Maximilian Günther faces difficult weekend amid promise in Berlin

Max faces challenging home race in Berlin, Germany

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.

 

 

Maximilian Günther, Maserati MSG Racing Driver

“Saturday’s race was a very action packed and difficult race but nevertheless, we showed good pace in all of the sessions. Starting from Free Practice One, we were up there with a good feeling in the car, and we confirmed this in Qualifying with a top-five starting place for the race. In the race, I would say that we were on the back foot for quite a while but by the mid-point of the race we managed to climb back up to the top five. There was a lot of fighting going on and unfortunately, I made contact with another car which broke my wing and ultimately ended my race. I’m not happy with the outcome, but that’s racing and it’s part of a season – there are always moments like this.

“Race Two was obviously, a very painful race. I think in general, the quality and the pace we’ve had this weekend has been great. In all of the sessions – apart from the races – we were in the top five. In the race I unfortunately lost drive several times in the first two or three laps, and this made me lose several places. After this, we decided to use a new strategy by saving energy, falling back a bit to get an energy advantage and then move forward. This is what we did, we had a bit more energy than most of the cars around us, and then we started to move forward and were on our way to the front. Things were going well, I was feeling good in the car, and then in Turn Two while I was looking in my mirror, there was a concertina effect and I went into one of the Andretti cars. I wasn’t able to avoid it, and that was the end of our race.”

 

 

2024 Berlin E-Prix Maximilian Günther Results
Free Practice One // P4
Free Practice Two // P1
Qualifying One // P5 [1:02.156, Quarter-Final Three]
Race One // DNF
Free Practice Three // P5
Qualifying Two // P5 [1:02.165, Quarter-Final One]
Race Two // DNF
Championship // P7 [65 points]