FIA Formula 2 headed to the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona for Round 3, Races 5-6 of the 2019 F2 Championship.
Following the opening practice session that saw Anthoine and Tatiana complete their running on the Medium compound tyres, the team headed into qualifying on the Soft compound tyres.
A difficult session saw Anthoine qualify in 15th position and Tatiana in 18th position – with work to do in the Feature Race on Saturday.
Anthoine made a great start to the Feature Race, gaining ground early before the Virtual Safety Car was deployed following a Lap 1 incident.
The race was resumed on Lap 3, with Anthoine making full use of his alternate strategy – starting on the Medium compound tyres to great effect, as he combined tyre management and pace to move himself up to 2nd position during the first pitstop window.
Tatiana likewise made good progress, where after starting on the Soft compound tyres, she moved up into 7th position before pitting on Lap 15 for the Medium compound tyres, which she ran to the end of the race.
Anthoine took the lead of the race on Lap 18 and continued to pull an advantage on his rivals on the same strategy. The Frenchman pitted on Lap 32 for the Soft compound tyres, emerging in 8th position.
He gained a further two positions to cross the line in a strong 6th position at the chequered flag, with Tatiana not far off a point scoring finish in 13th at the end of the race.
Starting from 3rd in the Sprint Race, Anthoine made a brilliant start to take the lead of the race into Turn 1 for BWT Arden.
Tatiana similarly made good ground off the start to move into 10th position in the early stages.
The race was neutralised following Nobuharu Matsushita’s Carlin catching fire and requiring to be extinguished and moved from the circuit. Anthoine held the lead at the restart from Nyck de Vries, resisting his first attack into Turn 1.
Eventually, Anthoine had to relinquish the lead, after de Vries made his move with DRS assistance down the main straight.
Anthoine and Tatiana battled on in the hot conditions, managing tyre management and pace as best they could throughout the Sprint Race – crossing the line in 5th and 13th positions respectively, as Anthoine completed a solid double point score for BWT Arden.
The next round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship takes place on the prestigious streets of Monte-Carlo in a fortnights time, on the 24th-26th May.