Can Aron and Cordeel help Hitech Pulse-Eight climb the F2 Championship ladder in 2024?

The 2024 campaign will be Hitech Pulse-Eight's fifth as a member of the Formula 2 paddock. Since entering the Championship in 2020, they have impressed plenty, winning a race in each season, while becoming a major player at the sharp end of the field.

They finished fourth in the Standings in their first two years in the competition before placing fifth in 2022. However, they unfortunately slipped down the order last season, ending up eighth in the Championship.

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To help climb back up the ladder, while also looking to continue their win streak, they are bringing an all-new line-up to the grid, banking on the experience of Amaury Cordeel as well as the new energy of rookie Paul Aron.

Cordeel is entering his third season in Formula 2 as he makes the move over from Invicta Racing, having also competed in Van Amersfoort colours back in his rookie campaign in 2022.

Last season saw the Belgian racer finish 20th in the Drivers’ Standings, with two eighth place finishes at both the Spa-Francorchamps and Monza Feature Races, but that does not paint the full picture of Cordeel’s 2023 season.

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What the results don’t show is that he was close to ending up in the points and found himself in the upper echelon of the midfield on multiple occasions – such as at the Melbourne Feature Race where he ended up 12th and in the Baku Sprint event when he placed ninth.

That form as well as the fact that those points results came in two of the final rounds of the season will fill Cordeel with plenty of optimism heading into 2024. That means he brings some positive momentum into the new campaign and has a good foundation to start from this year.

The former Spanish F4 Champion did the same in 2022, when he scored points in three of the final five races. So, he has proven that he has the pace to compete in the Top 10, but he will be looking to do it earlier in the year this time around as it could be key to helping Hitech in the Championship.

Another area of improvement that Cordeel will be targeting is his qualifying form. He qualified in the Top 10 twice last season – in Barcelona and Spielberg – but he will need to improve those numbers this year. What will help is that he is with a team that have a fine record in the pole position shootout.

Hitech have achieved at least one pole position in each of the last three seasons in Formula 2, and Cordeel will feel he is in a good place to improve his performances over one lap.

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If he can do this, he has shown that he can be competitive on a Sunday, meaning that this could be a great place for the Belgian to take the next step into being a regular points scorer in F2.

Aron is preparing for his rookie campaign in Formula 2 following his third-place finish in F3 last season. He scored a victory at the Spielberg Sprint Race – one of his four podium appearances over the course of the year.

It was a rookie campaign to be proud of and he showed plenty of strong skills that can be transferred to Formula 2. One of those was the consistency of his performances in the races, as he only finished outside of the points on four occasions last year.

Speaking recently, he said that consistency was his main target for the early parts of the F2 season, as he looks to adapt quickly to his new surroundings. That adjustment will be aided by Aron taking part at 2023 year-ending round at Yas Marina, as well as the post-season test and the shakedown of the new Formula 2 car last month.

Aron believes that this helps him go into the season without too many unknowns, making his adaptation straightforward, and while there are no promises that this will help him have a fast start it certainly should not hinder his progress.

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It will also hopefully help Aron translate one of his other top skills from Formula 3 to F2, that being his qualifying performances. Despite never quite achieving a pole position last year, he showed strong pace and was regularly in the mix for the top spot.

In fact, Aron qualified in the Top 10 at each race weekend except at Spa-Francorchamps, where he was still only 11th. He will be looking to continue that form this year which could make him an intriguing driver to watch when it comes to the battle for pole position.

Aron’s strong performance in Formula 3 fill Hitech with plenty of hope that he can make a fast start in 2024. If he can, he has shown in the past he has what it takes to make a strong debut year.