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With an astounding 403 overtakes – an average of 13 passes per lap – the action was intense, yet Maserati MSG Racing remained calm throughout to take home another vital points haul.
Relive Formula E’s first outing in Oregon and Portland International Raceway’s first World Championship single-seater event in our race recap.
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While the majority of preparation in Formula E is performed on the simulator, there’s nothing quite like taking to the track, and as the series’ newest circuit, real-world data collection was vital in Portland.
Our initial readings pointed towards a highly energy sensitive circuit, which would not only produce some of the fastest laps of the season, but also some of the most intense racing of the year.
When Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Günther took to the track, our expectations were confirmed, and their fine form throughout the practice phase only added weight behind our aspirations.
In FP1, Edo made history by completing the first lap with an average speed of 100 miles per hour in the history of Formula E – an accolade which made him the series’ fastest driver.
With 79 laps completed across the board, we were ready to rally our efforts into qualifying, with clear performance present.
Due to championship position, Edo and Max were split across both qualifying groups, and displayed a fighting performance in a session defined by its extremely small margins.
Max launched his efforts from Group A, and secured his place in the duels with the second-fastest time, while Edo narrowly missed out on the next chapter of qualifying from Group B.
In the Quarter-Finals, Max went up against Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz, but was unfortunate to lose out to the French-Argentine racer in the head-to-head.
Despite failing to progress to the Semi-Finals, Max’s high-speed run, a 1:09.264, was better than most efforts, leaving the 25-year-old fifth on the grid for the race, while Edo started 11th.
As a result of the circuit’s energy sensitivity, Formula E’s peloton racing style reached the next level in Portland, and as soon as the race commenced, energy management was the top priority.
As the main order of affairs, the conservation only promoted overtaking, and therefore propelled Edo and Max into the mix, despite the pair losing ground at the start.
By settling into a slipstreaming rhythm, the duo staged a carefully balanced comeback to carve through the field with confidence, accuracy, and precision.
A Safety Car on lap five, caused by a stoppage for Roberto Merhi, neutralised the race and re-grouped the pack before the green flag waved once more at the end of lap seven.
By activating Attack Mode during the restart, Edo and Max got an immediate jump and Max utilised the 350kW power mode to rise into the podium positions on lap nine.
Edo, meanwhile, propelled himself from 12th to fourth in the space of only three laps to become a silverware contender, before a second Safety Car on lap 10, this time for a crashed Nico Müller.
The second Safety Car was significantly longer than the first and promised a race extension, and when the action resumed on lap 17, Edo and Max again activated Attack Mode, this time for six minutes.
With the race edging closer to its crescendo, positions were changing rapidly, and a fierce battle raged inside the top 10, although the two Maserati Tipo Folgores remained consistently at the front.
Our hopes for a podium were dashed soon after, when Max was pushed off track by Jaguar’s Sam Bird on lap 28 of 32 when running fourth, which pushed the German down the order.
Edo, however, remained resolute and maintained sixth, still within poaching distance of a place inside the top five, and an outside shot at the top three.
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What was shaping up to be a promising finish failed to materialise in the added time phase, when Edo picked up a puncture after light contact at the rear of his car with Max.
When the tyre tore, Edo was forced to retire, which left Max as our sole runner who managed to recover from his earlier off to take home sixth.
While there was a sense of a missed opportunity, every point is crucial in the world of Formula E.
With 66 points scored in the past three races, Maserati MSG Racing is operating at a new level of consistency as the end of Season 9 fast-approaches in July.
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