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It’s the last chance to settle old scores. The final opportunity to give it your all. The final moment to leave absolutely nothing on the table.
As the endgame of Formula E’s ninth season, the London E-Prix had everything, and against the backdrop of the UK capital, the field delivered one final twist of absolute unpredictability.
The stage was set, and after seven months on the campaign trail, Maserati MSG Racing’s key first season of Gen3 competition came to a close.
Relive our weekend in London with our final race recap of the season.
The indoor-outdoor ExCeL circuit is perhaps one of the most unique tracks in all of motorsport, and following a productive practice phase, we were buoyed by our long-run form.
A difficult qualifying for Race One, however, put the team on the back foot as both Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Günther narrowly missed out on the duels from Groups A and B.
This left the duo with work to do in the race, yet by keeping it clean, both drivers were able to make progress on the opening lap.
Edo, who carefully picked the perfect line through the opening complex of corners, shot forward to ninth, and set out in pursuit of a place higher in the field.
Unfortunately, the Swiss-Italian’s race faced a crushing blow when Stoffel Vandoorne missed his braking point in Turn One, with the Belgian striking Edo to tip him out of the top 10.
Nevertheless, Maserati MSG Racing is a team of fighters. We never give up. And after boxing for repairs, we resumed our battle.
When Edo re-joined the race, he did so at the very back of the field and faced an uphill recovery to maintain the goal of finishing inside the top 10.
Max, meanwhile, slotted into a crucial points position by overtaking Norman Nato before a Safety Car, caused by a collision for Nick Cassidy, regrouped the pack.
With the chain reformed, our aspirations were renewed, and Max shot forward to seventh with clinical precision as Edo started to make up ground to hold 17th.
A heavy collision for Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz, however, led to a second Safety Car and ultimately, a Red Flag, which neutralised the race.
Under the pause, Max was forced to change his front wing which demoted the 26-year-old to 15th for the restart while Edo’s patience yielded a getaway from ninth.
No sooner than the race was resumed, a multi-car collision led to a second Red Flag to create a two-lap sprint to the finish. The stakes were high for all.
Edo and Max fought forward and took the chequered flag in eighth and 10th to secure what seemed to be a haul of five points from Season 9’s penultimate race.
Shortly after the chequered flag, however, a five-second time penalty demoted Max outside of the top 10. But throughout the field, the penalties kept on coming.
With Antonio Felix da Costa and Norman Nato being penalised, and NIO 333’s Sergio Sette Camara being disqualified, Edo finished a competitive fifth in the final classification.
The Swiss-Italian did what many thought to be impossible – to recover from an early incident with are bound to the top five. He embodied our never-give-up mentality.
Rain before Sunday’s race cast a shadow of doubt over the Season 9 finale. Due to the danger posed by the weather, the E-Prix was delayed by nearly 90 minutes.
But we banded together as one grid to put on a show and took to the ExCeL to complete the first wet race of Formula E’s Gen3 era.
Due to the reduced need for energy management – caused by the weather and a shorter race distance – it was difficult to make progress from a challenging qualifying.
Edo and Max finished 11th and 14th, but although the race didn’t play out as we hoped, there was still some cause for celebration.
Season 9 might be over, but in a way, it’s just a beginning.
The tenacity shown by Maserati MSG Racing throughout 2023 was immense. Hard work led to a complete turnaround in form, and it’s a turnaround that is rarely seen in Formula E.
From scoring three points in the first six races to 137 in the second half, we remembered that it’s on the difficult days that we learn the most. And we used our learnings to improve.
Season 9 is only the first chapter of what we promise to be an exciting story.
We’ll see you in Season 10.
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