Point-less streak continues for Maximilian Günther as German admits ‘we didn’t achieve our target’

Maximilian Günther came agonisingly close to his first points finish of the season at the inaugural São Paulo E-Prix, after finishing eleventh in the sixth round of the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.

Luck continues to be against Maserati MSG Racing, as Günther was unable to convert his ninth-place start into a points finish. The German had qualified sixth but started ninth due to a three-place grid penalty. Despite this, he made a good start to the race and ran in eighth during the opening phase of the E-Prix, proving that Maserati do have a car capable of running towards the leading group.

Günther remained on-track for a first top ten of the season until Lap Twenty-Eight, where he was overtaken by Sébastian Buemi. It was an agonising way for Günther’s race to end, with the German being the only driver other than the ABT CUPRA Formula E Team drivers to have not scored a point this year.

Reflecting on the race, the Maserati driver admitted that it was “frustrating” to once again leave a race empty-handed, especially as “the car was feeling great”.

“A disappointing race today, and it’s frustrating to miss out on points with P11. The car was feeling great as soon as the weekend got underway and qualifying put us in a strong position, despite the grid penalty. The race wasn’t easy for us right from the beginning. Some good areas, but over the whole stint we didn’t achieve our target. We will regroup from this and try to make a better race next time.

“Berlin is my home race, and is a circuit that holds some special memories for me and there, my only goal will be to score some good points.”

“The team executed an intelligent recovery strategy” – Edoardo Mortara

Edoardo Mortara‘s afternoon in Brazil was even more frustrating than Günther’s, with the Swiss driver having suffered his third retirement of the season. It was an accident-packed race for Mortara, who had enjoyed a sensational qualifying prior to the race.

Mortara made it to the Semi-Finals of the duels where he went on to claim fourth on the grid, before making a good getaway off the line. His race suddenly took its first twist, though, after breaking his front wing following contact at the opening two corners, demoting him to the back of the field following a pit-stop for repairs. Thankfully, he was able to catch the back of the field thanks to a Safety Car for Sacha Fenestraz‘s stricken car, which brought Mortara back into the race.

He was able to work his way from last into thirteenth by Lap Twenty-One, before his race came to a sudden end at Turn Seven after being hit into the barrier by Nico Mueller.

It marked a disappointing end to what could’ve been an excellent weekend for Mortara, especially after the Monte-Carlo-based team “executed an intelligent recovery strategy”.

“It’s been a difficult weekend from my side. After struggling for a bit of pace in practice, we executed a strong qualifying to start the race from fourth. Unfortunately, I lost my front wing on the first lap and had to pit for repairs, but the Safety Car on lap eight brought me back into the race. The team executed an intelligent recovery strategy, but I was spun into the barriers after the second Safety Car which meant I had to retire. Berlin is up next and it’s a circuit that we know well after winning there last year.”