Paul Aron and Oliver Bearman share the victories in the F2 Qatar weekend, while the fight for the title is more alight than ever.
Formula 2 shines in Qatar with incredible battles until the last lap
Months of waiting have been worth it, given the exciting weekend that Formula 2 has given to its spectators in Qatar. New drivers made their debut on the desert track, and old ones left the grid.
Among the stars of Luisal, there is certainly Paul Aron. He has been the author of a great weekend, in which he finally managed to grab that long-awaited victory.
Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar are surely the drivers with the most spotlight in these last two races. In Qatar, they tried to impose themselves on each other. However, only one driver can come out victorious and you can not afford any mistakes.
Paul Aron takes home his first win in the series
From the moment the cars were on track for Friday’s Free Practice, no one seemed to be able to get close to Paul Aron’s time. Considerable distance was recorded by the Estonian, who repeated the same performance in the afternoon.
In qualifying, he took pole position with a three-tenths advantage over Bortoleto, marking the start of a good weekend.
In the F2 Sprint Race in Qatar, from which he started tenth, he managed to climb back up to fifth position. Unfortunately for the Estonian though, a penalty was given to him after contact with Victor Martins in turn 6, and he dropped to seventh.
This motivated the Hitech driver to redeem himself in the Feature race while also trying to reduce the gap to the championship leader.
However, Aron’s goal after the lights went off seemed more difficult to achieve than expected. The Estonian had a poor start that made him lose the lead off the line.
Fortunately, the damage was not so excessive, as by the first turn, the only opponent he had in front of him was Bortoleto.
Aron tried to get closer to the Brazilian but Hitech called him back to the pits to try to undercut his opponent. A few minutes later, the safety car was deployed on track for Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s car in the gravel.
Bortoleto, who had not yet returned to the pits, would have lost much less time in changing tyres in these conditions.
However, a communication error between Invicta and Bortoleto at the pit entry cost the Brazilian a five-second penalty. The McLaren driver crossed the finish line first but the penalty dropped him to third position.
Paul Aron, after many technical problems and some mistakes during the season, won his first long-awaited victory. This happened just one day after Alpine made him their reserve driver for 2025.
Therefore, the Estonian has sent a clear message for the future. His chances of winning the title remain open.
READ MORE: Does Winning the F2 Title Still Matter for an F1 Future?
A championship fought until the last breath
Coming out of Baku, Isack Hadjar was 4.5 points behind Bortoleto. He lost the championship lead with non-point finishes in both the Sprint and Feature Race.
Heading into Qatar, the goal of the French-Algerian was therefore only one. To try and finish ahead of Bortoleto in all the remaining races.
When he arrived in Qatar, after a qualifying session that saw him seven positions away from Bortoleto, the job seemed more difficult than expected.
In the Sprint Race, Hadjar had the opportunity to reduce the gap. He started from the second row and kept the lead of the race almost until the end.
However, with Bearman overtaking him three laps from the end and he made a mistake, he had to settle for fourth place, with Bortoleto behind him in fifth.
In the Feature Race, however, the roles seemed to be reversed. The Brazilian had a good chance of stretching his advance on the Red Bull driver who started from ninth position.
This time the situation played in favour of Hadjar, and with the comeback to third position, he recovered a few points. Especially considering that the penalty dropped Bortoleto to third, just behind the driver Campos who was promoted to second on the podium.
The two opponents will arrive in Abu Dhabi with only half a point difference and one thing in mind. To finish ahead of each other, stay out of trouble, and win the title.
A double-sided weekend for Prema
The Italian team closed the penultimate round with a half-empty prize from this weekend in Lusail. Oliver Bearman had been very competitive since Free Practice. Andrea Kimi Antonelli had more trouble finding the right setup on the new circuit.
On Saturday, thanks to the tenth position earned in qualifying, the English started from pole position. After reclaiming P1 from Hadjar in the final laps, he won his third race of the season.
For the F2 Feature Race in Qatar, Bearman and the team tried to stay out as much as possible, trying an alternative strategy compared to the others, but it did not pay off. After the pit stop, the number 3 of the Prema came out outside the points area, finishing in P12.
Kimi Antonelli meanwhile had a challenging weekend, failing to score any points due to two retirements in both races.
In the Sprint Race, he collided with Kush Maini in the final laps. And on Sunday, he had a risky encounter with Richard Verschoor that damaged the Prema’s steering rack in the pitlane, ultimately forcing him to retire.
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The debut of the F2 rookies in Qatar
The F2 weekend in Qatar was a special one for four drivers on the grid. These are Dino Beganovic, John Bennett, Cian Shields, and Max Esterson.
All of them were announced in the weeks preceding the GP and, at the circuit of Lusail, they took to the track for the first time.
The best of the debutants was Dino Beganovic. He had an excellent first qualifying which saw him start from fourth place on Sunday. In the Feature Race, the Swede scored ten points, thanks to a P5 finish.
Unluckily, on Saturday he was blocked by Ritomo Miyata just when he was near the points area.
It was also a good first round for the 2024 GB3 champion John Bennett, who finished the Feature Race in eighth position, coming back from 19th.
Cian Shields and Max Esterson remain without points, but they will have another chance in the next round.
F2’s last stop: Abu Dhabi
The next and final round of the 2024 FIA Formula 2 championship will be in Abu Dhabi, where Bortoleto and Hadjar will fight for the title until the last corner.
One should not underestimate the presence of Aron, who can also mathematically win the title.
In the team championship, Invicta seem to already have a hand on the title, while Campos Racing is chasing them 31.5 points afar.
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