.jpg)
The weekend fluctuated between peak and trough, but new highs were ultimately blurred by bruising lows.
Yet, behind each challenge, Maserati MSG Racing showcased its most encouraging performance to date as strong pace and incredible spirit fostered unbreakable optimism for the future.
With hunger and hope at an all-time high, this our race recap from Cape Town.
Following on from simulations back at base, it was clear that the Cape Town Street Circuit was set to be one of the fastest tracks in the history of Formula E.
When our drivers took to the venue in practice, that speed was confirmed, yet Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Günther emerged as the best of the best during this preparation phase.
After posting the fastest lap in a heavily disrupted opening practice, Edo continued his form to start Saturday with a promising run, ending FP2 in second, without posting a lap at full power.
Max too showed clear form, and with consistently quick laps, it was clear that the circuit matched his high-octane driving style. As such, hopes were high for qualifying.
Edo and Max launched their qualifying efforts from Group B, and the level of commitment that Cape Town requires was more than apparent when the duo took to the track.
Both were in fine form, yet a break in traction on the entry to Turn Nine cost Edo dearly when the Swiss-Italian lost the rear end and speared into the barriers to sustain heavy damage.
Although Edo emerged from the incident unscathed, he was ruled out of the rest of the session which left Max as our sole runner.
He set the fourth-fastest time to contest the duels for a second weekend in succession, and by defeating René Rast and Mitch Evans, found himself in contention for pole position.
In the final head-to-head, he went up against Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz, but despite losing out to the French-Argentine racer, secured our first front-row start of the season.
As preparations for the race built up, work in the garage was at full-swing as the team rallied behind-the-scenes to repair the #48 Maserati Tipo Folgore.
Not all heroes wear capes, however, and with a determined and committed job, our mechanics completed an extensive repair job to not only fix the car, but to have it ready for the race.
With the car rebuilt, Edo lined up in the pitlane instead of the grid and was guaranteed a clean start away from the notorious carbon crunching of lap one.
When the starting lights flashed out, a new era for motorsport in South Africa commenced, but with a sluggish getaway, Max came under immediate pressure from Nick Cassidy.
He ran side-by-side with the Envision driver and held on around the outside of Turn Two to perform an outrageous manoeuvre to successfully defend from the Kiwi.
Max next set out to overtake Fenestraz, while Pascal Wehrlein and Sebastien Buemi came to blows behind, leaving debris littered across the circuit and race neutralised behind Full Course Yellows.
Fenestraz slowed aggressively as a result, and Max was forced to take avoiding action but ascended to the front to lead our first laps of the season.
When Edo unfortunately stopped on track to retire with a technical issue, the Safety Car was deployed to reform the field and extend the clean-up process.
Max led the race to green at the end of lap five and quickly settled into a rhythm to control the pace at the head of the field.
He set fastest lap after fastest lap and surrendered his front running spot by activating his first of four minutes of Attack Mode on lap 10.
The German used the remaining three minutes on lap 13 and maintained third, but while pressuring the top two runners, tapped the wall on lap 21.
Rear suspension damage dealt a final cruel blow when Max was forced to retire from the race only nine laps from the finish, especially after showing so much promise.
.png)
.png){kind=spacer}
