Confirmed: Max Günther misses Friday's Formula E race in Saudi Arabia after training accident

German Formula E driver Maximilian Günther will miss Friday's race at the Diriyya E-Prix. This was confirmed by his team Maserati MSG Racing on Friday afternoon. Günther had suffered an accident during qualifying that resulted in significant damage to his car. By the time the race starts, his Maserati will not be ready for action again. A deployment of Edo Mortara is not yet determined.

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"Due to the damage incurred in qualifying, Max Günther will unfortunately not be able to participate in the Diriyya E-Prix tonight," said the Monaco-based racing team. Günther had gone off the racing line at turn 11 in the group stage of qualifying and hit the TecPro barrier at quite a high speed at a 45-degree angle (see video below). The German was uninjured, but his Maserati took serious damage to the front end, meaning the monocoque will have to be replaced.

A little later, his teammate Edo Mortara also had an accident. The Italo-Swiss and last year's winner at the Diriyya E-Prix lost the rear of his car in turn 16 and crashed backwards into the wall. The second Maserati in the field also sustained heavy damage, but managed to make it back to the pits under its own power. Maserati immediately began repair work.

Full focus on rebuilding the Mortara car

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"While the repair work continues, the team is fully focused on getting Edo's car ready for the race again," Maserati added. Apparently, James Rossiter's team had to make a decision on which of the two crash drivers to focus its resources on. Apparently, Mortara's car had suffered less damage than Günther's Maserati. Whether Mortara will be able to take part in the race starting at 6 p.m. is still open.

Unfortunately due to damage sustained in qualifying, @maxg_official will not be taking part in this evening's Diriyah E-Prix.

As repair work continues, the team's full focus is on readying Edo's car for the race.#DiriyahEPrix pic.twitter.com/53ChW0Cnfm

- Maserati MSG Racing (@maseratimsg) January 27, 2023

Already in qualifying, a Formula E driver had to sit out: Nico Müller had crashed in the 2nd free practice and damaged his ABT Cupra car. The German team did not get the Swiss driver's car back together in time for qualifying, so Müller will have to start from the back of the field - after all.

Race start in Saudi Arabia is at 6 p.m. German time. ProSieben will broadcast the first of two night races this weekend live on TV and via livestream on 'ran.de'. We will accompany the session as usual in our Hankook Formula E Liveticker.

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