Aron aiming to end the 2024 season ‘on a high’ as title fight heats up in Qatar

Paul Aron is looking to end 2024 with Hitech Pulse-Eight “on a high” as we head into the final two rounds of the year, a run he describes as a “new season”.
The Estonian driver heads to Lusail fourth in the Championship Standings and with a 36.5-point deficit to leader Gabriel Bortoleto.
This means he goes into the weekend with a chance of winning the title but before he gets going, he reflected on his time off.
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“It was a good break, a very long one, two and a half months, so it sort of feels like a new season to be honest, being away from the car for that long,” started Aron.
“Last week I went to do some photos for my dad and it felt like the photoshoot at the beginning of the year when you do the photos for the Championship. It’s been interesting but the break was good.
“When it started, I thought what to do to make use of it, because it’s not often you get this long of a break and I didn’t want to waste that time. So, I spent the break reading some books about sport psychology, training a lot and doing a calorie deficit to lose some weight.
“During the season we cannot do that, so I made sure that if I had the chance, I’ll lose a bit of weight because it’s always good to be lighter.”
While some might worry about the risk of rust given that they have not driven since Baku in September, Aron is not too worried about it, confident that once the drivers register their first laps of the weekend, all will feel normal.
He says spending a lot of time in the simulator also helped him get ready for the challenge of Qatar.
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“I mean the physical and mental prep has been the same as all year long,” he said. “In the end it’s just another round in the Formula 2 calendar, so in that sense it’s nothing special.
“But obviously no one’s been to this track so it will be very interesting to see how everyone gets on, especially after this long break because there has been a lot of time for teams to look through things so there will be some development with the cars.
“So, I think it will be a bit more of a mix up this weekend than the others because it’s the first time the drivers and the teams are coming here, so it will be very exciting to see who is quick and who is not.
“Hopefully we are quick, the prep has gone well but you never really know until you are on track and see the lap times, so, it’s hard to predict to be honest.
“Preparation-wise we have done the best we can, and we have tried to use the break to develop our understanding of the car as much as possible, but you never really know until you are on track and I guess we will find out tomorrow.”
Round 12 in Baku was a return to form for Aron as he finished sixth in both races, after not scoring points in the previous five.
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This followed a start to the season where the 20-year-old finished on the podium in each of the opening seven rounds and led the Championship. But Aron admits that this difficult period means a title challenge will be difficult.
“I think a lot of it is out my hands now if I am honest,” said Aron. “The last few rounds haven’t gone that well. There have been a lot of outside factors which have cost us a lot of points and now we are in a position where I need to have a really good last two rounds and they need to have mediocre ones at best.
“Even if I have two really good last rounds and they have a good two last rounds I am not going to win it. So, in that sense there is not much point for me to think about it. I will just try my best and see where we end up.
“If the car is quick and we can deliver some good results that will obviously be good to end the season and if we can’t then so be it. I think if you don’t feel good in the car and you try to force it, then it makes things worse.
“So, we just have to ride it out and see how it goes, obviously it would be great to be closer to those guys in Abu Dhabi and really have a good shot at the title but we will just have to see how it plays out and I think if anything the pressure is more on them than on me.”
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Aron insisted that a title challenge was not something he had thought about a lot throughout the season, even when leading, and with two rounds to go, his attentions remain on just performing well with Hitech.
“Of course, no matter how the season has gone and which team you are with, I think it’s always great to end the season on a high,” he said.
“If we think about psychology, it always feels best when something ends well, even if it doesn’t start well, or even if in the long run the season hasn’t gone well, if it ends well, it always feels like it has been a good season.
“I am sure everyone wants to finish on a high, so do I. Obviously I have had a very good time with Hitech, we have had a strong season. We hoped to be closer to the title at this point, but things are not always in your control.
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“There were a few mistakes from my side and the team’s side, so we cannot only blame the others. Nevertheless, we are fighting for the title, still fighting for the top three positions in my rookie year in my first time together with them, so of course we will try to finish on a high.
“We have been very quick most of the season, so if we continue that pace then we will have a good chance in these last two rounds to do a good result.”