German Formula E driver, Maximilian Günther, experienced a challenging weekend racing on home ground at the 2024 Berlin E-Prix as poor fortune in the face of promising pace created a difficult double-header event for the 26-year-old.
After claiming podiums from two of Formula E’s three most recent race weekends, Max entered his home race in good form and showed strong early pace across practice after setting the fastest time in FP2.
In Qualifying for Race One on Saturday, Max maintained his speed and by setting the third-fastest time of his group, advanced to the session’s duel stages where he secured fifth on the grid after facing Stoffel Vandoorne in the Quarter-Finals.
Due to high levels of energy management, both races at the Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit saw the return of Formula E’s peloton style of competition, and with the aim of using slipstreaming to his advantage, Max opted for a conservative start to Race One.
Dropping from fifth to seventh on the first lap, the Maserati MSG Racing driver settled into an energy saving rhythm and established track position inside the top 10 over the first quarter of the race before a Safety Car on lap 11, caused by Joel Eriksson, paused all action.
When the race was resumed on lap 17, Max immediately pressed forward and battled into the top five but lost ground after a failed Attack Mode activation attempt on lap 21.
After taking Attack Mode at a later stage, the Oberstdorf-born racer resumed his pursuit of the lead group but was forced to retire with terminal damage on lap 28 when his front wing broke, slid under his car, and removed his ability to steer, causing him to hit the barriers.
With fresh hopes for Race Two, Max carried his pace forward into Sunday and executed another strong performance in Qualifying to start from fifth but unfortunately faced another difficult race.
A loss of power on lap one cost Max crucial track position, but after underconsuming energy and taking Attack Mode on laps six and nine, he soon set out to recover by carving his way through the field.
By gaining six positions on one lap alone, Max returned to the top 10 but picked up front wing damage and hit the barriers in a near identical incident to his race-ending collision on Saturday and was again forced to retire.
With six races remaining, and despite failing to score points in Berlin, Max holds seventh in the FIA Formula E World Drivers’ Championship. His season will resume in Shanghai, China, on May 25-26, 2024.