"Had the fastest car today" - Max Günther loses safe Formula E podium in London after gearbox failure

Only a technical defect prevented a German one-two victory in Formula E in Saturday's race at the London E-Prix: Max Günther retired six laps before the end in second place with gearbox damage. The Maserati driver had previously put in an impressive recovery race.

Günther had been anything but satisfied with grid position 11 in qualifying. A mistake in the middle sector of his decisive qualifying lap cost him a place in the duel phase. "We had the fastest car today," Günther even said after qualifying when asked by e-Formula.news.

A bit surprisingly, the Maserati driver was able to confirm this in the race: He activated his two attack modes much earlier than the front runners, stayed out of the various skirmishes and drove up to second place with a great pace while still having an energy advantage over his pursuers. On the 34th lap, he rolled out without propulsion.

We go green again.... momentarily! ?

Guenther comes to a stop on track, prompting a Full Course Yellow and neutralising the race ?@Hankook_Sport #LondonEPrix pic.twitter.com/BpmXOQKmir

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) July 20, 2024

"We were very comfortable in second place, had great attacks at the front, but also managed the energy very well. We simply drove an extremely good race. But then, unfortunately, the gearbox broke," said Max Günter at the microphone of e-Formula.news.

The defect had already become apparent: "I had already heard a few laps before that there was a not-so-good noise in the drive. Of course, you hope that the car will last until the end, but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be."

"It was a brilliant race"

However, Günther emphasised the positive aspects of Saturday's race: "I think we managed everything extremely well and did a very good job, including with the attack modes," he said, praising his team's tactics. "I was able to take them very early and was in a good position as a result."

"I think when we look at the race later, there were a lot of good decisions. It was a brilliant race," said Günther.

Günther has another chance of a good result in the final race of the season on Sunday. He is in eighth place in the overall standings. He cannot improve any further, which is why the focus is more on the rear: the lead over Robin Frijns and Stoffel Vandoorne is not very big. In the teams' standings, however, Maserati could still catch McLaren and perhaps even Envision in sixth place.