...By Roland Peterson for TDPel Media.
Maserati MSG Racing, the only racing team from Monaco, faced a difficult afternoon at the 2023 Monaco E-Prix.
Despite showing good pace throughout the weekend, the team fell short of their early potential.
Maserati MSG Racing returned to the podium in Berlin two weeks before the race in Monaco, but their efforts were not enough to secure a podium finish on home turf.
Drivers Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Günther both advanced to the Formula E’s duel stages from Group B and fought hard in the head-to-heads.
Although Mortara lost in the Quarter-Finals, Günther advanced to the penultimate stage but was beaten by Jake Hughes.
The duo started the race from fourth and seventh on the grid.
After adopting an aggressive energy-saving strategy at the start, both drivers lost ground in the opening phase of the race.
However, they rallied their efforts after the opening third and were in a battle for a place inside the top five.
Running in-formation, Günther held fifth place after overtaking Dan Ticktum and Jake Hughes on laps 13 and 14.
On lap 17, both drivers activated Attack Mode and set out to recover after losing track position.
However, a stack-up ahead and an evasive maneuver from Günther caused Mortara’s front wing to be damaged.
On lap 22, Günther collided with Ticktum when trying to overtake the NIO 333 driver, causing Günther to crash into the wall and out of the race.
This left Mortara as the remaining challenger, but with damaged machinery, the Swiss-Italian driver’s best efforts were not enough to secure points, and he took the chequered flag in 12th place.
Team Principal James Rossiter expressed disappointment with the race, describing the new style of Formula E racing as frustrating.
Mortara also expressed frustration, citing a lack of options in the situation that caused his front wing to be broken.
Despite the disappointment, there were positives to take away, and the team looks forward to the next race in Jakarta.
In summary, Maserati MSG Racing faced a challenging afternoon on home turf, falling short of their early potential at the 2023 Monaco E-Prix.
Both drivers showed clear pace throughout the weekend, but after adopting an aggressive energy-saving strategy, they lost ground in the opening phase of the race.
The team’s best efforts were not enough to secure points, with Mortara finishing in 12th place.
Despite the disappointment, there were positives to take away, and the team looks forward to the next race in Jakarta.
