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After seeing promising signs in practice, the team extracted every ounce of pace in qualifying, with Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Günther both progressing to the duel stages.
Although Max was pipped inthe Quarter-Finals, Edo advanced to the penultimate stage by defeating Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy in the first head-to-head.
The Swiss-Italian was unfortunately pipped by Stoffel Vandoorne in the Semi-Finals, but with a 1:12.109 lap time, Edo started from fourth, with Max ninth due to a grid penalty from Cape Town.
Both drivers secured a good start when the race got underway, but Edo sustained front wing damage immediately after running into the back of Mitch Evans amidst a bunch up in Turn One.
While Max maintained his starting spot, Edo boxed for repairs, however, given the nature of the circuit – and the power of the slipstream – the 31-lap affair quickly turned into a high-speed game of chess.
By running a carefully managed opening phase, Max battled to a high of eighth before the Safety Car was deployed on lap eight when Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz stopped on track.
With the pack bunched up, the neutralisation provided a fresh opportunity for Edo who sliced through the field to 14th before a second Safety Car on lap 16, this time for Jake Dennis.
Edo overtook Sergio Sette Camara for 13th after the second restart but was forced to retire on lap 21 after being spun into the barriers by Abt’s Nico Müller, which left Max as the team’s sole runner.
The German battled for a place inside the top 10 for the remainder of the race but was overtaken by Sebastien Buemi on lap 28 to take the chequered flag in 11th.
Formula E’s ninth season will continue in Berlin, Germany, on 22-23 April for the second double-header event of the current campaign.
James Rossiter, Team Principal, Maserati MSG Racing
“The team deserved better today, especially after all of their hard work since Cape Town. We pulled together and delivered a fast car, that much is clear from qualifying. But with the mistakes, the results we’re achieving don’t reflect what we know we’re capable of. We need to look at what happened and address some significant changes ahead of Berlin. Despite the disappointment, I’m incredibly proud of everyone in the team. We know what we can do, and we know we’ll get there - and when we do, it’ll be the result of an extreme amount of hard work.”
Edoardo Mortara, Driver,Maserati MSG Racing
“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.”
Maximilian Günther, Driver, Maserati MSG Racing
“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.”
Giovanni Sgro, Head of Maserati Corse
“Our first FE race in São Paulo started off well with both drivers making it to the duels and then qualifying fourth and ninth. Unfortunately motorsport is always unpredictable, as Edo got bumped from behind to DNF and Max finished 11th after an exciting race. We continue to push with an enormous amount of resilience as we head to Berlin.”
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