Red Bull junior driver Josep Maria 'Pepe' Martí, has completed a shock move to Formula E outfit Cupra Kiro.
The Formula 2 driver was announced on Tuesday afternoon as Dan Ticktum's new team-mate, in what is the final pairing to be confirmed ahead of pre-season testing next week in Valencia.
Martí is the latest F2 driver to make the switch to Formula E, with Zane Maloney and Taylor Barnard having made the move at the end of 2024.
It is a major signing for Kiro, who had also been in talks with former Maserati driver Jake Hughes, while Stoffel Vandoorne was also a rumoured candidate.
The signing of Martí is an exciting one, particularly for Spanish automotive giants Cupra, who partnered with Kiro ahead of last season.
For the 20-year-old himself who has competed for Campos Racing in F2 this year, it is a move which will see him become a professional world championship racing driver; albeit, not in Formula 1.
With fellow Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad heavily linked with a promotion to Racing Bulls, a move to F1 looked unrealistic for the Spaniard.
However, it is a great move for Formula E, which is seeing a growing interest from young drivers in the F2 and Formula 3 paddock.
Martí sits sixth in the F2 drivers' standings and has claimed three victories in 2025, with him to take the recently departed David Beckmann's seat in the customer Porsche squad.
In taking the seat, it ends his chances in the F2 title race, as the Formula E season-opener in São Paulo clashes with the F2 season finale in Abu Dhabi on the weekend of December 6-7.
It was a similar situation for Maloney 12 months ago; however, it is a move which excites the Catalonia-born driver.
"I’m very excited to join CUPRA KIRO for the 2025/26 Formula E season," said Martí. "Obviously, it will be my first time racing in the category, and I’ll be a rookie, but nonetheless, I’m looking forward to it.
"The team is coming into Season 12 off the back of a win in Jakarta, and I feel very motivated to get this new chapter started.
"With Dan [Ticktum] as my team-mate, I’ll have a lot to learn and catch up on at the beginning of the season, but my goal is to get up to speed, improve quickly and score points and hopefully get a couple of good results."
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