Feature
INTRODUCING NEREA MARTÍ: The Tommy Hilfiger driver on being competitive, fashion and Valencia memories
Nerea Martí has been pushing hard to achieve her dreams from a young age, despite the barriers she’s faced. Now the Tommy Hilfiger driver is living them, as she competes in her second F1 ACADEMY campaign.
We sat down with the Spaniard on home soil to discuss everything, from moments that she’ll never forget to what more goes into being a racing driver than just lighting up the track.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN RACING FOR?
“When I was nine years old, my dad and my uncle opened a rental kart track in Valencia. I loved it, but they didn't let me compete because it was a difficult world and really expensive, so we didn’t have the possibility to do it.
“But then when I was 14, they gave me the opportunity to get into motorsport and I started doing karting. Then, I did some steps up until formula racing. I did Spanish F4 in 2019 and then I took one year off because off Coronavirus. (After that) I did W Series and then F1 ACADEMY.”
DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT YOU FIRST WANTED TO BE A PROFESSIONAL RACER?
“I was 13 or 14 years old and all the time I was telling my parents ‘I want to drive, I want to drive’. But it was really expensive and difficult, so they said ‘no, it’s impossible’. I was pushing a lot and, in the end, they said ‘okay, we’re going to give you the opportunity’. I remember we went to watch a race in Valencia because it was the Karting European Championship. I went to see the races and I said ‘okay, please I want this’.”
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE MOVIE OR TV SERIES?
“I like Drive To Survive and next year, I will like the F1 ACADEMY docuseries.”
WHAT DOES RACING FEEL LIKE TO YOU?
“Racing is everything for me now. I’m spending all my time to prepare physically, mentally and also, on the simulator. There is a big part that nobody sees which is the work off-track to find sponsors, money and interviews. There are a lot of things and in my case, we don’t have someone to do it. We need to work a lot with brands and social to get the budget.
“For me, it’s really special. It’s amazing the speed and I’m really competitive, so I don’t know how to lose. I’m a bad loser (laughs). When I’m driving, I just focus on the next corner. If I’m in Turn 1, I’m already thinking about Turn 2. Before I arrive, I think about the reference points, braking, turning and everything. All across the lap, I’m thinking and focusing on what I have to do and when we analyse data, we have some points to change or improve, so I focus a lot on these points.”
READ MORE: Trailblazing bosses and being stranded with Fernando Alonso: Chloe Chambers’ Racing Idols
IF YOU COULD RACE AGAINST ONE DRIVER PAST OR PRESENT, WHO WOULD IT BE?
“I would choose the best F1 driver to learn as much as possible. Now we know that Max (Verstappen) is doing really well, but I love (Lewis) Hamilton because he’s really, really good on track. He’s a really good driver, but also, he’s a good driver to learn a lot from off-track.”
WHAT’S YOUR RACING NUMBER THIS YEAR AND WHY DID YOU PICK IT?
“I have the number 30. To be honest, I don’t like the number too much but for my husband (footballer Hugo Duro) it’s special for him. When he scores a goal, he does a kiss on his finger because he has a tattoo there with 30 (on it). So I said I wanted to change to 30 so I have the same lucky number as him.
“Normally, I race with 32. That’s my grandfather’s (birth) date of 1932, so I kept 32. But I wanted to change it this season, so I put 30.”
IF YOU HAD A DINNER PARTY WITH THREE GUESTS FROM THE 2024 GRID, WHO WOULD YOU PICK AND WHY?
“I would choose my teammates (Chloe Chambers and Carrie Schreiner) and Abbi Pulling. I like to spend time with my teammates and I have a really good relationship with Abbi. It’s strange because we are competing, but we have a really good relationship off-track. On track, we are competing and we’re not speaking about things before, but she’s also a really good girl and a good driver.”
DESCRIBE YOUR PRE-RACE RITUAL AND DO YOU HAVE ANY SUPERSTITIONS?
“I like to always do the same routine. I do the same warm-up, I like to listen to music but it depends. If I feel active, I like to relax with music and keep relaxed, but sometimes we drive at 8AM or 5PM, so after lunch and maybe you feel a bit more tired. I tried to get active by doing some warm-ups and speaking with the team.
“I’m not really superstitious, but I always put the right glove on first. I always jump in on the left-hand side of the car, but that’s it. I know some drivers that are very superstitious with food and everything. For example, sometimes when I going to do some tests with the pedals and if the mechanic is there on the left side, I can’t jump in. I go all the way around the car and say ‘please let me jump in this way’.”
READ MORE: Sisterly bonds and modern Formula 1 legends: Amna Al Qubaisi’s Racing Idols
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE CHEAT MEAL?
“I love meat, I love pasta, I love pizza — I don’t know! I also like a salad, I like everything. If you give me a good pasta, like an Italian one, maybe I’ll choose pasta.”
WHAT’S THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR?
“I’ve had a lot of moments, but I remember a lot when I jumped into a Formula 4 car for the first time. It was amazing because for me, it was a dream. The Valencia track gave me the opportunity through my grandfather, who died in 2018. They gave me one day and I was really excited to take all my family. When I jumped out, I remember I went to hug them and was really excited to be with them, so it’s a moment that I remember a lot.”
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR FASHION STYLE?
“I like to change and try some things, but they (Tommy Hilfiger) always put me in some outfits that I’m comfortable with. It’s amazing and they do a really good job. It’s amazing to be at events like New York Fashion Week. They send me a lot of clothes for my day-to-day, so it’s impossible to buy more because I don’t have more space (laughs).”
WHERE IS YOUR FAVOURITE CIRCUIT AND WHY?
“I like all the tracks. The Circuit Ricardo Tormo is special for me because I train there every day, not on the track, but in the high performance centre inside the track. I go there every day to train physically and mentally and then, my first session in the Formula 4 car was there, so it’s more emotional. So if I have to choose one, I will choose Valencia.
“Racing in Valencia last year was really exciting. Here (in Barcelona) is exciting because it’s all Spanish people, there they had Valencian people as well. It was really, really exciting for me and we got good results. Everyone was there, so I was really excited and really emotional.”
WHAT IS YOUR AMBITION FOR THE 2024 SEASON?
“It depends on a lot of things, but obviously we are here to win. We know that the first races were a bit difficult, but we are working on it. We are analysing everything, I know that we are going to push and we will be on top. I think the top three would be a good result because we missed a lot of points in the first two rounds.”