Günther Victory schrijft autosporthistorie voor Maserati in Formule E - Ronde 11 - 2023 Gulavit Jakarta E-Prix Verslag
- Maserati MSG Racing driver Maximilian Günther claims first win for Maserati in single-seat motorsport since 1957 with victory in ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race
- Second race in the 2023 GulaVit Jakarta E-Prix double-header sees Jake Dennis take a consecutive runner-up position
- Mitch Evans recovers from dramatic all-Jaguar collision the previous day to round off the podium in third
- Pascal Wehrlein finishes sixth and leaves Jakarta top of the Driver’s standings just one point ahead of Dennis
JAKARTA, Indonesië. Zon. 4 juni 2023 - Maserati MSG Racing-coureur Maximilian Günther zette een tweede opeenvolgende Julius Bär Pole Position om in de racewinst in Jakarta, waardoor Maserati voor het eerst sinds 1957 weer op de hoogste trede van het podium in de eenzitterracerij staat.
The second race of the 2023 GulaVit Jakarta E-Prix double-header saw German Günther claim his fourth win in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and his first in the iconic blue livery of legendary automaker Maserati. The last time the trident was seen on the top step of a single-seater championship was in 1957 when the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio won the German Grand Prix on his way to that year’s Formula One title.
Günther was followed home by Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti Formula E Team) who started and finished second in both races on Formula E’s return to Indonesia. The points haul moves Dennis to within just one point of standings leader, Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team).
Following a dramatic first race in which he was hit by his own teammate, leaving the Jaguar TCS Racing team pointless on the day, Mitch Evans recovered superbly to produce a classy defensive drive and round out the podium places in third.
Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy lost his championship lead to the previous day’s race winner Pascal Wehrlein – who finished sixth – after an ill-judged overtake led to contact and a point-less day. Cassidy now trails Dennis by five points with six points separating the top three drivers in a hugely tight tussle for the title.
With Günther starting pole for the second day, the young German was looking to turn a promising Saturday drive and podium into his fourth race victory, and he looked assured from the off as he held position in the opening stages.
With a clear race strategy, he appeared happy to hold fire behind Dennis once the Brit had taken the lead through the first round of ATTACK MODE activations.
The telling switch came as Günther held off on his second jolt of ATTACK MODE when Dennis blinked first. The German was able to generate a gap enough to leapfrog the Avalanche Andretti driver by the time he made the dive for his final 50kW boost on Lap 18.
De Maserati MSG Racing-coureur had bij het vallen van de finishvlag een voorsprong van 2,822 seconden op Dennis en meer dan 18 seconden op Evans. Niemand had met meer dan twee seconden voorsprong gewonnen in het GEN3-tijdperk sinds Dennis' seizoensopener in Mexico City en die marge was de grootste in de laatste 10 rondes.
Drama struck the standings leader Cassidy who had only failed to score once this season, with 13th in Diriyah, but he made a costly slip in trying to pass title rival Wehrlein on Lap 20. His car was damaged, he was shuffled to the back of the pack and 19th position.
The Nissan pair of Sacha Fenestraz and Norman Nato made late-race progress to seal fourth and fifth from seventh and 12th on the grid, respectively. Fenestraz’s move on reigning champion Stoffel Vandoorne (DS PENSKE) caught the Belgian unawares into the hairpin, with his teammate Nato able to follow.
Vandoorne viel daardoor terug naar een uiteindelijke negende plaats, terwijl Wehrlein, António Félix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) en Edoardo Mortara (Maserati MSG Racing) gemakkelijk voorbij kwamen voor de zesde, zevende en achtste plaats. Envision Racing had een teleurstellende middag met slechts één punt, Sebastien Buemi maakte de top 10 compleet.
TAG Heuer Porsche gaat aan de leiding in het teamklassement met 212 punten en blijft Envision Racing voor met 190 punten en Jaguar TCS Racing op de derde plaats met 171 punten.
Er zijn nog vijf races te gaan in seizoen 9 van het ABB FIA Formule E-wereldkampioenschap met de volgende stop op 24 juni, een vierde debuutstad voor de serie dit seizoen - de 2023 Southwire Portland E-Prix.
Maximilian Günther, No. 7, Maserati MSG Racing, said:
"Ik ben erg trots op dit moment, ik ben in de wolken met deze overwinning - gisteren was al geweldig met nog een podium. We hebben de afgelopen races zo'n bevredigende vooruitgang geboekt, het is fantastisch, en om hier in Jakarta mijn eerste overwinning te pakken is geweldig. Ik ben gewoon zo blij.
“We felt really good from FP1 onwards, so the package is working here it was about executing it and keep shooting in the right direction. We always took the right decisions this weekend. Yesterday we did not have enough, but today we did. It is absolutely amazing.
“In Formula E you always need to keep your feet on the ground, like life in general! It can change so quickly, I am just really enjoying this moment here, I know there will be tracks that suit us more, there will be tracks that suit us less. We try to always maximize our package, which is what we have been doing the past few races. I am very proud.”
Jake Dennis, No. 27, Avalanche Andretti Formula E, said:
"Ik ben blij, veel blijer dan gisteren. Echt een goede race om eerlijk te zijn, blij dat ik P2 kon houden bij de start. Eerlijk gezegd best goed gemaximaliseerd, ik denk dat we de tweede ATTACK MODE niet helemaal goed kregen, uiteindelijk was de Maserati vandaag zo snel over één ronde en toen hij pushte, creëerde hij het gat, waardoor hij in feite de overcut op mij deed en weer baanpositie kreeg. Het zou moeilijk zijn geweest om hem achter me te houden.
"Ik ben blij, P2, 18 punten - 19 met de snelste ronde - hopelijk kunnen we hierop voortbouwen en grote punten blijven scoren in Portland. Het wordt een belangrijke race voor ons, een thuisrace. Ik kijk ernaar uit.
"Ik kreeg net via de radio te horen dat Nick (Cassidy) DNF'd, wat natuurlijk nuttig is voor ons en Pascal was natuurlijk P6. Echt goede punten, belangrijk voor het kampioenschap, maar er zijn natuurlijk nog zoveel races te gaan, nog vijf rondes te gaan. Alles om voor te spelen, maar ik kijk er erg naar uit."
Mitch Evans, No. 9, Jaguar TCS Racing, said:
“[I am] a bit speechless because it was a massive turnaround from yesterday, I was not expecting this today at all. I struggled a lot during the race with my efficiency, and a bit of pace, and I feel like we were looking good half-way through but once Max and Jake put their foot down, I just could not keep up. It was a bit of a roadblock, but I hung on and really needed these points after yesterday. The confetti on the podium will taste good.
“In the range I was in I was doing a lot of coasting, and it just left me very exposed to Stoffel and the guys behind. The pace was slow and so I felt like I was up against the corner but luckily, I was able to hang on and towards the end it got a little bit easier. I was able to under-consume and hit the targets up a bit. Hung on and I guess that is the main thing.”
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship returns to the USA on Saturday, 24 June for the 2023 Southwire Portland E-Prix, the first time Formula E has raced in the city.
Find out where to watch here: www.fiaformulae.com/en/ways-to-watch
…notes from SP
