Paul Aron’s recent mistakes in Formula 2 races may have been down to his ‘ordeal’ with Mercedes before the season, according to championship rival Gabriel Bortoleto.
The Estonian made the jump from Formula 3 to Formula 2 for the 2024 season after finishing third in the former last season with Prema Racing, achieving four podiums, including a win in the sprint race in Spielberg.
Bortoleto, who won the 2023 F3 championship, also joined the F2 grid and was signed to the McLaren Driver Development Programme after his title success.
Things were not as smooth for his rival Aron, who was axed from the Mercedes Junior Team in November last year having been with the team since 2019.
Mercedes subsequently brought through Italian sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli to the F2 scene, and speaking with Motorsport Brasil, Bortoleto believes this has affected Aron’s performance on the track.
Gabriel Bortoleto claims Paul Aron’s ‘ordeal’ with Mercedes may have caused his recent poor run of form
Aron had begun the 2024 Formula 2 season in fine style, only failing to score a point in the sprint race in Australia from the opening 14 races, finishing seven of the other 13 on the podium and was leading the championship at that point.
However, the last three rounds have brought a bad run of form for the Estonian. He retired with an engine failure in the sprint race at Silverstone, while contact with Joshua Durksen at the start of the feature race and being forced to pit to comply with the rule of using a second tyre compound left him 12th.
Aron took pole in Hungary but finished sixth in the sprint race and the feature race. He was then handed a 10-place grid penalty for the feature race in Belgium after running Oliver Bearman off the track and later colliding with Zane Maloney, leaving both cars out of the race.
A dismal weekend for Aron at Spa only compounded his troubles in Hungary, too. After taking his second consecutive pole, he languished in 18th in the sprint race and suffered a mechanical failure with a lap to go in the feature race and was classified 16th.
His recent results have left the Hitech driver third in the championship behind Bortoleto, and the Brazilian thinks Aron’s ‘ordeal’ with Mercedes may have something to do with his drop in form.
Speaking about how he was picked up from McLaren after F3, Bortoleto added: “There are, for example, drivers like Paul Aron who was a Mercedes driver for many, many years since karting.
“He was fired from Mercedes and they brought Antonelli to Formula 2 in his place at the academy. So for him, it must have been complicated.
“It was complicated for him because he practically lost. He gave his place to a young boy, but he has had a better championship so far than Antonelli.
“Many of these last races are due to mistakes made by him. Maybe it comes from this ordeal that he has to go through this year. But I don’t know, it could be that they were common mistakes.”
Bortoleto and Aron are both fighting for the Formula 2 title
Aron’s consistency at the start of the season made him a huge favourite for the F2 title. But after recent races, it has opened the door kindly for Isack Hadjar.
The Frenchman leads the championship with 165 points, 36 ahead of Bortoleto in second, with Aron five points behind the Brazilian.
Hadjar has won four races this season, more than any other driver, while Bortoleto has managed one victory in the feature race at Spielberg.
With seven podiums so far, Aron is yet to win a race in F2 but with four rounds still to go, it is all to play for at the top of the championship.