Maximilian Günther resumed Season 10 of the FIA Formula E World Championship with a competitive drive at the 2024 São Paulo E-Prix, with the Maserati MSG Racing driver recovering from a 40-place grid penalty to finish ninth in Brazil.
Max, from Oberstdorf, Germany, entered the São Paulo race weekend after making a strong start to his 2024 season as one of only five drivers in Formula E to hold a 100% points-scoring record in the current campaign.
He displayed promising pace throughout practice but faced the penalty following a gearbox and inverter change – a strategic technical decision made by Maserati MSG Racing to unlock performance.
Despite this, Max delivered a fighting result in qualifying and used his one-lap pace to his advantage by setting the fastest time in Group B to advance to the duel stages of the session.
Max defeated McLaren’s Sam Bird in the Quarter-Finals to face Pascal Wehrlein in the penultimate stage but was unfortunately beaten by the Porsche driver to secure a provisional third.
With the application of his grid penalty, Max started the race from 22nd but because he was unable to serve the 40-place demotion in full, was forced to serve an additional 10-second stop-go penalty at the end of lap one.
After getting his race underway, Max quickly settled into a rhythm to save energy but was presented with a crucial opportunity when excessive debris on track led to a Safety Car on lap seven.
This allowed Max to close in on the field, and when the race was resumed at the end on lap eight, the 26-year-old set out on a strong recovery drive in which he performed an impressive 11 overtakes in only seven laps to move into the top 10.
On lap 16, an accident and subsequent Safety Car, caused by Nick Cassidy, regrouped the field for a second time and Max continued his assault by next overtaking Stoffel Vandoorne for eighth place.
Unfortunately, the DS Penske driver reclaimed the position on lap 30, but the pair continued to battle until the chequered flag where Max claimed ninth after gaining 13 positions on track to score two points.
Max will be back in action on March 30, 2024, for the first running of the Tokyo E-Prix which will mark Formula E’s debut race in Japan.