Aron left with mixed emotions after Qualifying fourth in Monte Carlo

Paul Aron was pleased to qualify fourth in Monte Carlo given the struggles he had to start the session but admitted that it was a “shame” to miss out on pole position by less than a tenth.

Going in Group B, the Hitech Pulse-Eight rookie was the last driver to complete a lap in the segment. After going purple in the first sector, he crossed the line on a 1:21.347.

This saw Aron miss out on pole to Trident’s Richard Verschoor by 0.064s and he also missed out on top spot in his group to Victor Martins by 0.037s.

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The Estonian driver will now line up in fourth place for the Feature Race and while disappointed to miss out on a maiden Formula 2 pole position, he was happy with the result given how his first lap went.

“I mean I have to be happy to be honest with the result we got,” said Aron. “It was not an easy session; I struggled a lot. What you didn't see on TV is I almost crashed on my first lap, so it didn't start of great.

“I was not in a good place after that lap, but I managed to recover well. In the end it's always a shame to miss out by so little, three-hundredths I think it is to Victor and six-hundredths to Verschoor's pole lap.

“Every year I've come here I've basically been second in my group which is a shame but from where I started off, I need to be happy with where I ended up.”

When asked he changed from his early session struggles to his final lap, Aron responded: “Nothing changed, it was just that I almost crashed. After that you need a bit of time to recover and on a track like this it was my first time with this car around here.

“Everybody in front of me, Victor, Richard, Isack Hadjar, they have all done a year with this car around this track. It was going to be difficult for me especially if you start off like that, your confidence is not very high.

“But then I was able to get the tyres in a better window the laps after and the car came alive and then I just kind of went for it a bit. In the end once you feel good in the car you always deliver but I didn't make it easy with the beginning.”

Aron will also line-up in seventh for the Sprint giving him a good chance of scoring points in both races. However, he is not completely sold on whether another podium result will be possible.

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He has finished on the once in each of the opening four rounds this season but acknowledges that with the tight nature of the Monte Carlo street circuit which makes it difficult to overtake, adding to that tally will need some luck.

“To be honest for me today is the day that matters,” he said. “In the two races the only way you have a chance is if you're lucky. So, you have to keep your head up and stay positive about possible opportunities but there is no guarantee of that.

“I know for example we've had really good race pace throughout the whole year, but this is a track where we can't maximise it. We have to see, normally throughout the year ART have struggled a lot with the race pace so maybe in the Feature Race there is something to do with the strategy.

“But looking forward, where you start is normally where you finish. But it's Formula 2 you never know in a way but there is still a lot of luck in play for what can happen in the race. I'll keep my head up and hope for another podium so I can continue my streak.”