Strong Return to Points for Maximilian Günther in Sanya
After what had begun as a tricky weekend for Maximilian and DS PESNKE, both driver and team were proud to come away with competitive points having optimised an energy saving strategy. The focus on energy consumption at the beginning of the race left Maximilian in the perfect position to attack his competitors in the closing stages to cross the line P6.
The car balance instantly felt off for Maximilian as the FIA Formula E grid returned to Sanya for the first time since 2020, and he knew he would be in for a tough weekend. Knowing the package this season has been better over one lap than in race trim, it would come down to pulling off the perfect strategy to add more points to his Season 12 championship campaign.
The team worked hard during the practice sessions with Maximilian, but unfortunately the confidence with the car was not there when Maximilan took to the Sanya streets to compete in qualifying. He was unable to progress from the group stages, and qualified P17 for the race.
Carrying a three-place grid drop from Monaco and taking into account penalties for other drivers’ starting positions at the Sanya E-Prix, Maximilan took 19th on the grid. With the performance of the package at that point the focus was on getting into the points.
It was logical starting from where he did that Maximilian and DS PENSKE opted for the energy saving strategy – a well-known strategy in Formula E where a driver saves energy and maintains position for most of the race before utilising the extra energy to overtake cars at the end that are having to manage their energy to get to the line. Maximilian executed this very well, being up on average by two percent to his competitors, all the while keeping the leaders within ten seconds of him. This would give him the best chance to make up as many places as he could in the closing stages of the race.
A safety car incident saw Maximilian gain three places as the grid was pulled into the pit lane for a red flag period. He was P14 on the restart of the race, but a power issue saw him have a poor restart, dropping back to the back of the grid.
With energy still in hand and his two Attack Modes still to be deployed, Maximilian knew there would still be an opportunity to move forward and get decently into the points.
His charge up the field was a sight to behold, timing his passes to perfection and cleanly climbing up the grid.
By the end of his first Attack Mode period, he was into the points. His second became a question of how far up the pack he could get.
Had it not been for the power issue on the restart, a top five finish, if not higher, would have been on the cards, with Maximilian and DS PENSKE playing their strategy to perfection.
It was an excellent ten points with Maximilian finishing P6, a great result after what had quickly become a recovery weekend.
The result after what had looked like a turbulent weekend gives Maximilian and DS PENSKE great momentum going into the final block of races in the championship. There is a weekend break before Maximilian is racing again for the double header in Shanghai, a circuit he enjoys and has won in the past.
RESULTS
Free Practice 1 – P13, 1:06.422
Free Practice 2 – P14, 1:05.780
Qualifying – P17 (Group B, P9, 1:07.791)
Race Start – P19 (Penalty)
Race – P6
Championship Standing – P16 (18 points)
MAXIMILIAN GÜNTHER
“In terms of the weekend, it has been a really tricky one from a performance side. Definitely something was missing on our side as I had no stability in the car, especially in those more flowing corners. It gave me very low confidence in the car, despite which I tried to maximise performance throughout all sessions. But something major has been missing.
“It was a very familiar gameplan for the race to make the most of opportunities we could get in a race like this. We executed a very good race, saved as much energy as we could trying to go very late with our two Attacks. That was the goal from the beginning, that and trying to see how the race can come towards us which we did really well.
“I got a bit unlucky because in the second restart I was already in P14, my car kind of stalled or had a little power cut so I ended up back last which wasn’t ideal. But with our energy and our Attacks we made our way through, got some great moves on track and timed it really nicely. In the end P6 has been a very good result for us. Very good points and very happy with the way we dealt with the weekend. We just kept doing out thing, kept going, trusting in ourselves and putting it all together in the best way we can. Really good to get some momentum on our side in a tricky season.
“This year, we know that we don’t have a strong package in particular in the race, that’s why the season has been a tough one. Still, many great results in this season so far but for many things, mainly strategy, we didn’t get the points we could have. That’s why it was very nice to get this top six here.
“We have six races to go and to have this momentum in the garage now is great to keep doing what we’re doing. I have great memories of Shanghai from last year, and although this year is different, not a copy paste from last year, I really like the track and I look forward to the second Asian race of the season.”