Dominant in free practice and qualifying, the Estonian was untouchable this Friday. Gabriel Bortoleto is not absent, however, since he sets the second best time and will therefore start on the front row on Sunday, when his main opponent, Isack Hadjar, will start on the front row tomorrow…
It was Paul Aron who lifted his Hitech to the top of the timesheet for the only free practice session of the weekend. Thanks to a time of 1'38″024, the Estonian is 6 tenths ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto, the current championship leader. His runner-up, Isack Hadjar, finished just outside the top 10, more than 1″ behind. 600 of the best time. Victor Martins, the other Frenchman entered, ranks 5th, one second behind the fastest mark. A session which was marked by a lot of activity on the track, but also outside…! Dino Beganovic is the first to request the intervention of the stewards when his car stops, causing the deployment of a VSC. Later in the session, it was Luke Browning who, victim of a racket hit, ended up in the gravel trap. A red flag later, Jak Crawford suffered the same disappointment, and also ended his race in the gravel trap. A final exit from the track which marks the end of the session.
Paul Aron in pole position
The sky falls asleep as the FIA Formula 2 drivers wake up. It was John Bennett who was the first to jump not from his bed, but out of the pits to bring a large part of the peloton behind him. As an extension of this morning's free practice, the first reference time is signed by Paul Aron, in 1'37″619. Oliver Bearman is second by almost half a second, closely followed by Victor Martin. Quickly the track improves, the tires heat up, and the clocks fall Victor Martins takes the lead in 1'36″842, barely ahead of Bearman and Bortoleto who are then positioned in the same tenth as the leader.
At the halfway point of the session, while all the drivers returned to the pits to put on new tires, it was Gabriel Bortoleto who was the fastest in 1'36″586, two hundredths ahead of Paul Aron. Victor Martins completed the podium provisional when Isack Hadjar, in much more difficulty, ranks 13th, a full second behind the best time.
A few minutes of stopping in the pits, and the first drivers are already back on the track. Paul Aron regains the lead in 1'36″088, still followed by the same quartet composed of Bortoleto, Martins, and Bearman. Behind, Isack Hadjar finds rhythm and lifts his Campos to 6th position, although he was hampered during his turn.
Even if other drivers try to invite themselves to the party, when the checkered flag is waved, it is Paul Aron who takes pole position thanks to a mark in 1'35″115. Gabriel Bortoleto aborts his final attempt and retains his second position, 3 tenths from the best time Victor Martins is 3rd, and will be accompanied on the second row by Dino Beganovic, Crawford, Maini,. Goethe, Hadjar and Bearman complete the top 10 and at the same time draw the reverse grid for tomorrow's race.
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