Paul Aron’s Melbourne Weekend in His Words

For the third consecutive race weekend, Paul Aron and Hitech Pulse-Eight left with a podium in the bag. It was another strong few days of racing from the rookie who has made an impressive start to life in Formula 2.

His performance in Melbourne certainly caught the eye and while he was pleased with more silverware, he felt there was more that could have been achieved.

FREE PRACTICE – P15

“Firstly, it was a lot of fun to be back on track and it’s always amazing round here in Australia. Even the first warmup laps you do you look around the track and it just looks really cool, and I think generally this is a really nice track to drive as well. It was a lot of fun to be back, it wasn't the easiest of sessions, there were a lot of Red Flags and a lot of interruptions, and I think we didn't get it fully right. But that's what Practice is for and in the end, Qualifying is much later on, and we are running the supersoft tyres so it will be very different anyway. So, the point of this session is to get a feel for the car again, get a feel for the track again and just feel comfortable in the midst of it and that's what we did and hopefully we manage to sort it out for Qualifying.

“I think everybody is still at this early stage of the season dialling the car setup and so on and let’s say I wasn't hundred percent happy with what I had. But, it was the case also in Bahrain and Jeddah so I am sure the team will sort it out and I am sure that we will be there in Qualifying.

“I'm not having any hopes for the weekend to be honest; I am just going to go out there and just do the best we can. Looking at the past two weekends I think Qualifying has been our weak point so it is obviously something you want to work on, and I think the guys have been working really hard so hopefully we can make a step forward then. I will be giving my all from my side and like I said it will be later on so the track temperature will be much higher, and we will be running the supersoft tyre. Conditions will be very different; wind will be much higher so I think this Practice will not be too relevant with regards to pace and where everybody is. I think Qualifying will be the first time we see how fast the guys are.”

QUALIFYING – P6

“It was a very enjoyable and a very nice session, but it ended with quite a lot of frustration. What I am very happy about is Qualifying was the point to work on coming from Jeddah and Bahrain and that’s exactly what we did. We had so much potential and pace in this Qualifying, the team did a very good job with the car, and I think I was on it.

“It definitely showed that in the first runs, we were basically P1 most of the session but just at the end Zane pipped us. The shame is that we did not get it together in the second run. I think altogether we were unlucky with the yellow flags. For a second Quali in a row we showed a lot of potential like Jeddah and just missed out at the end. Obviously very frustrating but what I am very happy about is compared to Jeddah the amount of potential we had was much more in this Qualifying and I think we had a chance to be in the top three for sure.

READ MORE: RACE ANALYSIS: The moves that made Isack Hadjar’s Melbourne Feature victory

“The races will be different so it will be very important to make sure we have a good car there and also from my side to make sure I adapt well but I would say it gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season because now we have done three circuits, Bahrain, Jeddah and Melbourne and so far we have made steps forward and I think that's the key thing. It was very sad that obviously we didn’t put it together here because I think it would have been a big results, putting it on the front row and so on but in the end we have to think of the long game, we made a very big step forward, both me and the team in Qualifying and I think if we keep going like that we should be up for some success in the next rounds as well.”

SPRINT RACE – P18

“Was a very frustrating and eventful race. It started off well, I got up to third on the first lap and we were running really well. I think the pace was good and I was just biding my time behind Roman Stanek in second. I didn't want to risk any moves because its early in the season and I wanted to go for a clean one and I knew time would be my ally but sadly some guys behind me didn't think that way and I ended up in a difficult situation which ended with me losing parts of my front wing and getting damage.

"We had good pace on both compounds, a good pitstop and some moves for the highlight reel"

“So, that ruined our race sadly. It's obviously a big shame because its points lost and we were running in a really good place but these things happen and we have to look at the positives that the pace was good and also we got to run on the second compound of tyres, so we have a bit more information maybe than the others and maybe we can use that to make a difference tomorrow.”

“We learned about the car and how it was and obviously we will try to make a step forward for tomorrow. So, in that regard the work still keeps going and it’s not a race that didn’t give us anything let’s say. Obviously, it’s a shame because I think the way I approached the race was correct and just sadly I ended up in the wrong situation at the wrong time and I had to pay the price of the others.”

FEATURE RACE – P2

“It was a really fun race actually. We started from sixth, it was quite chaotic. Honestly if I have to tell you the whole race, I need to look back it and have a moment to settle my thoughts. It didn’t start of the easiest the first few laps, I think the other guys were pushing a lot more than me on the options, but I knew that the deg was coming and in the end my driving paid off. From then on, we had good pace on both compounds, a good pitstop and some moves for the highlight reel. I would say it was a very fun race, and I am very happy because I think in the end if Isack Hadjar wasn't as lucky as he was with the stop we could have got that win.

“In the end we were 4.4s behind and I didn’t have the pace to catch him so I just kind of managed my tyres and went for the fastest lap in the end which in the end gave us one point. But this weekend and this race – the lack of a win was just due to a bit of poor luck for us and luck for Isack. In the end, he delivered after that moment and won the race but honestly, I think with the drive I had we were deserving of the win.”

UP NEXT – TESTNG & IMOLA

“Will be a very important race because during the three days of testing in Barcelona, those will probably be the three most important days in F2 ever because it’s a new car and I think every team has some test items and some ideas they want to try but just haven't had the chance to do it. I think Barcelona will be a test where we will finally see some teams figuring some stuff out and maybe some others not making a step forward. Imola will show where everyone is and that will be interesting, so looking forward to it.”