Formula E Diriyah ePrix I

Guenther: Maserati MSG "in position to fight" Jaguar/Porsche in Diriyah E-Prix

Maximilian Guenther believes that the Maserati MSG Formula E team is “in position to fight against” the dominant Jaguar and Porsche powertrain users in the Diriyah E-Prix double-header.

Stefan Mackley

Edited: Jan 26, 2024, 9:20 AM

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Maximilian Gunther, Maserati Racing, Maserati Tipo Folgore, Nick Cassidy, Jaguar TCS Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6

The German driver enters the two races in Saudi Arabia having taken fourth place in the season-opening Mexico City E-Prix earlier this month, where he was the only non-Jaguar or Porsche powertrain user to finish inside the top five.

Having remained in the leading group throughout after starting third, Guenther is hopeful that his and the team's good start to the season can continue.

"Definitely we don't arrive here as the favourites, that's definitely the Jaguar and the Porsche cars," said Guenther, who finished Thursday's FP1 session ninth.

"Based on Mexico we closed some of the gap and we are in position to fight against them, to compete against them. We were very strong in qualifying and the race was competitive [in Mexico].

"It was only one race, so we need to keep focused on extracting the most from our package.

"It's a very different track here and I guess a proper trend of performance we will see after a few races in."

Last season Guenther claimed one win in Jakarta and a further three podiums during the campaign, but failed to score a single point in the opening six races en route to seventh overall in the standings.

He believes the off-season provided the chance for a reset ahead of the new campaign and for Maserati MSG to close the gap to the leading teams as evidenced in Mexico.

Maximilian Gunther, Maserati Racing

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Maximilian Gunther, Maserati Racing

"I think we worked really well over the off-season, we came to Mexico with a really good package," he added. "Mexico and Diriyah were very difficult for us last year so was a great turnaround to start the season and let's see what's possible here.

"I've got a good feeling in the car, the team is feeling really good with the momentum that we already have from the second half of last year and now with this good start in Mexico.

"[Consistency] is the key in general in racing but especially in this championship because it's extremely competitive. What you want is to always score points."

Guenther's thoughts regarding consistency were also echoed by team principal, Cyril Blais, if Maserati MSG is to stand a chance of challenging Porsche and Jaguar in the title battle.

"We hope that we can bring the fight to those guys," he said. "The biggest thing for us is consistency. It sounds a bit cliche but it's especially true in Formula E.

"For us last year our highs were very high but our lows were very low.

"Those guys were so strong because they don't have a bogey circuit, they've never outside the top 10. That's what we're aiming for this year."

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