Collision denies Maximilian Günther a points finish at the Monaco E-Prix
Maximilian Günther performed well and showed promising pace in every session of the seventh race weekend of the ABB FIA Formula World Championship at the legendary Grand Prix circuit in Monaco. Having set the fastest time in Free Practice 2 and backed that up with a good qualifying result, a collision prevented the 25-year-old German from finishing in the points at the 3.337-kilometre street circuit. Unfortunately, he was forced to retire on lap 22 whilst running seventh.
The circuit in his adopted home is an exciting labyrinth of corners, enclosed by concrete blocks and fencing, on which no mistake goes unpunished. Günther mastered the challenge superbly in the second free practice session, in which he was the fastest of the 22 starters. Buoyed by that result, he went in pursuit of the best grid positions in qualifying, confidently negotiating such legendary corners as Sainte Dévote, Casino and Mirabeau with millimetre precision. Here too, the German was top of the timing sheet at the end of the group phase. The man from the Allgäu region of Germany then set a time of 1:29.450 minutes in the semi-final to secure fourth place on the second row of the grid – a promising starting position for the race.
With the sun shining and temperatures reaching around 20 degrees Celsius on the Côte d’Azur, Günther made a solid start but dropped one place. Lying fifth, he was embroiled in some thrilling wheel-to-wheel battles with his rivals. The narrow track meant there was regularly plenty of turmoil around the Monaco resident, but he managed to successfully stay clear of trouble. Günther fell back through the field a little on lap six before settling in eight place. However, the German showed his fighting spirit on several occasions and gradually battled his way back through the field. Günther activated the Attack Mode on his “Maserati Tipo Folgore” for the first time whilst running fifth on lap 17 and consequently found himself back on course for a top-five finish. Unfortunately, a collision with another car through no fault of his own on lap 22 caused serious damage to his 400-hp Gen3 car, as a result of which the Maserati MSG Racing driver was forced to retire from the race.
Maximilian Günther: “The car felt very good in the practice sessions. We were totally competitive and always right up there in terms of lap times. The team also did a good job in qualifying. The second row of the grid was our goal, and we achieved that. As has often been the case this year, the race was very turbulent and strategic. Despite this, we could realistically have been looking at a top-five result. Regrettably, there was a collision, which caused so much damage to my car that I was unable to continue. That is bitterly disappointing. Despite this, I will now fly to the next race in Jakarta full of optimism. Our form curve this season is still definitely on the up. Our performance was very good again this weekend, and we can certainly build on that.”
The eighth race weekend of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship takes place on 3rd June 2023 in Jakarta (Indonesia).