Aron on pole in Qatar, Bortoleto does better than Hadjar

This two-month break has definitely done Paul Aron (Hitech GP) some good. After a bad patch in recent meetings, the Estonian got his head above water in Qatar where he had a perfect Friday. After being the fastest in the tests, the former protégé of Mercedes distinguished himself in qualifying where he made a series of improvements.

In a duel that mainly pitted him against the championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto (Invicta Racing), Paul Aron stunned the Brazilian with a final lap in 1'35"115. A time that allowed him to take more than three tenths of a second ahead and secure a fourth pole position after those in Spain, Hungary and Belgium. A blessing in disguise for Bortoleto who secured a front row while winning a first duel against his direct opponent for the title Isack Hadjar (Campos), only 9th and one second off the lead in these qualifications.

The Tricolore will have the opportunity to recover by starting second in the Sprint Race this Saturday (17:20 p.m.) even if the most important remains the Main Race on Sunday (13:20 p.m.) where he will have to pull out all the stops to hope to limit the damage against Gabriel Bortoleto and thus arrive in Abu Dhabi next weekend, still with the possibility of fighting for the champion's crown.

Second Frenchman engaged in F2, Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) had a good outing with third place in the session. In good form in this second part of the season, the member of theAlpine Academy can aim for a very good result this weekend. Newcomer Dino Beganovic (who replaces Juan Manuel Correa at DAMS) and Richard Verschoor (MP Motorsport) completed the Top 5. Tenth under the checkered flag, Oliver Bearman (Prema) will start from pole position in the Sprint Race this Saturday.

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