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From the paddock to the pitlane, there was a real sense of opportunity. The rewards had the potential to be endless.
Spurred on by the passionate tifosi, the Trident showcased its razor-sharp edge, claiming points and yet another podium on home ground.
Relive the second double-header event of Formula E’s 10th season with our race recap from Misano, Italy.
Following our victory at the inaugural Tokyo E-Prix, expectations were high when we arrived at Misano, but after facing difficulties in practice, our weekend in Italy started under far from ideal circumstances.
Despite this, we continued to fight on and come Qualifying on Saturday morning, the full extent of our pace was realised when Maximilian Günther and Jehan Daruvala took to the track.
The duo were on a charge in Group A, and by setting the fourth-fastest time, Max advanced to the duels, although an issue on Jehan’s final push lap cruelly prevented him from reaching the next stage.
In the Quarter-Finals, Max went up against Jean-Eric Vergne and pushed hard in the head-to-head but was unfortunate to exit the duels in the first round.
Nevertheless, with a seventh-placed starting spot on the grid, Max was in a prime position to fight forward when Race One got underway.
Given the Misano World Circuit’s extreme energy sensitivity level, Saturday’s 28-lap race was always going to see the return of Formula E’s peloton style of racing.
With drivers facing the need to manage energy, and with few places to recover energy over the course of a lap, slipstreaming became a key component as soon as the race got underway.
While Max fell to ninth, Jehan secured a strong getaway to gain six positions on lap one, and the pair battled hard in one of the closest races of the season so far.
On lap three, Max chose to strike and quickly carved his way to second before taking Attack Mode to rejoin the race in fourth. From here, he was a key protagonist.
The 26-year-old scrapped closely with Jake Dennis until the chequered flag, but unfortunately lost fourth to the reigning World Champion during the closing laps.
Max crossed the line in fifth but inherited fourth following a time penalty for Jean-Eric Vergne.
Jehan, meanwhile, was dealt a cruel blow following contact on the final lap, and was forced to retire from one of his most promising races of the season after being a constant threat to the top 10.
After 10 seasons, Formula E has earned a reputation across the motor racing world for its unpredictability, and the unforeseen continued on Saturday evening.
At 21:00 local time, it was revealed that provisional race winner, Antonio Felix da Costa, was disqualified from Race One after a technical breach.
The disqualification shook up the finishing order, and as a result, Max gained a podium finish – Maserati MSG Racing’s second top three result in as many races.
But there was no time to pause. Race Two was coming up, and with it, even more opportunity.
In the lead up to Sunday’s race, there was a sense of destiny surrounding Jehan. He was on the verge of a breakthrough result, and we could all feel it.
After failing to set a representative lap in Qualifying, however, the 25-year-old had everything to do in Race Two, but he didn’t back down. Not once.
When the race got underway, Jehan lost ground off the line but was provided with a critical chance when the Safety Car was deployed on lap eight following an accident for Robin Frijns.
With the pack bunched up, it was Jehan’s time to strike. He vaulted from 20th to 16th at the restart, continued to fight, and clawed through the field to threaten the top 10.
On the final lap, he made his move and took 10th at the line – a result which became ninth post-race – and with it, he secured his first points finish in Formula E.
The 2024 Misano E-Prix was more than just a race. It was the ultimate realisation of hard work and dedication. Countless results aligned to create memories we’ll never forget.
Max’s podium on Saturday was his 10th in Formula E, and our 27th as a team, but also marked the Maserati brand’s fifth top three finish since rejoining World Championship single-seater motorsport in 2023.
When Maserati MSG Racing entered Formula E in 2014, however, we set out to change the world. We held a bold vision for the future, and we wanted to taste success on the way.
At Misano, thanks to Max and Jehan, we scored our 1,000th point as a team in Formula E – an achievement we’ve been eyeing for a very long time.
With our home race in Monaco coming up later this month, we can’t wait for what comes next this season.
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