Günther Victory Makes Motorsport History For Maserati In Formula E – Round 11 – 2023 Gulavit Jakarta E-Prix Report
- 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, Indonésia. Dom. 4 de junho de 2023 - O piloto da Maserati MSG Racing, Maximilian Günther, converteu a segunda Julius Bär Pole Position consecutiva em vitória na corrida em Jacarta, devolvendo a Maserati ao degrau mais alto do pódio no automobilismo de monopostos pela primeira vez desde 1957.
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.
O piloto da Maserati MSG Racing conseguiu aumentar a vantagem para 2,822 segundos sobre Dennis na bandeira quadriculada e mais de 18 segundos sobre Evans. Ninguém havia vencido por mais de dois segundos na era GEN3 desde a vitória de Dennis na abertura da temporada, na Cidade do México, e essa margem foi a maior das últimas 10 rodadas.
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.
Essa ultrapassagem fez com que Vandoorne caísse para um eventual nono lugar, enquanto Wehrlein, António Félix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) e Edoardo Mortara (Maserati MSG Racing) conseguiam passar facilmente em sexto, sétimo e oitavo. A tarde decepcionante da Envision Racing teve apenas um ponto para a equipe, com Sebastien Buemi fechando o top 10.
A TAG Heuer Porsche lidera a classificação das equipes com 212 pontos, ficando ainda mais à frente da Envision Racing, que tem 190 pontos, com a Jaguar TCS Racing em terceiro, com 171 pontos.
Restam cinco corridas na 9ª temporada do ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, com a próxima parada em 24 de junho, a quarta cidade de estreia da série nesta temporada - o 2023 Southwire Portland E-Prix.
Maximilian Günther, No. 7, Maserati MSG Racing, said:
"É um momento de muito orgulho, estou muito feliz com essa vitória - ontem já foi ótimo, com outro pódio. Fizemos um progresso muito satisfatório nas últimas duas corridas, é fantástico, e conquistar minha primeira vitória aqui em Jacarta é extraordinário. Estou muito feliz.
“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:
"Estou feliz, muito mais feliz do que ontem. Foi uma corrida muito boa, para ser sincero, e estou feliz por ter conseguido manter o P2 na largada. Acho que não conseguimos acertar o segundo MODO DE ATAQUE, pois a Maserati estava muito rápida em uma volta hoje e, quando ele pressionou, criou uma brecha, que basicamente me ultrapassou e ganhou a posição na pista novamente. Teria sido difícil mantê-lo atrás.
"Estou feliz, P2, 18 pontos - 19 com a volta mais rápida - e espero que possamos continuar a construir isso, continuar marcando grandes pontos em Portland. Vai ser uma grande corrida para nós, uma corrida em casa. Estou ansioso por ela.
"Acabei de ser informado pelo rádio que o Nick (Cassidy) não conseguiu se classificar, o que é obviamente útil para nós e, obviamente, Pascal foi o P6. Pontos muito bons, importantes para o campeonato, mas é claro que ainda faltam muitas corridas, cinco rodadas. Tudo está em jogo, mas estou muito ansioso por isso."
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
