Guenther reflects on Maserati MSG Racing's season so far and racing on home soil

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Guenther reflects on Maserati MSG Racing's season so far and racing on home soil

Maserati MSG Racing's Maximilian Guenther has had a slow start to GEN3, but is hoping his luck will change as he heads to the SABIC Berlin E-Prix for his home race.

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Maserati partnered with MSG Racing for Season 9, as the Monegasque outfit brought the iconic Italian name back to top level of motorsport as the marque heads into its all-electric future alongside world-class competition in the GEN3 era.

“I think GEN3 is a great challenge,” Guenther told fiaformulae.com ahead of the SABIC Berlin E-Prix. “I am really enjoying getting the most out of the car. It's really cool and with more power so it’s a lot faster on the straights and the car is more efficient compared to last year.”

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Despite showing brilliant pace at the pre-season test in Valencia, big results have still yet to materialise for the Monaco-based team. However, although the outfit might be lacking the silverware and points they expected, they’ve been able to learn a lot to go full attack in the second half of the calendar. 

“We were obviously not unhappy about our performance in Valencia, because we knew it seemed to work,” Guenther explains. The 25-year-old topped the timesheets in five out of the seven sessions from the pre-season test with Maserati, naturally leading to big expectations. 

“It was a big shock to still qualify 17th [at the first round in Mexico] - not a good experience. The first two first rounds in particular were pretty challenging for us as a team. But we took great learnings from there, and regrouped very well as a team. We came back very strong performance wise in India, Cape Town and Sao Paulo. We've been into the duels in qualifying and on the front row, and had a very promising pace both on one lap and in the race. Obviously, we didn't score the results yet. But yeah, still a long season to go.”

The next race for Guenther and the rest of the Formula E grid is Berlin. The double-header event is held around the Tempelhof Airport Circuit and is a track the Maserati pilot knows well, winning here in Season 6. 

“It's always great to raise on home soil. It's something very special. I've got good memories from Berlin and won one race there some years ago. Unfortunately, it was during COVID times, so I definitely want to win it again because I really want to know how it feels like standing on the podium and having your own crowd basically cheering for you!

“Cool place, historic places as well in Germany, in the capital. It’s a track that is a big challenge. There are not so many corners, actually, but the corners you do have need to be perfect. You have to have good confidence in the car and then you need to execute a smart race.”

Home soil but not Guenther's only 'home' race

Despite having a home race next up, the three-time race winner is actually most excited for the championship‘s return to the Monte Carlo principality - and we don’t blame him after some incredible racing there over the years.

“Obviously Berlin is special, but yeah now three home races in a row! With Monaco which is the home race of the team, as well my personal one because I can sleep in my own apartment and it's really cool to race in Monaco. It's actually my favourite race of the year because of all the history and just a cool place for racing. 

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“After that you have so many cool venues. This year I really enjoyed going to new places and we've been to a few already. We'll go to Portland as well. But you know, at the end every track has got a cool challenge and for sure the European races are more easy for travelling so to now fly to Berlin is actually a super short trip, same with Rome and London. So no, I think it's great for me because we're always racing this in these capitals. But yeah, if I have to pick one then I would say Monaco is the highlight!”

Joining up with an iconic brand like Maserati and a multi-race-winning squad in MSG Racing might have felt like a no-brainer for Guenther, but there were plenty of other influences for him to join the fold.

“I guess it was around September, when we were in closer talks and it was pretty, pretty straightforward,” the Maserati driver said. 

As well as the great team spirit, Guenther was very complimentary of his new boss and the Team Principal, former professional racing driver, James Rossiter. 

“James is great, because he knows exactly how it feels as a driver and how it feels inside the car. Actually, he has driven and developed this GEN3 car. So he very much knows what he's talking about. This is very refreshing and great for me. And I really enjoyed this exchange, which is definitely a different exchange to my previous experiences in teams.”