Paul Aron feared he wouldn’t get an opportunity with a Formula 1 team, despite leading the start of the season in F2 and feeling like he was doing a good job as a rookie . He was eventually recruited by Alpine F1 to be third driver, a position he would share with Franco Colapinto and Ryo Hirakawa.
“After Monaco, I was leading the championship as a rookie, with the most podiums by far. And I wasn’t getting a lot of attention. So I felt like a little shunned” Aron explains to The Race.
“And then there were guys like Bearman and Antonelli who were quite far behind me in the championship and obviously getting all the attention. But at the same time, it was understandable.”
“And it didn’t really bother me. I wouldn’t say I was relieved to have this opportunity at Alpine. It was more of a feeling of happiness. This is what I worked for and it “That’s what I wanted.”
His recruitment by Oliver Oakes, director of Alpine and founder of Hitech, the team in which he raced in F3, is not sporting nepotism, he assures: “I know what it looks like from the outside. And I’ve been involved in these kinds of discussions before when I was racing in Formula Regional.”
In 2021, he was in fact under the orders of his brother Ralf, who did not make his life easy: “The truth is that this has been the most difficult year of my life. It was difficult to separate the fact that he is my team principal and also my brother. Alpine is a big organization. There are many powerful people here, I think it’s a joint decision.”
“And, if you have a rookie driver who has achieved the most podiums, the most poles, who is on average the fastest in qualifying, who is leading the championship for a large part of the season, I think it’s right that this person gets the attention of Formula 1.”
“The goal is always to have a link with Formula 1. And even if it is not a steering wheel, it is a step in the right direction. In that sense, I am very happy and very grateful. Obviously my goal is to get to Formula 1 and you never get there alone. You need good people around you, you need a good team.
Oakes believes Aron’s F2 season was the best in the field after Gabriel Bortoleto’s: “I think he and Bortoleto were top class in the field. I feel a little sorry for him because of some mistakes on his part and the team.”
“But he’s been brilliant and I think he’s shown great mental strength in being let go by Mercedes, going through all that this year and fighting for the championship throughout the year. “He’s truly a special talent.”
With the arrival of three third drivers, including Colapinto who seems destined to sacrifice Jack Doohan on the altar of short-term management, the situation of Victor Martins, former third driver of the team, has deteriorated significantly, and Oakes’ response to it is not reassuring.
“Victor is good, I have known him for a long time. I don’t want to comment too much on his season in F2 because before being here I was in another team [Hitech]and it’s not fair to judge what he’s experiencing. But Victor is a big part of our academy here.”
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