Aron expecting close fight for Pole despite fast start in Barcelona

It was a fairly quiet return to on-track action in Barcelona as Paul Aron of Hitech Pulse-Eight led the way in Free Practice around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The Estonian’s first flying lap proved to be his best effort, as everyone managed the Hard Pirelli tyres ahead of the switch to Softs for Qualifying later on.

Reflecting on the session, Aron says that while finishing P1 in Practice was a nice start to the weekend, he expects the margins to become very fine in Qualifying.

“First of all it was great to be back on track after a bit of a break and to top the Practice session. But I think that Imola showed that being on top in Practice doesn’t mean anything. I was fastest there and eighth in Qualifying.

“The conditions will change a lot going into Qualifying and we will be on the Soft tyres, but it’s nice to be back and show we’re right on the pace straight away. The car was in the window, and it didn’t take me long to get up there because the first lap was the best lap. A positive going into Qualifying.”

Despite having had three days of testing in Barcelona earlier in the season, Aron says that it doesn’t have much of an impact due to the change in conditions.

While testing was run in cold and overcast conditions, temperatures will be much higher across the race weekend.

“You don’t have to manage much in Qualifying because you have that one lap and can push flat out on them, but the races will be tricky for sure,” Aron explained. “We had the three days of testing here a few months ago but it was a lot colder then, so we can expect some degradation in the races.

“I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s always interesting so far this year we’ve had very good races with the tyres dropping as they should. So you have to play the strategy game right in order to have a good race. So, in that sense I don’t mind it and I’m looking forward to it.

“We’ve done a lot of laps here and everybody knows the track, but in the end, the conditions are so different that we only have one lap on each set of tyres. You have such a short amount of time after those two laps and everybody will have margin to go quicker, so it’s about who gets up to speed the quickest and puts those laps together.

READ MORE: PRACTICE: Aron fastest for Hitech Pulse-Eight in Barcelona

“So even if we’ve done loads of laps here, the conditions are so different. The wind is different, the tyres are different, and the car will never be the same as when you last drove it here, so there’s a lot to consider and when we’re going for the maximum laptime, chasing those final hundredths, everything can make a difference.”

The Hitech driver also pointed out that the step in tyre compounds for this weekend will play a crucial role, with the Hards now saved for the remainder of the weekend and red-walled Softs the order for Qualifying.

“We will be on a completely different tyre, going onto the Soft compound tyre for Qualifying so it’s a two-step difference compared to the hard. On top of that, conditions will be different so while the car was amazing in Practice, it might not be in Qualifying. But I trust the team, I don’t think that will be the case."