Paul Aron took his first pole in F2 at Barcelona on Friday, finishing milliseconds clear of Jak Crawford and Franco Colapinto. After a mightily close qualifying session, Aron spoke to Feeder Series and other selected media at a press conference.

By Martin Lloyd

While he assumed the lead of the championship at the previous round in Monaco, Aron has not yet won his maiden F2 race. The Estonian came closest when he led the sprint race at Imola, before Colapinto overtook him at the Tamburello Chicane. 

The weekend in Barcelona could prove different, with Aron beginning the feature race from the front for the first time. Nonetheless, the Hitech driver is aware of the long start-finish straight that could complicate his charge.

“Starting on pole obviously makes my life a bit easier, but Barcelona has the longest run down to Turn 1 of any track on the calendar. So, if I don’t make the start then I could go into Turn 1 in second or third. In that sense, I think that the two points for the pole are very nice, but as long as you are in the top three here, you have the chance to enter Turn 1 in P1.”

Felipe Drugovich proved this in the 2022 sprint race, when he turned third on the grid into the lead of the race, passing Théo Pourchaire and Jake Hughes before Turn 1. Aron was also keen to note that the race will continue beyond the first corner, with pit stops playing an important role in Barcelona.

“The race will turn out very differently according to if you enter Turn 1 in P1, P2 or P3. But for example if I enter Turn 1 in third, it doesn’t mean that I’ve lost the race. There’s still a lot to play for with the strategy.”

It has been an impressive start to the season for Aron, with the 20-year-old rookie leading the championship by four points after six rounds, having taken a podium at every single event. However, qualifying has not been his strong point, with the impressive qualifying presenting a new challenge to Aron.

“So far this year, my podiums have come from starting outside of the podium,” he said. “I’m sure that we will do a good job in the race, and I like that Formula 2 races are long, that means that one moment doesn’t define it and that’s what makes it so enjoyable.”

The battle for pole was extremely close, with just 55 thousandths of a second separating the top four. Crawford and Colapinto were just two and six thousandths behind Aron respectively, with Gabriel Bortoleto a further five hundredths away in fourth place. Aron’s three closest championship competitors endured a difficult session, with Isack Hadjar in 11^th, Dennis Hauger in 13^th and Zane Maloney only able to qualify in 17^th place. 

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency