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The 2024 Monaco E-Prix was challenging. There’s no denying it. Bad luck and misfortune plagued our race to present some of the most difficult scenarios we’ve faced all season.
When in such a position, there’s only one way to respond, but our ninth-place finish in the Principality fails to tell our tale of inspiring teamwork and resolute resilience.
From our first double top 10 Qualifying performance of the season to the trials we faced from lights out, our Chief Engineer, Cyril Blais, debriefs our home race in Monaco using insights powered by Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
“Our weekend in Monaco wasn’t without its challenges, but looking back at the difficult scenarios we faced in the race, I think we should be happy with a top 10 finish,” says Cyril.
“As a team, we’re in a good place – everything is heading in the right direction. But after the win in Tokyo and the podium at Misano, we know that we’re capable of achieving so much more than a ninth-place finish.
“The Monaco E-Prix was the middle point of Season 10, and we now only have four race weekends to go so we’re starting to get into the business end of the year.
“In this period, maximising opportunities and scoring points consistently is the most important thing we can do, and we responded well to do that over the weekend.”
Given the importance of track position in Monaco, securing a good Qualifying performance was key, and from Groups A and B, both Maximilian Günther and Jehan Daruvala paved their way to the top 10.
While Jehan narrowly missed out on his second duel appearance of the season, Max progressed to the Quarter-Finals to start the race from eighth – the perfect position from which to fight for points.
“A good Qualifying performance in Monaco can significantly improve chances in the race, and with both drivers starting inside the top 10, we had a realistic hope for a double points finish,” continues Cyril, who was named as Formula E’s Engineer of the Year in 2023.
“Energy management and track position were key factors, but the racing was very robust from the start. After a few laps, it was clear that there was going to be a lot of aggressive overtaking.
“Gaining places early on was important to our strategy, and our drivers did an excellent job to move forward, especially Max who went from eighth to fifth on lap one.
“Having Max and Jehan close together on track opened some strategy options for us, but unfortunately, we had an issue with Attack Mode on Jehan’s car which cost us early on.
“He first tried to activate Attack Mode on lap 12, and then again at four other points during the race, but it didn’t work once, and this unfortunately pushed him outside of the top 10.
“With Jehan out of contention, we had to re-evaluate our strategy with Max, and with the real-time data insights we receive from Hewlett Packard Enterprise, we were able to do this efficiently.
“We used his first Attack Mode to consolidate his position inside the top six, but at a few moments, we were unlucky by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Max would move forward, get boxed in, get shuffled back, and then fight forward again, only for the same thing to happen, and this happened several times in the race.
“On lap 20, Max was then pushed wide by [Oliver] Rowland which cost him three places. The racing was hard, but fair, but the loss of track position, combined with a late Safety Car, restricted how high we could finish.
“With the Safety Car, the race became flat-out because our energy-saving targets became lower, and this then reduced the number of overtaking opportunities on track.
“Max was close to [Sacha] Fenestraz throughout the restart but under those circumstances, ninth was the most we could achieve.
“Jehan on the other hand finished 18th with the fastest lap, but because he was unable to take Attack Mode, he received a time penalty post-race, leaving him 20th.”
Despite some disappointment, hopes remain high within Maserati MSG Racing, with Cyril’s attention switching to preparation for the Berlin E-Prix.
“When I look at how our race unfolded there is some frustration because the result could have been very different, but we were negatively impacted by circumstances beyond our control,” adds Cyril.
“But there are still positives: we still scored points, we had our first double top 10 Qualifying result of the season, Max is driving well, and the result of Jehan’s hard work is starting to show.
“From here we’ll debrief, regroup, and come back stronger for Berlin which is a city we have traditionally performed well at with victories in the past and a podium last season.”
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