Arden Motorsport made a second trip to the podium in as many rounds after another promising weekend in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last weekend (8-9 May).

The Banbury team arrived at the 2.1-mile Spanish circuit for another weekend on the Formula 1 ® support bill buoyed by a positive start to the campaign at Imola a fortnight prior.

After a solid qualifying, both Britain’s Alex Quinn and Finland’s William Alatalo were able to make forward progress in the opening race of the double-header, finishing fourth and sixth to bank a solid haul of points.

Contact on the opening lap on the run down to Turn 7 put the final Red Arrow, Nicola Marinangeli, in the gravel and out of the race, but he bounced back to record another solid finish on Sunday.

On that occasion, Quinn, starting from the front row, was unlucky not to be out in front after a superb start. He ran side-by-side with Saucy through the first corner but had to yield. He kept the pressure up for the race distance, eventually taking second spot.

Alatalo, meanwhile, cut his way through the field from the sixth row of the grid to score another points finish in seventh. His efforts went a long way to helping Arden leapfrog R-ace GP for third in the Teams standings, and now sit just nine points shy of second spot.

For Quinn and Alatalo, their respective results move both into third and fifth positions respectively in the Drivers’ Championship.

All three drivers will now look ahead with optimism to the season’s blue-riband event at the Monaco Grand Prix, scheduled to take place on 22-23 May.

Ben Salter, Arden Formula Regional Team Manager said:

“It’s great to add another podium finish to our record so early on in the season, so full credit to Alex, and to William for scoring another really solid brace of points finishes.

“We’ve made a really solid start in both championships, and it’s a positive step for us to now break into that top three, I’m sure we’ll be able to build on this from hereon in.

“Nicola’s results didn’t reflect what he deserved this weekend. After failing to finish race one, he did well to battle back in race two and gain a few spots. Those first points of the season are very much just around the corner, we’ve got faith in that, he just needs his luck to turn.

“Next up for our drivers is arguably the best event on the calendar, but also the most exciting. Monaco is another level, in terms of the concentration and effort required, but we’ll go back and run through our preparations, and hopefully it’ll be another weekend with silverware for the team.”


William Alatalo (#8) said:

“It hasn’t been the easiest weekend in Barcelona. We struggled with pace in qualifying. Our pace in both races wasn’t really impressive, but we made good starts and our consistent driving definitely helped.

“At least we were able to score some points, but in Monaco we have to do better.”


Nicola Marinangeli (#14) said:

“The second round in Barcelona didn’t go as I expected. Race 1 finished too early due to contact on the first lap, after the crash we changed the gearbox, and I struggled a bit with the pace at the beginning of Race 2.

“A big thanks to the team for their hard work, and we’ll go again in Monaco.”


Alex Quinn (#21) said:

“It’s been another positive weekend for me. It’s always great to get back on the podium and bring home a good haul of points.

“We need to focus now on continuing this form consistently, and I’m looking forward to the next step of that process in Monaco.

“Thanks to the team for their support and commitment.”