"Question of guilt 100% clear to me" - Günther describes Formula E crash with Mortara in London

The first Formula E race in London had barely begun for German driver Maximilian Günther when it was already over. The reason for this was contact with Mahindra driver Edoardo Mortara. While Günther clearly blames Mortara, the Swiss driver insists he did not see his colleague. The race officials ruled it a racing accident.

Günther had a good qualifying session: He finished second in Group A behind Nick Cassidy, but was then unable to prevail against Dutchman Nyck de Vries in the quarter-finals, meaning he started from sixth place. However, the DS Penske driver was unable to convert this good position into valuable points, describing the first lap of the race to e-Formula.news as simply "short".

Günther recalls initial contact in the second corner with one of the Maserati drivers (Stoffel Vandoorne) and subsequent contact with his teammate Jake Hughes, which had already cost him several places. But the decisive incident was contact with Mahindra driver Edoardo Mortara, which sent him sideways into the wall and destroyed the front axle.

Not the start anybody wanted 😬@Marvel Fantastic Four #LondonEPrix pic.twitter.com/kzMIH9GQx7

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) July 26, 2025

Mortara: "It wasn't intentional"

Mortara told e-Formula.news that he didn't see Günther: "I was in front, focusing on the cars in front of me. (...) There was not really a lot of gap on the left and I was not really expecting Max to be there. So, I did not really see him. It wasn't intentional."

The broken front axle not only had a negative impact on the German's race, but also on several of his competitors. The stopped car on the track meant that the two McLarens and Lola's Zane Maloney were stuck behind the DS Penske and lost a number of places.

FIA: "No further action"

The contact between the Swiss and German drivers was investigated, but the FIA decided not to impose a penalty.

Günther says: "The question of who was at fault is 100 per cent clear to me, but that doesn't matter because, at the end of the day, my race is over. My focus is now entirely on tomorrow. I think we have a few good ideas on how to make the package even faster. Then hopefully I'll have a good final day of racing."

On Sunday, the racing action continues in the English capital at 11:00 a.m. (CEST) with the third free practice session. e-Formula.news will also be covering the final day of racing of the season as usual with reports and live ticker updates.