Photo: Sebastiaan Rozendaal / Dutch Photo Agency
Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 junior Paul Aron has secured a seat on the FIA Formula 3 Championship grid next year with Prema.
Aron is currently in his second Formula Regional European Championship season, and with two rounds to go remains in title contention.
It is the 18-year-old Estonian’s fourth FRegional campaign, having come 11th in the 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup, third in FREC last year and eighth in FRegional Asian Championship at the start of 2022.
His Eurocup season is the only time he has raced in a car run by a team other than Prema, as his rookie year in single-seaters where he won races in the ADAC and Italian F4 championship was also spent with the Italian outfit.
“I am very very happy, excited, and thankful to join a team like Prema in the FIA F3 Championship for the 2023 season,” said Aron, whose older brother Ralf is team manager of Prema’s sportscar programmes.
“They proved themselves year after year, always having three cars on top and showing great pace. I am delighted to spend another year with them, and I am confident they will give me the best possible package to fight for the win. I am really looking forward to seeing what we will be able to achieve next year.”
Prema team principal Rene Rosin added: “We are extremely delighted to continue working with Paul. We have always been aware of his winning potential, and we think he will keep producing impressive runs in the future, even in a very competitive and highly-challenging environment like F3. It will be a learning year, but we are sure there will be many chances to challenge for high-profile results, so our goal is to push right from the winter preparations to be ready for 2023.”
Aron is the second driver whose place on next year’s grid has been confirmed, following FREC rival Gabriel Bortoleto who will drive for Trident.
Williams junior Zak O’Sullivan has been linked to joining Prema for 2023, while all three drivers in the team’s 2022 line-up are now anticipated to be stepping up to Formula 2.