Mercedes signs Paul Aron to junior programme

Mercedes has announced that it has signed Estonian Paul Aron to its junior programme.

15-year-old Aron is currently racing in the Italian Formula 4 Championship and the ADAC Formula 4 Championship (at selected events) for Prema Powerteam.

This year marks Aron's first racing in cars, following on from his karting championship wins in the CIK-FIA European Championship, WSK Champions Cup and South Garda OKJ Winter Cup.

Aron has an older brother Ralf, who competed in the FIA European Formula 3 championship from 2016 to 2019, picking up five victories.

The Estonian joins the ranks of George Russell and Esteban Ocon, with the former currently racing at Williams in Formula 1, while Ocon is Mercedes' official reserve driver.

Mercedes is also working with Andrea Antonelli and Alex Powell as part of its programme, who are racing in karts.

Pascal Wehrlein lost his Mercedes backing towards the end of 2018, as the team couldn't find him a competitive race seat. 

Aron is currently 10th in the Italian F4 championship, and fifth in the German series.