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The team entered the weekend with positive momentum in hand after winning Formula E’s most recent race in Tokyo, and targeted further success in Italy at the Trident’s home race.
Despite facing a disrupted practice program, Max performed well in Qualifying and advanced to the duel stages from Group A to secure seventh on the grid. Team-mate, Jehan Daruvala, meanwhile, started the race from 19th after aborting his final push lap in the session.
In the face of high energy saving targets – prompted by the return of Formula E’s peloton style of competition – Max fell to ninth while Jehan fought forward to 14th on lap one, although crucially, the pair secured a clean start.
With extreme saving throughout the field, positions changed consistently, and Max quickly carved his way forward to hold second before activating his first Attack Mode on lap three, rejoining in fourth.
The 26-year-old remained in the fight for the podium throughout the race, took his second Attack Mode on lap 17, and continued to pressure the leaders in a high-stakes run to the chequered flag.
Jehan, meanwhile, executed a clean, strategic drive and remained a constant threat to the top 10, with his eyes set on his first points finish in Formula E.
When Jean-Eric Vergne received a five-second time penalty – and with the DS Penske driver running inside the top three – a place on the podium was up for grabs, although Max unfortunately lost fourth to Jake Dennis in the closing laps.
Nevertheless, the young German remained in contention, took fifth at the chequered flag and was promoted to fourth following Vergne’s penalty to add 12 points to his World Drivers’ Championship tally.
As a result, Max now holds the longest active points scoring streak in Formula E and is the only driver on the grid to score points in every race so far in 2024.
After executing his most competitive race of the season, contact on the final lap cruelly robbed Jehan of a strong finish, with the Indian racer failing to see the flag.
The double-header 2024 Misano E-Prix will resume on Sunday, 14 April.
Update: Following the disqualification of provisional race winner, Antonio Felix da Costa, after a technical breach, Max gained a podium finish post-race. Read more.
“Today’s race was wild. I’m super happy to finish fourth. We managed the race well, took Attack Mode at the right time, and made some good strategic moves to be in the fight when it mattered. Obviously, these kinds of races are very chaotic and there are a lot of things going on – we’re overtaking, and being overtaken, but we responded well, especially in regard to the weekend we’ve had so far. Both practice sessions were tough for us, and I don’t think the weekend could have been any more difficult in terms of the challenges thrown at us. But our reaction has been brilliant, our pace was strong in Qualifying, and to finish fourth with 12 points is mega. I’m happy.”
“Today’s race wasn’t bad – I think it was probably the best of my season so far. I was in the mix from the start to finish, but I was taken out by [Nyck] De Vries on the last lap. It isn’t ideal, but we have another race tomorrow. We’ll extract what we can in Qualifying, drive a strategic race, and from there, see if we can score points.”
“A very positive performance today, with another good haul of points for the team with Max. With the top four finish, we’ve been able to maintain our 100% points scoring record so far this season, which is very good from a consistency perspective. The race was very strategic, the team applied a very intelligent strategy, and crucially, Max kept his head down, kept cool, and kept his nose clean to deliver a good result. It was a big shame for Jehan today but he showed great promise. He was strong in Qualifying, was set for the duels, but ran into an issue on his final push lap. This meant he started at the back, which is never easy. If Jehan can qualify where he would have been today, his race will be a lot more straightforward tomorrow. We have a lot to look forward to, and hopefully, we can score points with both cars.”
“Today it was a really exciting one. This is Maserati's home race and racing in front of our fans is always something unique. The race was really intense and busy, with lots of overtaking, breath-taking moments, and a close fight from start to finish: the show was never lacking. Both Max and Jehan never gave up and Max immediately gave everything to take the lead; once again he brought home important points. Jehan pushed hard to finish in the top 10 but unfortunately was not able to hold. Nevertheless, it's not easy to race on a permanent circuit but both our drivers did great today and showed to be able to fight in every conditions. This weekend is very important for us as a team and as a brand; tomorrow we hope to finish what we started today and hopefully grab the podium. We never give up and we can’t wait to get back on track tomorrow.”
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