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But in sporting terms, what is the meaning of success?
Is achievement defined by records and trophies, or is it underscored by the journey a team must embark on to make it to the top?
At Misano, Maserati MSG Racing did more than just return to the podium. Together we overcame obstacles, embraced challenges, and fought until the very end.
Following on from Maximilian Günther’s top three finish on Saturday and Jehan Daruvala’s first points in Formula E on Sunday, our Chief Engineer, Cyril Blais, debriefs our weekend in Italy, using insights powered by Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
“Our weekend at Misano was positive overall,” says Cyril, who was named as Formula E’s Engineer of the Year in 2023. “We finished on the podium on Saturday, and Jehan scored his first points of the season on Sunday, so all in all, we can be happy.
“Misano was another new track for Formula E, but before we came into the weekend, we knew that we were in for another peloton race because of the circuit’s energy sensitivity.
“Based on our simulations, we knew that Misano would have a more extreme style of racing, something closer to Portland last year as opposed to what we saw in São Paulo in March.
“In the peloton, there is a lot of jockeying for position, and it can become a bit of a lottery. Having a good preparation and then executing a clean race can more often than not lead to a good result.
“Because we had the rookie FP0 session, we were able to collect more data than usual over the weekend, but unfortunately, we had an issue on Max’s car which cost us a lot of track time in FP1.
“We resolved the issue for FP2 to get back to normal running, but we were still slightly on the back foot.
“Being able to recover well after setbacks is critical in motorsport, and I think we rose to the challenge. The whole team pulled together, and we were able to have a very good turnaround.”
That turnaround came in Qualifying for Race One when Max, who only had 29 laps under his belt from practice, progressed to the duel stages to secure seventh on the grid on Saturday.
“The races we had at Misano ran over different distances – Saturday’s was 28 laps long, and on Sunday, we raced for 26 laps,” continues Cyril. “Race One was the most challenging in terms of energy management, but we started well with Max.
“On Saturday, it was very important to settle into a good energy saving rhythm from the start, but at the same time, we also had to push forward to be in a good position to strike at the end.
“Thanks to real-time data insights we receive from Hewlett Packard Enterprise, we were able to precisely monitor our lap-by-lap energy consumption while simultaneously evolving our strategy to match the race’s pace.
“The strategy we executed was very intelligent, but most importantly, Max kept his head down, kept cool, and drove a clean race.
“He finished fourth on the road but gained a podium because of [Antonio Felix] Da Costa’s disqualification post-race for a technical infraction.”
While Max returned to the top three, Jehan faced poor luck in Race One after the 25-year-old staged a strong recovery drive to threaten for points, only to be cruelly removed from contention on the final lap.
Nevertheless, with strong pace in hand, iron focus, and motivation at an all-time high, Jehan rallied on Sunday to claim a breakthrough result in Race Two.
“As the only rookie on the grid this season, Jehan has been playing catch up to the rest of the field all year, but in every session, we’ve seen him take steps forward,” explains Chief Engineer, Cyril.
“After seeing his pace and energy management on Saturday, we were confident that he could be in for a good result in Race Two, if our performance aligned.
“Unfortunately, he ran into some issues in Qualifying, but from what we saw in Race One, we knew that it would be possible to move forward quite easily. Because there was so much overtaking, our starting position didn’t shape our race too heavily in reality.
“The Safety Car on lap eight played into our advantage, and with the pack bunched up, he staged a very impressive comeback to fight into the top 10.
“He finished 10th at the line but was promoted to ninth post-race, which was an incredible achievement. We’re very proud to see just how far he’s come this season.
“On Max’s side, he deserved more on Sunday. We had some radio issues at the start of the race, which meant he couldn’t hear all of our communications, including his energy targets, but this problem cleared itself during the Safety Car.
“We used our Attack Modes well, and we were on course for another top five finish but an incident in the final laps cost him a lot of track position.
“Max did finish ninth, but he received a time penalty for what was, in our opinion, a racing incident. It’s frustrating, because it does feel like a missed opportunity, but I know we’ll bounce back.”
With seven races now complete, Formula E’s 10th season will reach its mid-point on April 27 at the World Championship’s crown jewel event and Maserati MSG Racing’s home race: the Monaco E-Prix.
“The next race of the season is the Monaco E-Prix, and it’s the one we look forward to the most, not just because it’s a special circuit but because it’s our home race as a team,” adds Cyril.
“I think we’ll see a more conventional style of racing over the weekend – something very different to Misano, but still including energy management and overtaking.
“After scoring points in every race this season, a victory in Tokyo, and then another podium over the Misano weekend, there’s no doubt that we’re in a strong position as a team.
“Our morale and ambition is in a great place. We’ll debrief Misano, identify where we can improve, and do everything we can to maintain our current form in Monaco.”
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