FIA Formula 2 race winner Paul Aron has signed a deal with the Alpine Formula 1 squad to become the outfit’s Reserve Driver in 2025.

Aron, 20, hailing from Estonia is a former member of the Mercedes Junior Programme but embarked on his rookie campaign in F2 without the backing of an F1 outfit.

Unfazed, Aron has had an exemplary campaign in F2, clinching seven podiums to sit fourth in the Drivers’ standings as the second-highest rookie.

His campaign has been contested with Hitech, founded by Alpine Team Principal Oliver Oakes, which undoubtedly helped the Estonian secure his new F1 Reserve Driver role for 2025.

“We are very pleased to have Paul join BWT Alpine Formula One Team as our 2025 Reserve Driver,” said Alpine Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore.

“There is a generational shift in Formula 1 at the moment, as we see with many young drivers coming into the sport and making an impact.

“We believe Paul is one of the best talents and we look forward to developing him into an F1 driver.”

‘It’s incredibly special to join Alpine,’ says Paul Aron

Aron couldn’t contain his excitement upon announcing his team-up with Alpine, saying “It’s incredibly special to be joining BWT Alpine Formula One Team.

“It is clear that this is a great place to be for any young driver and I’m really pleased that Flavio and Oliver have given me this opportunity.

“Before 2025 and the hard work that will come with being the team’s Reserve Driver, I have a Championship to focus on for the remainder of this year and I will be giving it my all to compete for the title.

“I’m looking forward to really beginning the work and continuing my career pathway in motorsport.”

The Reserve Driver role at Alpine was vacated by Jack Doohan, who is graduating to compete alongside Pierre Gasly on the F1 grid full-time in 2025.

Aron meanwhile, is chasing his first F2 win and comfortably took pole position in Qatar on Friday.

READ MORE – Paul Aron takes assured F2 pole position in Qatar

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Paul Aron took pole position in Qatar for the FIA Formula 2 Feature race on Sunday after improving multiple times to secure his position on the front row.

Aron was challenged many times in the Qualifying session but he couldn’t be beaten by his F2 rivals setting a lap time of 1:35.115s.

Gabriel Bortoleto in the Invicta Racing car was second with Victor Martins completing the top three in the ART.

Dino Beganovic was fourth on his debut in F2 and Richard Verschoor completed the top five for MP Motorsport.

Jak Crawford was behind his Dams Lucas Oil team-mate Beganovic in sixth and Kush Maini finished in seventh in the other Invicta.

Oliver Goethe impressed after qualifying in eighth, and Isack Hadjar finished in ninth with his title rival Bortoleto starting further up the grid.

Oliver Bearman rounded off the top 10 for the F2 Qualifying as he will start the Sprint race from pole.

Aron on top in F2 Qatar GP Qualifying

Aron in the Hitech set the early pace, following on from his blistering performance in the only practice session, with a time of 1:37.619s – more than four-tenths of a second quicker than Bearman.

His time was initially beaten by F2 Championship leader Bortoleto, Bearman and Martins, but the Estonian driver shot right back up to P1 after setting a lap time of 1:36.614s.

As Aron headed back to the pits after a moment in Turn 4, Bortoleto went for a third lap and just managed to pip Aron’s time by 0.028s.

Halfway through the session, the Brazillian driver led the way with Aron in second and Martins in third.

After all 22 drivers pitted for a fresh set of tyres, the battle for pole position re-commenced for the final part of Qualifying.

Once again, Aron was going quicker than anyone else in Qatar as he improved to set a provisional pole time of 1:36.088s.

Bortoleto improved but he remained three-tenths off the Hitech driver.

With less than four minutes left, the lap times started to ramp up as Verschoor went top of the timing sheets.

However, Aron went even quicker with a time of 1:35.427s, more than six-tenths of a second quicker than the Dutch driver.

Bortoleto narrowly missed out on beating his time by 0.023s and he soon pitted after his final attempt.

Aron went around again and improved on his time once more to set a time of 1:35.115s, which was more than good enough for pole position.

In the title fight, the advantage goes to Bortoleto for the Feature race but Hadjar will have a great opportunity tomorrow starting from second in the Sprint race.

READ MORE: F2 round-up: Changes afoot as season nears conclusion

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Isack Hadjar stormed to victory in the Formula 2 Feature Race in Belgium, boosting his title bid as chief rival Paul Aron retired on the final lap whilst running in the top three.

The Red Bull Junior utilised strategy perfectly to take a superb win, followed by Gabriel Bortoleto in second. Third would go to Jak Crawford, capitalising on Aron’s retirement.

At the start, Aron got away into the lead, with Bearman and Pepe Marti immediate retirements, the pair colliding on the outside line into La Source, bringing out yellow flags in sectors one. Hadjar made a fantastic overtake on Bortoleto for second place, gaining the tow up the Kemmel straight before taking the place on the outside on the approach to Les Combes.

Franco Colapinto was also an early retirement, the Argentinian’s MP grinding to a halt at the exit of Les Combes, causing cars to spray around him. With yellow flags now waving in sector two, race control quickly made the decision to deploy the safety car.

Aron decided to put his foot down early as the safety car dived into the pits at the start of lap four. The Estonian’s choice to resume racing speed before the final chicane paid off, as he gained enough of a gap to keep his lead into Les Combes with Hadjar breathing down his neck.

The Safety Car, however, was immediately back out, with Victor Martins’ ART and Rafael Villagomez both off and out on the exit of Les Combes. Replays showed the Mexican’s Van Amersfoort was squeezed by Taylor Barnard in the mid-point of the corner, pitching it into a spin and into the path of the helpless ART.

With the safety car phase set to end, Hadjar got himself closer to Aron this time, but the Hitech got another good getaway and would lead into La Source. Hadjar got closer up the hill on this occasion but still wasn’t close enough to overhaul Aron.

Setting the fastest lap and with DRS enabled at the start of lap nine, it would be inevitable that Hadjar would take the lead, and he did so on the Kemmel straight, repeating the move he made on Bortoleto. Hadjar immediately pulled an eight-tenths lead, with Aron deciding to pit at the end of the lap.

Verschoor dived past Crawford for third, with Hadjar pitting, the Campos pit crew unable to match the swiftness of Hitech in their stop, but he would rejoin just ahead of Aron, the gap set to close with Aron’s tyres up to temperature.

Bortoleto pitted on lap 11, followed by Enzo Fittipaldi, whose Van Amersfoort stalled, sending the Brazilian into an early retirement.

Aron was now on Hadjar’s tail up the hill, with Aron making the move that had been made on him, moving past into eighth place, with others ahead still yet to pit. The Frenchman quickly took to his radio, informing the team of his displeasure at the way his stop was conducted.

The run up the Les Combes was becoming the firm favourite overtaking spot, with Hadjar taking Aron back for seventh on lap 13. Ahead of them, Aron’s team-mate Cordeel and the Invicta of Kush Maini jostled for third place, the Frenchman brilliantly taking the Indian around the outside of the Bruxelles right-hander going down the hill.

Aron set the fastest lap on lap 14, with Verschoor and Antonelli running in first and second, the pair yet to pit, but the young Italian would at the end of lap 15, leaving Verschoor to lead by nine seconds from Juan Manuel Correa. A poor stop would leave Antonelli stranded behind Cordeel, rendering his chances of winning the race unlikely.

On lap 17, Bortoleto took Aron for fourth, with Correa now leading with Barnard hot on his heels, both men on the alternative strategy. They would, however, be holding up Hadjar, with Bortoleto gaining. Knowing he would need to get himself to clean air quickly, Hadjar took Barnard for second in sector three, with Correa pitting.

Bortoleto would now give chase, the Brazilian and Hadjar beginning to leave Aron behind, with the Hitech’s tyres starting to wear off quickly, with Crawford’s DAMS now filling his mirrors.

Hadjar was now creating a gap between himself and Bortoleto, over a second ahead by lap 20. Further back, Vershoor was able to take Zane Maloney for sixth, with Cordeel moving up to ninth ahead of Antonelli.

With now just two laps remaining, Bortoleto was able to keep the gap down to just over a second with Hadjar in firm control of proceedings. Aron was able to maintain third, albeit over six seconds adrift, with Crawford’s challenge for the final podium spot fading.

Heading into the final lap, Hadjar was now two seconds ahead of Bortoleto, in what had been a controlled and brilliantly executed performance by him and his team, but the drama was not done yet. Aron, looking certain for third, slowed along the Kemmel straight, a problem ending his race and denting his title aspirations in one big moment.

Hadjar’s day was made even better, as he crossed the line to take a brilliant win. Bortoleto would stay in second, with Crawford taking third. The title pendulum was now swinging towards the Red Bull Junior.

Zak O’Sullivan was fourth, with Richard Verschoor fifth.

Zane Maloney finished sixth, with Ritomo Miyata seventh. Hitech was able to score some points through Amaury Cordial’s eighth spot.

Kimi Antonelli had a busy morning’s work and ultimately finished in ninth, with Joshua Durksen rounding-up the top 10.

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Hitech’s Paul Aron took his second successive top spot in Formula 2 after setting the fastest time on Friday afternoon at Spa-Francorchamps.

The Estonian, second in the F2 Drivers’ standings, grabbed pole with a time of 1:56.959s, with Gabriel Bortoleto second. Title-leader Isack Hadjar was third, followed by Jake Crawford and Kimi Antonelli, with Zane Maloney completing row three.

Franco Colapinto was seventh with Richard Verschoor eighth. Dennis Hauger was ninth with Zak O’Sullivan popping-up late to break into the top ten, setting himself up for pole in tomorrow’s sprint race.

The session was red-flagged in the first few moments after Victor Martins’ ART slowed to a halt at T16, the young Frenchman also noted by the stewards for crossing the circuit before all cars had safely returned to the pits.

Qualifying resumed with exactly 24 minutes left on the clock, and Aron was the first to set a fast time with a 1:57.905, but Hadjar quickly displaced him with a time a tenth of a second faster. Bortoleto popped-up into third place, just a couple of hundredths short of Aron’s time, the title-chaser’s second run being less successful and opting to box, with Kush Maini bringing himself into contention in fifth spot.

With just under ten minutes to go, cars re-emerged for a second crack at setting a good lap-time, with Hauger, Crawford and Aron all trading P1 within a matter of seconds, with Hadjar unable to claim the place back, having to contend for third place. Bortoleti would go into P2, a tenth off of Aron’s 1:56.959.

Hauger would throw his hands up in the air upon crossing the line, complaining on his team radio that the car went into safety mode during the lap, hindering his progress.

All bar Taylor Barnard and Roman Stanek were able to cross the line in-time for one more run, with Bortoleto bailing on the final lap, knowing he would be unable to do better after a poor first sector. Zak O’Sullivan was blistering on this run, bringing himself into the top 10, but nobody could defeat Aron, with the Hitech man still searching for his first win of the season.

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Mercedes junior Paul Aron will make his Formula 2 debut at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi season finale with Trident, replacing Clement Novalak.

The 19-year-old Estonian placed third in his maiden Formula 3 campaign in which he competed with Prema. Aron’s sole F3 win came in Austria’s Sprint race and picked up three further podiums in Melbourne, Monaco and Spa.

Aron, who suffered a fiery crash in last weekend’s F3 Macau Grand Prix, was added to Mercedes junior ranks in July 2019 during campaigns in the Italian and ADAC Formula 4 championships, also with Prema.

The Estonian replaces Frenchman Clement Novalak who, having competed in F2 since the penultimate round of the 2020 campaign, picked up a first series during a chaotic Feature Race at Zandvoort earlier this year.

Novalak had previously partnered with Trident for the 2021 F3 campaign

Partnering Roman Stanek in Abu Dhabi, Trident seeks to provide Aron “with the maximum support needed to make sure that he will quickly find good confidence with a car from the upper category and showcase his value.”

“It’s with great pleasure that we announce that Paul Aron will make his debut under the Trident Motorsport banner in the FIA Formula 2 Championship next weekend in Abu Dhabi,” said Trident 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 Clément Novalak.

“As he has long been part of the Trident Motorsport family, we wish the Frenchman the best for his future endeavours.”

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Mercedes Formula 1 junior driver Paul Aron will race full-time in the FIA Formula 3 Championship next year with Prema.

The Estonian is currently competing in the Formula Regional European Championship with the Italian squad, sitting third in the Drivers’ standings with two rounds remaining.

Aron tested with Prema at the post-season F3 test from Jerez last month, gathering further experience with the team.

“I am very, very happy, excited, and thankful to join a team like PREMA in the FIA Formula 3 Championship for the 2023 season,” Aron said. 

“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 has produced three driver champions in the four years of FIA F3’s existence, with Aron hoping to follow in the footsteps of Robert Shwartzman, Oscar Piastri and Dennis Hauger.

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 Formula 3. 

“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.”

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Mercedes Formula 1 junior driver Paul Aron will race in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine in 2021, making a return to the Prema team.

Aron raced for the Italian squad in the 2019 German and Italian Formula 4 Championships, finishing third in the standings in the latter.

In 2020, the Estonian moved to Formula Renault Eurcocup with ART Grand Prix, scoring just a single podium on his way to 11th in the Drivers’ standings.

This year marks the third campaign of the Formula Regional European Championship, which has merged with Formula Renault Eurocup, and sees Aron join Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic and David Vidales at Prema.

“I can’t express how thankful I am for this opportunity,” Aron said. “I’m super happy to be back with Prema for the 2021 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.

“The team is like a second family for me. We managed to do an amazing year together in Formula 4, and I am sure they are just the ingredient I need to make a successful year in 2021. Can’t wait for the season to start!”

Prema founder and Team Principal Angelo Rosin added: “It’s great to welcome Paul back with us.

“He impressed us in his debut season in car racing, and we are looking forward to seeing how he progressed and matured.

“We are sure he has outstanding potential and the fact that he already knows the car-engine package means that he will be an even more valuable asset.”

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