Maximilian Guenther wins in front of a packed and spirited crowd in Japan. Guenther’s victory for Maserati MSG Racing was his first of the season and fifth in his career. While the win didn’t skyrocket him to the top of the table; it solidified his place in the battle for early season dominance. Thus far five different drivers have won a race in the Formula E Championship.
“An incredible weekend. We were in the top three in every session and almost got pole position, but securing the win feels so special – everybody did an amazing job, said Gunether. “I felt great in the car, and we’ve taken some good steps as a team in the last few weeks. Since São Paulo, I think we’ve shown that we have really strong pace and today, we converted it into a win. There was a lot of energy management in the race, but we covered ourselves well, perfectly executed the strategy, and the moves, and did everything we had to do. It’s amazing to win Formula E’s first-ever race in Tokyo, and I’m proud. We need to enjoy this moment.”
“Today’s race was incredible, and the result is the realization of months and months of hard work for us as a team. We executed a very well-planned strategy, and we decided to be aggressive – instead of settling for the podium, we chose to push for the win, and I’m very proud of Max and the team for doing such a good job. Jehan was unlucky today and was taken out early in the race through no fault of his own. He’s on a steep learning curve, but we’re continuing to see good progress for him, and hopefully we can target the top 10 with him at Misano.
After five races on four very different tracks, we’ve shown great promise and potential so far this season. With our package, we know that we can be competitive almost every weekend, and that gives us all great motivation. I’m confident that we can achieve great things this year.”
The win puts Guenther in fifth place in the championship 15 points behind championship leader Pascal Wherlein.
Formula E has seen an incredible level of growth in viewership this year. In the first four rounds Formula E has started a snowball effect that has helped their fan base grow by 37%. Formula E also reports a Cumulative TV Audience Surge as this season has seen a remarkable 40% increase in cumulative TV viewership in its first four races, jumping from 62 million in 2023 to 86 million. Live TV viewing audiences have also grown with 61 million tuning in live cumulatively compared to 45 million in the previous season. The Formula E championship is tapping into new markets which will help spread awareness on the future of electric car racing. As sustainable racing gain popularity around the world Formula E has the opportunity to make a wide scale impact on climate changes and keep racing fans happy. We will clsoely follow any developments on this front.
Graphic by Formula E