Ralf Aron stood on a FIA European Formula 3 Championship podium for only the second time in 2017 at the Nurburgring on Sunday, but had hoped for it to be more than a third place finish.
The Hitech Grand Prix ace felt a mistake that cost him some time and caused him to dirty his tyres ended his realistic chance of closing down on team-mate Jake Hughes for second and race leader Lando Norris in Sunday’s finale race of the weekend, meaning he was forced to settle for the bottom step of the podium.
Aron felt his speed was similar to that of both Hughes and Norris upfront but without a mistake forthcoming from either of them, it made it even harder for the Estonian, who had earlier finished fifth in race two after a fourteenth place in Saturday’s opener.
“I had a good start and I even was almost able to overtake Jake,” said Aron. “Because of the pit stops by Tadasuke Makino and Joey Mawson, I was third after five laps.
“For me, this position wasn’t good enough, so I wanted to close up to the drivers in front of me. I made a slight mistake while doing so and got my tyres dirty. After that, I had no more opportunity to attack Jake and Lando.
“Our speed was similar and when nobody is making a mistake, you don’t have a chance in such a situation. Unfortunately, nobody but me made a mistake in this trio, so it didn’t particularly help me…”
