Copyright Maserati MSG Racing

No reward for Maximilian Günther after a strong qualifying and leading the Cape Town E-Prix

Maximilian Günther’s form continued to improve dramatically at round five of this season’s ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in the South African city of Cape Town. Following a very impressive qualifying, which earned him second place on the grid at the high-speed circuit at the foot of Table Mountain, the man from Oberstdorf actually led the race for a while and was on course for a podium. However, light contact with the barriers and the resulting damage to his car ultimately denied Günther the top result he had hoped for.   

It could have been a virtually perfect weekend in South Africa. The racer from the Allgäu was on top form in the free practice sessions on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, setting fast lap times in his “Maserati Tipo Folgore”. The 25-year-old took that momentum into qualifying, producing an excellent performance to battle his way, round by round, into the final for the first time this season. He was narrowly beaten, but started the fifth race of Season 9 from the front row of the grid on Saturday afternoon. Günther was fully focussed and took the lead shortly after the start. In an exciting race, there were regular changes of position in the leading group following the use of the “Attack Mode”, and the Maserati MSG Racing driver found himself third and on course for a definite podium finish. However, light contact with the barrier on lap 21 caused damage to the suspension on his car and dashed his dream of a possible top-three result. Günther was consequently forced to retire from the race.

Maximilian Günther: “Our pace was very good all weekend, and it was nice to put the car on the front row of the grid. The race was not easy, but we were in the top three for a while. I wanted to close the gap, but touched the wall and broke my rear suspension. We can take a lot of positives from the weekend, but it is obviously a bitter pill to swallow.”

The sixth race weekend of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship takes place from 24th to 25th March 2023 in Sao Paulo (Brazil).