Photo: Hitech GP
Paul Aron has been Formula 2’s top rookie of 2024 so far, scoring 47 points over the first six races to sit second in the standings.
The Hitech GP driver finished third in the Bahrain feature race, second in the Jeddah sprint race and then second in Melbourne’s feature race.
He qualified 21st on his debut in 2023’s final round, and has been 12th, 10th and sixth in the three qualifying sessions held this year.
“Very happy to continue this momentum of podiums in every round,” Aron said after finishing second in the most recent race in Melbourne.
“Yesterday was frustrating for me as well because I think we had a very good pace and we were on for a podium. I just got caught up in other people’s mess and we lost big points. So very happy to have a good race today, and more happy about the fact that both me and the team are still making steps forward, and we’re just getting closer and closer to the top.”
While hoping “we can keep it going in the next few rounds”, he noted that at the “beginning of the championship, it’s easy to get too comfortable too quickly” after making improvements in each round and demonstrating that with his results.
“I think already last year in the Formula 3 season [last year], we saw that I was very, very consistent,” reckoned Aron. “I would say I’m beginning to be quite a complete driver, and especially in a championship like F2 where driving with your head and taking risks in a smart way works out. It’s showing now because we are second in the championship.”
Aron also reckoned if it was not for the timing of a virtual safety car period when winner Isack Hadjar pitted, then “we could have had a chance at” beating him to victory in the Melbourne feature race.
There were various moments of drama for Aron in the race, from wheel-to-wheel battles to pitlane positioning.
“I actually had a massive moment in the pitlane because it was so tight, and going out of my box, other teams that put their tyres quite close. So I had no space. Basically, I went sideways out of my box and then sideways the other way. It was not easy,” he explained.
On lap 20, a move around the outside of Andrea Kimi Antonelli at turn 13 also led to Aron going down the inside of Taylor Barnard for seventh place.
“I knew that the move had to be done quickly, because I saw that Zane [Maloney] behind got past [Ritomo Miyata]. And if I wanted to have a shot at the win, I knew I had to get past quickly. And actually at the beginning of the lap, I said ‘we have a lot of pace, I’m just stuck behind’. And my engineer said ‘trust yourself and go for it’. So that’s what I did, and it worked out well. So one for the highlights, for sure.”