Maserati MSG Racing victorious in Tokyo

Maserati MSG Racing secured victory at the 2024 Tokyo E-Prix, with Maximilian Günther winning the FIA Formula E World Championship’s inaugural race in Japan.

Max, who entered the weekend in good form after displaying a strong recovery drive in São Paulo two weeks earlier, showed competitive pace throughout practice and placed third in FP1 and FP2. Come qualifying, the 26-year-old continued to extract his performance to maximum effect, and by setting the fastest time in Group B, secured his place in the duel stages.

“An incredible weekend. We were in the top three in every session and almost got pole position, but securing the win feels so special – everybody did an amazing job. I felt great in the car, and we’ve taken some good steps as a team in the last few weeks. Since São Paulo, I think we’ve shown that we have really strong pace and today, we converted it into a win. There was a lot of energy management in the race, but we covered ourselves well, perfectly executed the strategy, and the moves, and did everything we had to do. It’s amazing to win Formula E’s first-ever race in Tokyo, and I’m proud. We need to enjoy this moment.”

Maximilian Günther

By defeating Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein in the Quarter-Finals, Max went up against Sergio Sette Camara in the penultimate stage but beat the ERT driver in his head-to-head to compete in the Final.

In the Final, Max displayed a fighting performance against Oliver Rowland but missed out on pole position by only 0.021 seconds to start second. His team-mate, Jehan Daruvala, meanwhile, qualified 17th for the fifth race of his Formula E career.

Verge CEO Andre Dixon with Maserati MSG Racing’s Lizzie Brookes

Starting on the dirty side of the circuit, Max unfortunately lost second place off the line to Edoardo Mortara, while Jehan executed a clean, calculated, and opportunistic opening lap to make up ground. As the race evolved, Max quickly settled into a rhythm but leveraged his Attack Mode strategy to his advantage, overcutting both Mortara and Rowland to rise to the lead before taking his first activation on lap 14.

Max rejoined the race in third, but with the benefit of extra power, overtook Mortara on track and set out to chase after Rowland, although a Safety Car on lap 20 – deployed for debris – neutralised the race until lap 22. After resuming his pursuit for the lead after the restart, Max staged a crucial overtake on Rowland on lap 25 and built a big enough gap over the Briton to take his final Attack Mode without sacrificing track position.

Despite facing mounting pressure in the closing stages, Max held the lead until the chequered flag to secure the fifth victory of his Formula E career and the Maserati brand’s second since joining the fully-electric category in Season 9.

After making a strong start, team-mate Jehan unfortunately sustained damage early in the race after being hit by Jean-Eric Vergne in Turn One and finished 18th.

With 48 points scored this season, Max holds fifth in the World Drivers’ Championship, while Maserati MSG Racing holds seventh in the Teams’ Standings, overtaking reigning champions Envision Racing.

Formula E’s 10th season will resume on 13-14 April 2024, for the inaugural Misano E-Prix – the Trident’s home race in Italy.

“What a day! To win in Tokyo in the first Formula E race on Japanese soil is very exciting and we are happy Maserati has signed its name in the modern history of the series in a new country. Max was consistent throughout the weekend; an incredible and well-deserved victory for the whole team, which never gives up, and finally, after four rounds in which we battled for the podium and always secured points, we can enjoy the prize. From the very first duels at the front, Max was confident he could win this race and did everything to take the victory. The race was very challenging as always when it comes to a new circuit, and it is even more rewarding to win where no one knows what to expect. Jehan suffered a bit this weekend but he is always ready to learn a new lesson race by race and this circuit was an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming round in Italy, where I am sure he will be able to perform well, eager to show his talent as well. I am very proud of everyone today and we couldn’t be happier ahead of our home race in Misano; this win is a real boost and we can’t wait to get back on track and show what we are capable of in front of the Italian fans. But now, let’s go celebrate!”

Giovanni Sgro, Head of Maserati Corse