Paul Aron was simply sublime in Melbourne today, delivering a sensational drive to second place in the F2 Feature Race. In doing so, he also propelled himself from P5 to P2 in the Driver Standings.
The Estonian had his eye on a prize all weekend, running as high as third in yesterday’s Sprint Race before getting tagged in the chaos of a frenetic race and damaging his front wing, which dropped him down the order to 18th.
What a difference a day makes! He was competitive from the word go today, making maximum use of the car’s impressive pace after an early pitstop to get himself in the best possible position for a second-half assault on the front-runners.
From his sixth-place grid slot, he gained a place before a VSC neutralised the race on lap 7. Fourth at the restart, he made his mandatory stop on lap 10, which dropped him down to twelfth again but the VSC was deployed just two laps later, followed by a full Safety Car to retrieve Hauger’s car.
From ninth at the restart, Aron took full advantage of the three-way fight ahead to force himself through past the otherwise engaged Antonelli and Barnard at Turn 12. Seventh on the road, he was effectively second given that five cars ahead still needed to stop. He set about reeling in ultimate race winner Hadjar, trading times for the final ten laps until they were out of the picture. He took the chequered flag in second place, securing his third podium in as many races.
“I’m very happy with P2 in Melbourne today,” said Aron. “The car the team gave me was really good so I was able to have a strong race and it was a bit of a redemption for me after such a disappointing result yesterday. To end the day P2 in the race, getting the point for fastest lap and now second in the Drivers’ Standings – it shows we have a lot to feel positive about as we head into Europe.”
Amaury Cordeel had a more frustrating time of things at the Albert Park Circuit today, struggling with the balance and frustrated that he was unable to realise the same potential in the car as Aron and missing out on points. He finished 11th.
Today’s 19-point haul also maintains Hitech GP’s fourth place position in the Team Standings.
Feature Race Team Result (Sunday)
Paul Aron – 2nd – 19 points
Amaury Cordeel 11th
Next up, Formula 2 has an in-season test ahead of Round 4, with teams and drivers getting three days in Barcelona from 23-25 April. We return for the next race weekend at Imola, from 17-19 May.
