Maximilian Günther: “Berlin holds a very special place in my heart”

Maximilian Günther heads into his home E-Prix this weekend targeting his first points of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, after enduring a disappointing start to the Gen3 era.

Günther heads into the Berlin E-Prix in desperate need of points, with the German being one of only a few drivers yet to finish in the top ten. He came close to scoring points in São Paulo after finishing eleventh; however, he certainly had the pace to end his point-less run. Regardless of that, Günther will have the added boost of a home crowd this weekend in Berlin, something he’ll get a double helpful of due to it being a double-header.

On the whole, Günther’s record at the Tempelhof Street Circuit is pretty poor, with the exception of his home victory in Season Five. He’ll be hoping to replicate his magical performance from one of the six races that took place in Berlin in Season Five, at the venue which “holds a very special place in my heart”.

“As my home race, Berlin holds a very special place in my heart, and I’m excited to race in front of my home crowd. I had the honour of winning here in 2020, and while it’s one of the proudest moments of my career, it was during the pandemic, without fans in the grandstands. We’re expecting a big crowd this weekend, so I can’t wait to go out there and perform a great weekend together with the team.“

“I’m expecting the field to be very closely grouped” – Edoardo Mortara

On the other side of the Maserati MSG Racing garage, Edoardo Mortara is also targeting a stronger weekend, after retiring in São Paulo. Mortara endured considerable bad luck in Brazil, with the Swiss driver having damaged his front wing on the opening-lap, before being taken out by Nico Mueller mid-race.

It certainly wasn’t the race that Mortara was hoping for in Brazil, especially after qualifying fourth. Whilst the race was ultimately disappointing for Mortara, he can certainly enter this weekend with some confidence, given how strong he looked pacewise in Brazil. Like his team-mate, Mortara is a previous race winner in Berlin, with the Maserati driver having won in Germany last season. At the Berlin double-header last year Mortara claimed first and second, highlighting how strong he is at the circuit.

Looking ahead to this weekend, Mortara is aware that “past results don’t guarantee success”, with the Swiss driver knowing that a strong effort is needed to score some points.

“Berlin is a circuit that I enjoy and last season, we came very close to delivering the perfect weekend by nearly winning both races after starting from pole position. As we know in motorsport, past results don’t guarantee success, however, so we need to treat this weekend like every other weekend and take a measured approach through practice and into qualifying.

“Because every team has so much knowledge of this circuit, I’m expecting the field to be very closely grouped and with the margins so fine, it’ll be important to deliver a mistake-free weekend.”