Written by Trisha Lynnette Nathan
The 2024 Formula 2 season saw multiple drivers take wins and make their team, as well as their fans proud. But one of the most awaited wins of the year was without a doubt, Paul Aron's maiden win at Qatar this year. This was a big milestone for Aron which also made him eligible for the Championship Title.
Currently, Gabriel Bortoleto is leading the championship table with 188.5 points, followed by Isack Hadjar with 188 points. Yes, you read that right, the two drivers have just a 0.5 point difference between them. Paul Aron on the other hand is currently third with 163 points, with a difference of 25.5 points from Bortoleto.
If the Estonian driver scores above Bortoleto and Hadjar in the sprint race in Abu Dhabi, and places first in the feature race, then Aron will be able to take home the championship title.
The 20 year old driver was dropped from the Mercedes-AMG Junior program ahead of his maiden Formula 2 season. Even though Aron placed third in the F3 championship in 2023, the driver lost the backing from Mercedes-AMG F1 junior programme thereby making it hard to get a seat on the F2 grid.
Thanks to his results and performance in the Formula 3, he eventually managed to get a seat with Hitech Pulse-Eight. Although they had a good official start in the series, the journey did have its own bumps and obstacles.
"I started the year being dropped from an academy, barely getting a seat on this Formula 2 grid. We had a very difficult pre-season test with Hitech and I went and scored a podium in the first feature race and actually a podium in every other weekend for the next seven rounds."
However in recent times, Aron signed with Alpine, as their reserve driver in 2025 - which is a huge milestone for the Estonian driver.
When asked on whether this news helped him in Qatar, he simply stated, "I didn't need my future to be certain in order to perform. I think this is a perfect season to take as an example, but it is always nice to know what you are going to do and it's always nice to not have to think about it."
While the news did give that boost in confidence, as it would to any driver, Aron wanted to be present in the moment and focus on what he could control - which was his driving and how he worked with the team.
The driver is now set to drive in Abu Dhabi, his eventual goal being the championship win.
"Well, there's always new things to learn every year because every year has new challenges."
When we asked Aron on how he has evolved as a driver, he simply stated "I mean, I think I've evolved in every aspect."
"I think it's been a pretty complete year, if I'm honest with you. We arrived and the relationship with Hitech didn't start off easy. We had a very difficult post-season test here in Abu-Dhabi with the old car." The driver stated.
"Going into the first round, there was this big surprise of pace we had and the results we had. I kept my feet on the ground." Aron replied as he reflected back at the race weekend in Bahrain. The driver placed third on the podium which allowed him to gain a good amount of points.
"We kept bring results, podiums. We got the lead in the Championship but we still didn't have the pace we wanted in qualifying. It looked like it was going to be, you know the perfect season."
The start of the season was nothing less than perfect for the team and the 20 year old driver, but soon this started to collapse due to multiple obstacles they faced.
"Then, yes, after we started doing those pole positions, the wins didn't follow. And we started to have these DNF's which I didn't have in the first seven rounds, eventually costing us points. So in that sense, you know, that idea of a perfect season kind of collapsed."
Eventually in the championship, Aron was scoring zero points and that was more than just a difficult phase for him and the team. It lasted for about three to four rounds, starting from Silverstone up until Baku. The driver knew that it was mainly due to his mistakes and not really related to the pace of the car except the race weekend in Baku where the car lacked pace.
However, the initial seven rounds where the driver got a podium each round, allowed him to still be a championship title contender. Although he wanted to be leading the championship, his mid-season downfall played a vital role in ensuring that he remains third in the standings.
"You know it's been a good year, I would say as a driver. Probably the mistake I made was that during the middle of the year when we made that step forward in pace, I really wanted to win those races."
One of the main reasons why Bortoleto is leading the championship is because he knew when points were enough, and didn't risk the entire race for a win. The championship leader has shown that consistency throughout his career and has always had a balanced approach, which is hard to find.
"But there was just a lot of things that didn't fall in line and probably I could have avoided a few mistakes that I made, if I had just accepted that the win was gone and accepted a podium or some points. "
While Aron realised his approach to a race was wrong mid-season, he still lost a good amount of points by then.
"When I qualified previously in my career, I've always won the race. I've never lost a race where I had pole position. "
Aron won his first pole position in Barcelona, and the race went well until Hitech made a miscalculation in strategy which lead to the derailment of the race.
"When we had the first pole in Barcelona, you know, I nailed the start. I nailed the first stint, we had the race in our hands. We made a mistake with the strategy and I felt that we didn't have the pace to overtake. So, I saw the race was lost and I pushed, made a mistake and lost some points there."
The Estonian driver then moved forward to the race in Hungary, however he had a problem with the clutch and fell back.
"I made some mistakes because I saw the win go away. And after that, I kind of accepted it."
While Aron has made multiple mistakes in the season, he believes that it made him evolve as a driver.
Especially when in Spa-Francorchamps, where the pace was not up to the mark, he was ready to accept a podium. That was until the car stopped on the last lap, leading to DNF which wasn't favourable to either the driver or the team.
"But the fact was, that I had made a kind of step forward, in that sense, mentally, because I started to accept, you know, the things how they come. And I think that's an important step forward in the future, because the truth is that if I get a chance in Formula One, the sooner I learn these things the better."
Despite all the obstacles he has faced, Aron has truly made a step forward in his career, as he not only has a seat on the Formula 2 grid for next year, but also as the reserve driver for BWT Alpine Formula One team, which is the next step towards his goal in reaching Formula One.
"This year taught me that you can't be forceful, you can't feel like everything is in your hands, because it is not." The driver summarised.
"You're racing against other people who can have an impact on your race. You have a team around you, who deliver the car that you are with and you know if that car is the quickest or not, that is never going to be guaranteed."
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