Paul Aron shocked with a violent fire accident at the 2023 Macau Grand Prix: The Prema driver “thought he was going to burn” – fortunately, he was uninjured
Paul Aron caused a scary moment at the Formula 3 World Cup in Macau: The Prema driver hit the track barrier hard in the Paiol corner, causing his car to break in two and burst into flames. “When I saw the flames, I thought I was going to burn!” said Aron, describing the shocking moment after the accident.
The Estonian was in fifth place at the time of the accident and was battling against Pepe Marti (Campos), who was putting him under a lot of pressure. “I had a small contact with the wall in the corner before the hairpin, but after that the car felt good, so I kept going,” Aron told Motorsport.com, explaining the background to his accident.
Driver OK The fiery crash that brought out the red flag in the F3 race at Macau.
Watch the race replay at https://t.co/SzQiOonx3VMacau FIA Racing Motorsport MacauGP 2023MacauGP F3 FIAF3 pic. twitter.com/0nVZrCV79j
– Motorsport.tv (@MotorsportTV_UK) November 19, 2023
“On the next lap, as I turned into the fast part of the track, my right rear wishbone failed and I drove straight into the wall,” says the Prema driver. “I was pretty confused after the crash. I didn’t know what had happened because the car reacted very unpredictably, which can be explained by the rear wishbone. It happened so quickly.”
“I’ve already calmed down and I’m fine,” Aron gives the all-clear. “But my biggest concern was for my family because I knew what it would look like from the outside. They’re all here, so I didn’t want them to worry. “
Aron is taking “an increased risk”
“This is Macau, these things can happen, and unfortunately the failure happened at one of the fastest parts of the track and where the walls are closest.” The 19-year-old had started the race from seventh on the grid and was temporarily in third place after the retirements of Alex Dunne (Hitech GP) and Dino Beganovic (Prema).
He was then overtaken by both Dennis Hauger and Mari Boya (both MP). Aron reveals that his lack of top speed on the straights forced him to take greater risks in the twisty sections to make up for lost time
“We were already slow on the straights in the first race,” said the Prema driver, recalling the previous day. “It would have been nice to be on the podium, but it’s always difficult when you’re struggling with speed on the straights.”
“It’s an event where you give it your all, and if you lack speed on the straights, you have to try and make up for it in the corners,” said Aron, trying to find an explanation for his accident. “That can be risky, and after I hit the wall, that could be the reason for the defect, although I’m not sure. “