Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 junior Paul Aron will make his Formula 2 debut at this weekend’s season finale, replacing Clement Novalak at Trident.
The 19-year-old Estonian came third in the FIA Formula 3 championship this year as a rookie, then had a fiery crash in yesterday’s FIA F3 World Cup in Macau.
Before F3, Aron won eight races across two Formula Regional European Championship campaigns. This weekend’s races at Yas Marina Circuit will mark the first time he has driven in single-seaters for a team other than Prema since 2020.
“It’s with great pleasure that we announce that Paul Aron will make his debut under the Trident Motorsport banner in the FIA F2 championship next weekend in Abu Dhabi,” said Trident’s team manager Giacomo Ricci.
“The team will make its best effort to help him gain confidence in the new category, as this will certainly be an important step for his career. We can’t wait to start working with Paul, who will replace Clement Novalak. As he has long been part of the Trident family, we wish the Frenchman the best for his future endeavors.”
Novalak came third in the FIA F3 Championship with Trident in 2021, then reunited with the team this year for F2. He only scored once in his first 21 races, but then claimed victory and fastest lap in the Zandvoort feature race. He currently sits 17th in the standings, one position and 13 points ahead of team-mate Roman Stanek who overcame a budget scare following Zandvoort to make it onto the grid for the penultimate round at Monza where he scored in both races.
“So going to Spa-Francorchamps, we had some financial issues, because obviously the season is not, or was not going as we were expecting,” Stanek explained after qualifying at Monza, in which he made the top 10 for the first time since his debut weekend.
“And that’s why some sponsors, they started to support me. But luckily with my family we found a way how to keep going. So I really appreciate that they are supporting me. I’m here, I finished third, so it’s satisfying. About next season, I still don’t know, but it looks like that we will try again to race in this championship. We just need a budget now, so let’s see.”