F1 Alpine reserve driver Paul Aron: You don't get many friends in motorsport

Being a back-up driver for a Formula One team means little room for friendships, at least within the sport, Estonian motor racing star Paul Aron has said.
Aron finished third for Hitech in the 2024 F2 series and earned a reserve driver spot with French team Alpine.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday in Tallinn, where Team Estonia's main motorsport competitors gathered, the 21-year-old said: "If we look at the results, while the team has had a tough start to the season, it's been a successful start for me."
"I've fulfilled my role as reserve driver well. The team is happy with me. I've had several chances to demonstrate my skills, and all those tests have gone well," he went on.
The Alpine team has three other reserve drivers, besides the Estonian, who work closely with the team.
The 21-year-old was frank about the fact that each driver is out for themselves, competitively.
"Of course, we interact and communicate, but there's no friendship. It's clear the main drivers know we, as back-ups, want their seats. Among the reserve drivers, we all know we want to be the next one in that main seat," he said.
"It's no secret that in motorsport, you don't have friends," Aron conceded.
Also at the press conference was last season's Junior WRC World Champion Romet Jürgenson, who will compete in the WRC2 series this year for M-Sport Ford.
Jürgenson said he was satisfied with how the first stage went in Sweden. The next WRC2 event is at the end of April in the Canary Islands.
He said: "The Canaries are the next WRC2 stage because we wanted to take part in at least two tarmac rallies this season. There's no point in doing just one, and for now, it's a solid fixture — a good place to compare our speed again."
Jürgenson added that he has been well received in the M-Sport team, and helps out during stages when he is not racing.
This included the most recent full WRC event, Safari Rally Kenya.
"I went to Kenya, where I had a different role — I did the recce and helped with tires behind the scenes. The mechanics and engineers communicate freely, and after the rally, we even played football," he said.
As for Aron, F1 continues next week with the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Alpine team traces its lineage back over 40 years to the British Toleman team, which gave Ayrton Senna his first F1 seat before being taken over by Benetton. The team name remained until 2000, when it was bought by Renault. It was rebranded as Alpine ahead of the 2021 season. Despite being a French team now, throughout its history the organization has been based in the English village of Enstone, in Oxfordshire.
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Editor: Anders Nõmm, Andrew Whyte