Günther disappointed after setback at DS debut: "Result doesn't reflect our performance at all"

Max Günther just missed out on the points in eleventh place on his return to Jay Penske's Formula E team. In the end, the German was 0.314 seconds down on Stoffel Vandoorne in the Maserati, who finished tenth and thus scored the last points in the championship. Nevertheless, Günther was very satisfied with his performance and that of the team.

As early as qualifying, it was clear that the DS Penske driver was a force to be reckoned with in Brazil: Günther finished third in his group and entered the duel phase. In the quarter-final with four-wheel drive and 350 kW power, he clearly beat Edoardo Mortara, who had been even faster in the group phase with rear-wheel drive and 300 kW. It was only in the semi-finals that Günther was beaten by Pascal Wehrlein.

In the race, the German drove in the leading group for a long time from P4 on the grid and managed his energy well until he was in the wrong place at the wrong time: Günther attacked Nick Cassidy on the outside in the battle for third place, while Wehrlein was on the inside at the same time. The three cars touched and Günther ended up in the wall.

The front wing on the DS Penske was changed during the subsequent race stoppage, so that Günther was at least able to finish the race. However, not much was possible from 14th on the grid and he crossed the line in twelfth place. The subsequent penalty for Norman Nato moved Günther up another place.

"99 per cent were really good"

"This result doesn't reflect our performance today or this weekend at all," said a disappointed Max Günther after the race. "To be honest, I'm very happy with the race, even though we didn't score any points, because we simply had very good quality and performance here. I put the car on the second row of the grid in qualifying and drove a very good race. 99 per cent was really good. We made great decisions as a team, made good moves, managed the energy well and were in a good position with four or five laps to go."

"Then there was the incident in turn 5 with Pascal and Nick, which unfortunately took us out of the race," he continued. "Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do. But that's Formula E - it's chaotic. You always try to stay out of these things as much as you can. But it doesn't always work. Today was one of those days. But I'm really looking forward to the upcoming races."

The season continues in the new year: the second round of the 2024/25 Formula E World Championship will take place on 11 January with the Mexico City E-Prix.