Paul Aron will get another Audi audition in Austrian Grand Prix first practice, replacing Gabriel Bortoleto in the R26 at Spielberg.
The Estonian’s run is scheduled for Friday’s opening Formula 1 session at the Red Bull Ring, which begins at 13:30 local time before FP2 follows at 17:00, according to the official F1 timetable. Audi’s move was confirmed earlier this month, with Aron listed for FP1 appearances in both Barcelona and Austria.
For Audi, this is more than a compliance exercise. Aron already knows the environment, having stepped into the team’s programme in Spain before this second outing, and the short, high-speed Spielberg lap should give engineers a sharp read on traction, braking stability and deployment efficiency.
Why Bortoleto’s benching matters
Bortoleto stepping aside also places a neat pressure point inside Audi’s weekend. The Brazilian loses an hour of live track time before a qualifying session where margins at the Red Bull Ring can collapse quickly, especially through the uphill first sector and the long run back from Turn 3.
Read Motorsport has already tracked the wider Austrian Grand Prix timetable and the three-team competitive picture around Spielberg. Audi’s Aron call adds a different thread: how aggressively a new works team is using rookie mileage to accelerate its first F1 season.
Aron, meanwhile, gets a valuable shop window. A clean, technically useful run will matter more than headline lap time, but if he is close to Audi’s race drivers on a compact circuit, the message will land.
Watch Formula 1’s official Austrian Grand Prix driver preview.
Sources: FIA Formula 2, Formula 1.
