Max scores Maserati’s first single-seater victory since 1957
4 min readPublished 7 Jun 23
Maserati MSG Racing and Maximilian Günther executed a triumphant second race at the 2023 Jakarta E-Prix to score its first victory Formula E’s ninth season.
The win, which marked the team’s third top three finish of 2023, signalled the Maserati brand’s first World Championship single-seater victory since Juan Manuel Fangio’s win at the 1957 German Grand Prix.
Max, who started from pole position to finish third in Race One, repeated his exploits on Sunday and continued to lead the way by setting the pace in the final practice session of the weekend.
By topping Group B qualifying, and fronting a Maserati MSG Racing 1-2, Max, alongside team-mate, Edoardo Mortara, advanced to the duel stages and went on to fight for a second pole position.
The duo defeated Pascal Wehrlein and Stoffel Vandoorne in the Quarter-Finals to face one another in the penultimate stage, although Max edged ahead of Edo in the head-to-head.
In the Final, the young German went up against Andretti’s Jake Dennis but outpaced the Briton by more than half a second to secure the second pole of his Formula E career and three bonus points.
Running over a longer distance of 38 laps, in comparison to Saturday’s 36-lap affair, energy management and conservation played a key factor in Race Two and defined the first half of the E-Prix.
By securing a strong getaway, Max maintained his lead on the opening lap while, after starting fourth on the grid, Edo lost ground in the first corner to emerge in sixth.
Max led over the opening four laps and rejoined the race in third upon activating Attack Mode, but as the opening strategy phase unfolded, held a net-second place to utilise the advantage of the slipstream.
Dennis, who held the lead from lap six, activated his final Attack Mode on lap 15 which allowed Max to retake first and provided the crucial opportunity to spend saved energy to build a gap.
By establishing an advantage, Max activated his final Attack Mode one lap later, without sacrificing track position to Dennis, and retook his place at the lead of the field by pasing Mitch Evans on lap 20.
With a clear track ahead, the 25-year-old built upon his existing advantage to win by almost three seconds, to complete a dominant weekend on track.
Edo, who was in the fight for the podium over the course of Race Two, lost time after missing his first Attack Mode activation and encountering some braking issues but recovered to eighth place to complete another double-points finish.
With 87 points on the board, Maserati MSG Racing holds sixth in the World Teams’ Championship, overtaking McLaren and Nissan in the standings.
Formula E’s 2023 campaign will resume on June 24 for the inaugural Portland E-Prix.
In Their Words
James Rossiter, Team Principal, Maserati MSG Racing
“Today completes an incredible weekend, and our strongest performance as a team, being top in every session apart from Race One. The determination shown by the men and women in this team has been incredible. We’ve been through so many highs and lows this season, and seeing everyone pull together in the difficult times has made this victory so much sweeter. Days like today show why you should never give up. It shows that if you pull together, and believe in each other, you can really achieve anything. I’m so proud.”
Edoardo Mortara, Driver, Maserati MSG Racing
“I have mixed emotions about the race today. I was very happy with how the car was working, and I was able to qualify fourth, but I had some braking issues during the race and unfortunately, missed my first Attack Mode activation. Looking at the time loss, I know I could have finished much higher to bring home an even better result for the team. It’s been a positive weekend overall, and now, we need to continue building so we can achieve even better results.”
Maximilian Günther, Driver, Maserati MSG Racing
“I’m absolutely over the moon with this victory. It is a fantastic moment for us as a team, and a great milestone for Maserati. We have shown good progress over the past couple of races, and I felt really good from FP1 onwards, so I knew that the package was working well here. It was just a case of executing both races and continuing to head in the right direction. Yesterday’s podium was great, but we didn’t have quite enough for the top spot - today we did. In Formula E you need to keep your feet on the ground because the championship can change so quickly, but for now, I’m just enjoying this moment. There will be some tracks that suit us more this season, and some that suit us less. We just need to focus on maximising our package which is what we’ve been doing in the past few races. I’m very proud.”
“What a day! We opened the weekend in Jakarta with a podium and points and closed it with our first Formula E victory. Max did an amazing job today and Edo was also competitive, bringing home another top ten finish. We are very proud of our drivers and how they managed to overcome races that were not always easy, showing what they and the team are capable of. This historic result for Maserati is well deserved and it motivates us even more ahead of the season finale. It feels so good to finish a weekend on top”.
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