in her career.
"I think it's a year to prepare for next seasons and just look at the new opportunities and try to maximise," she says. "I want to focus on BMW and try to give my 100% here. Also, I want to keep growing physically and try to train more for what we need. So I take it as a preparation year for the future step."
That next step, she hopes, will be GT3.
"Of course I want to keep growing and to compete in GT3", Martí affirms. "For me it's one of the steps towards my goal, for sure. Now we are racing in GT4, but we are already planning some things in GT3 and I hope soon we will be competing there", she adds. "In the end the [BMW M Racing] Academy is giving us the opportunity to be prepared for that, and to have track time — that is the most important thing in motorsport."
The 2025 season was off to a challenging start; at the opening round of the Iberian Supercars in Portimão, Martí and her BMW Spain teammate José Manuel de los Milagros, finished ninth in class after a turbulent race marked by unpredictable weather and unfortunate safety car timings.
.
“Portimão was difficult,” she admits. “Qualifying was a bit bad, to be honest. And then the conditions didn't help, because when we did some changes, it started to rain, then dry — and this didn't help the strategy that we had. But anyway, we need to learn everything that we did wrong in Portimão and just try to keep pushing and improving for the next races."
"We have been planning and testing because we know we can be at the front. We just need to work, keep improving and for sure we will be on top in the next races."
Martí is eyeing redemption at the second round of the season at Jarama — a track that also holds significance for another reason. In 2024, she was one of 18 drivers selected for the first all-female Formula E test at the very same circuit, representing Andretti Formula E Team.
“It was quite good, to be honest,” she says. “We prepared really well with the simulator, the same as the other drivers. It was positive because I tried the car and it was in Spain as well, so I knew the track. The power between the cars was different — we didn't get to put the maximum power. My teammate in the test is the only driver that I can compare myself with, and it was quite positive."
"It's really good that everyone is trying to do testing, try to test women, to gain opportunities."
The test marked a renewed push from Formula E, a championship that has not had a female race starter in almost ten years. Martí believes the effort behind these initiatives is genuine, even if tangible change will take some time.
“I don’t think people lose time just to do a test for no reason,” she says. “Fore me, for example, it already helped me get closer to Andretti — and you know they are in many categories, so it’s always good to have a good relationship with a team like that.”
"We will push to be in the next female test, it's another category that I will be interested in", Nerea says, with another all-female Formula E test announced for 2025.
Still, GT remains her top priority — not just for 2025, but for the years ahead: "Now I'm fully focused on GT, I want to do my best and I think I have an opportunity here. I believe I'm a complete driver."
"It's not easy of course, I need to work, I need to push, I need to improve everything, physically and in the car. But that's what the BMW M Racing Academy programme is about, to prepare for next season."
Her bond with BMW, cultivated since the early days of her touring car outings, has become more than an affiliation — it's a brand she now considers home.
"I've been driving for BMW Spain for four years, and we have a really good relationship", she says. "They gave me the opportunity in GT from the beginning, and they were always pushing for me. So I'm really grateful for everything that they did for me. Now it's difficult to see myself with another brand."
With a wealth of experience already under her belt — from Spanish F4 to W Series, F1 Academy to GT4 racing — and now the support of a manufacturer’s development programme, the young Valencian seems to have a clear goal in mind and she’s laying the foundation for a solid future in sportscars, in what is proving to be a new golden era for endurance racing.
