Aron was running in fifth place on the eighth lap of the Formula 3 showpiece event when he suffered a major impact with the barriers at Paiol, the left-hander that follows the Solitude Esses.
The Estonian’s car was torn into two pieces, with the rear axle ripped away in the shunt, while the remainder burst into flames upon the impact. Aron was able to escape his stricken machine unaided and was not harmed.
A safety car and red flags soon followed, and the race was suspended for almost an hour while marshals repaired the damaged barriers.
Reflecting on the incident, Aron explained the accident was triggered by a toe-link failure that caused him to lose control suddenly.
“I had a very small brush with the wall at the corner before the hairpin but, after that, the car felt fine, so I kept going,” he told Autosport.
“On the next lap, going into the fast bit of the track, my right rear toe-link failed and I went straight into the wall.
“After the crash, I was quite confused. I didn’t know what happened because the car reacted very unpredictably, which is explained by the rear toe-link. It happened so fast. And when I saw the flames, I thought I was on fire!
“I’ve already calmed down and I’m fine. But my main worry was my family, because I knew how it would look from the outside. They are all here, so I didn’t want them to be worried.
“This is Macau, these things can happen, and sadly the failure happened at one of the fastest parts of the track and where the walls are closest.”
Source: Autosport