Maserati MSG Racing promotes Chief Engineer Cyril Blais to new Formula E Team Principal

Change in top management at Maserati MSG Racing: Cyril Blais took over as team principal on October 1. This was announced by the team in a press release. The 42-year-old Frenchman succeeds team co-owner Jose Maria Aznar Botella, who held the position for one season following the departure of James Rossiter.

This marks a huge step up for Blais: he joined the team from Mahindra Racing at the end of 2021 and initially worked as Lucas di Grassi's race engineer before looking after his successor Maximilian Günther for two seasons. Before the tenth season, he was appointed Chief Engineer before becoming Deputy Team Principal of the Monegasque team towards the middle of the season.

"This new role represents the next stage of my career and I'm grateful for the belief in me that the team stakeholders have shown," said Cyril Blais. "I'm looking forward to focusing more on my leadership skills than pure engineering. One thing that I learned in my Deputy Team Principal role is that the running of a race team is never just down to one individual, and I wouldn't feel as comfortable taking on this role if we didn't have such a strong and experienced leadership group within the team."

"Team has shown strength of character & spirit"

"It's easy to get along well and perform when you are achieving the results you want on track," Blais continued. "But we see the true nature of things when you have challenging times as a team. The strength of character and spirit that the team has demonstrated over the past two seasons has been really enlightening for me and I have a really good understanding of what needs to be done to maintain and build on this. Our main priority ahead of Valencia is ensuring that every member of the team has the optimum working environment and resources necessary for them to be able to perform at their best."

"We are delighted to see Cyril elevated to the role of Team Principal," added Co-Managing Partner and previous Team Principal Jose Maria Aznar Botella. "He truly deserves this and its clear testimony to his hard work and the leadership skills he has demonstrated throughout his time with the team. His extensive knowledge and experience within the sport, coupled with his passion and determination, will undoubtedly drive us towards continued success in the FIA Formula E World Championship. I'd also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the entire team for their continued commitment and hard work, it was an honour to lead them in Season 10."

The first time Blais will be seen in his new role will be in just over a month's time when pre-season testing takes place in Valencia from 4-7 November. Blais will have his first race as team principal on 7 December in Sao Paulo.