After finishing third in this season’s FIA Formula 2 Championship, Estonian Paul Aron was given his first opportunity to drive an F1 car with the BWT Alpine Formula One Team at the post-season Abu Dhabi Young Driver test. As 2024 came to a close, the team announced that Paul will become Reserve Driver for Alpine next year. At the conclusion of his Formula 2 campaign, Paul completed 121 laps of Yas Marina at the wheel of the A524. We caught up with the 20-year-old racer from Tallinn to reflect on his year in F2 and his thoughts on becoming Reserve Driver for 2025…

 


Q. Paul, first of all, congratulations on an impressive F2 season and securing that all-important win in Qatar…

 

 

Paul Aron: “Yeah, I can't lie. It felt amazing — and a great relief. We’ve been so close to winning races throughout the season. We’ve been quick all year: four pole positions — the most of anyone this season — but we’ve had small mistakes and bad luck which has gone against me. That has cost us some wins, so to finally get a victory before the season was out was very relieving. I was also happy for the team, as Hitech were missing a victory this year and I couldn’t finish this campaign without giving them a victory.”

 


Q. There has been a new chassis in Formula 2 this year. How much of a challenge has 2024 been?

 

 

PA: “Yeah, it's always difficult when there's a new car and obviously it's my first year with Hitech, so I spent a lot of time during last winter getting to know all the crew. If I'm honest, in the beginning with the new car, it was not easy as we were struggling quite a lot with pace in pre-season testing.

 

 

“But when we went from that test to the first race, Hitech made a huge step forward with the car, and straightaway I found confidence with it. At that point, I knew we had the car in a decent window. We still kept our expectations low, but round after round, we had the pace and were there fighting for points.

 

 

“We knew we were in a good place and, from my side, I knew that I had the confidence to perform. I’ve never had an issue in any championship adapting to a car, and after a few days of testing, I’ve always been up to speed. I knew that was a strength of mine, and the fact the team got the car into such a good place from the beginning meant we could have a strong start to the year and start picking up points. In terms of qualifying, we were one of the most consistent out there, fighting for wins and podiums.”

 


Q. Tell us about the Hitech team and also the relationship you’ve had with Hitech owner, and Alpine team principal, Oliver Oakes…

 

 

PA: “Yeah, the facilities are very nice, very well organised. What makes Hitech so good is the people there. The F2 crew is very professional — I could see that from the very first day I worked with them. I also think the results and the pace we’ve had has proven that this year. I’ve also been very impressed with the work they have put in this year.

 

 

“Not many drivers can say they have had the same team boss in F2 as in Formula 1. Oli’s a great guy; he was a racer himself, so he understands drivers. What I really like about him is that he’s straightforward. I’m honest when it comes to racing, although sometimes I get too obsessed with being perfect, so it’s good to have someone to look up to who tells you when to bring your feet back onto the ground and look at the bigger picture. That relationship has definitely helped me this year.”

 


Q. How excited are you to have this new role as Reserve Driver for Alpine going into 2025?

 

 

PA: “Obviously, it’s a big step and it feels good to know what my immediate future is. It’s a very important step for me personally, because I’ve always been around the junior racing paddocks. What I’d lacked experience in was Formula 1, and that’s a whole different game with a lot more personnel, media work, and much more to do basically.

 

 

“For me, this new role will all be about learning. As Reserve Driver, I’m not driving on the weekends, but there is still a lot of work I can put in behind the scenes to help the team and to try and show my potential — learning and preparing myself for whenever there is an opportunity to jump in.

 

 

“Also, when you look at the steps Alpine have made forward from the beginning of the year to now, it’s very impressive. It’s never easy when there are so many changes with management, but when you look at the double podium in Brazil, and now always fighting to get into Q3, it’s a big turnaround from the beginning of the year, and it shows that the team is being led in the right direction. I’m looking forward to being a part of this journey going forward.”

 


Q. You completed over 120 laps in the Abu Dhabi post-season test and drove the Alpine F1 car for the first time. How was that?

 

 

PA: “The first time you jump into a Formula 1 car, it’s a very emotional day, because in the end, all of us drivers at F2 level have worked our way to make it to Formula 1. The goal has always been F1, and the first time you drive the car, you finally understand what all the talk is about.

 

 

“I had a very good day in Abu Dhabi and now I realise just how quick these cars are. It was a lot of fun and, from a fitness point of view, there was a lot to get used to, but in the end, everything was fine on that front. Even with 121 laps on the board, I wanted to do more. The engineers were happy, the pace seemed good, so I think it was a successful day overall.”