FE | Maserati triumphs in Tokyo: a victory built on a Trident

Formula E continues to be an unpredictable sport that knows how to offer emotions and races that are decided right under the checkered flag. Also in Japan, in what was a historic first for the Land of the Rising Sun and for the electric world championship, Max Gunther and Oliver Rowland were separated at the finish line by just seven tenths, with the German giving Maserati the second victory in the category, repeating the one obtained last year in Indonesia.

The Italian dawn was thus tinged with the colors of the Trident brand, at the end of an extremely tactical race. In Tokyo, not only the driver's contribution was central, but also that of the team, especially from a strategic point of view and Maserati did not disappoint, managing the race tactics in a masterly manner.

On a particularly tortuous and difficult track like the Japanese one, which immediately received positive opinions from the drivers for its high technical level, qualifying was fundamental. Precisely due to its characteristics that have made it one of the slowest circuits in the championship, giving several opportunities to regenerate the battery, which is why the FIA ​​decided to assign only 32 kWh for 33 laps, which then extended to 35 return as the Safety Car enters.

If in Sao Paulo there was a very eventful race with several comebacks, both from the center of the group and from the back of the grid, precisely because of the long straights which made the recovery phase decisive in aiming for victory, in Tokyo starting from the front was fundamental. After the good performances at the start of the season, the ambitions at Maserati were to at least finish in the top 5, perhaps dreaming of something more.

Clearly, the choice to limit the energy available for the Japanese ePrix to just 32 kWh meant that battery management still had its relevance in the economy of the race, otherwise we would have witnessed a “flat-out” race ” from start to finish. The objective of the championship, however, is to enhance the energy efficiency of each Powertrain, which is why the total energy value is revised from appointment to appointment. This meant that, even though it was not a race based mainly on that aspect, the teams and drivers were still forced to think strategically, making overtaking possible despite the particularly narrow track.

A success built on qualification

The first element was therefore that of qualification. Despite a subdued start to the world championship in 2023, Maserati had shown on several occasions that it could compete in qualifying, reaching the head-to-head phase several times. However, the clear difficulties of the Stellantis engine over long distances often took the team out of points in the race: only in the second half of the season did we begin to observe clear steps forward, on which to build a more concrete start to the world championship in 2024.

Thanks to the good work done during the break between Season 9 and Season 10, especially at the software level, given that the hardware side of the project remained frozen as per the regulations, clear steps forward were noted which allowed the brand of the Trident to fight with a certain consistency for the top part of the ranking. For example, although each team develops the software independently, DS, which shares the same Powertrain with Maserati, worked above all on braking management, so it is conceivable that the Italian company also went in the same direction.

Maximilian Gunther, Maserati Racing, Maserati Tipo Folgore, Oliver Rowland, Nissan Formula E Team, Nissan e-4ORCE 04

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

As in last year, this season too Maserati maintained its good performances in qualifying, so much so that at the start of the championship the entry into the duels was at stake on several occasions. In Japan this characteristic was central to the economy of the weekend: with very similar cars, it is not only the driver's skill that counts, but also that of the team in best preparing the tires for the single lap, very resistant but also extremely sensitive.

Each coverage has its own ideal window and, in Formula E, this is anything but a simple exercise, as demonstrated by the differences in terms of performance between two teams that share the same engine, such as DS and Maserati, or Nissan and McLaren. The Japanese brand achieved pole, while the British team, winners in Brazil two weeks ago, failed to repeat both due to an error by Sam Bird and performances that did not live up to the car's expectations.

“We are all close, we also saw McLaren in Sao Paulo, there are many fast teams. Then obviously there are races in which the energy management aspect is more limiting than in others. Where it matters most, perhaps you see a slightly different order in terms of values ​​on the pitch, but in a race like today's, if you have a good pace you can do very well”, explained Gunther, underlining how few details can revolutionize the FE the ranking.

The importance of strategy: teamwork

After losing second place at the start starting from the dirty side of the grid, Gunther managed to get back behind poleman Oliver Rowland after the first Attack Mode spin, overtaking Edoardo Mortara again. Initially the German had tried something different on a strategic level, delaying the moment of activation of the extra boost, but this was not enough to move the rankings. The overtaking on the Swiss Mahindra therefore took place on the track, by force.

Edoardo Mortara, Mahindra Racing, Mahindra M9Electro, Maximilian Gunther, Maserati Racing, Maserati Tipo Folgore

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

An important maneuver in the economy of the race, especially in an extremely tactical first part of the race, but the decisive phase was the one after the Safety Car came in due to the debris left by a contact in the center of the group between Mitch Evans and Robin Frijns. Overtaking Mortara had a double effect: not only did he put him in a position where he could actually attack Rowland, but it also reduced the risk of being attacked by the factory and customer Porsches, which had become quite threatening towards the halfway point of the races, especially that of Wehrlein, who had already cleared both periods of extra power with a good strategy.

“I'm proud of how we handled the whole weekend. We finished in the top three in every session, so winning the race is fantastic. We managed the race in the ideal way, even if some circumstances didn't help us, like for the first Attack Mode, we tried something different but we remained behind Rowland and Mortara”, said the team's representative.

“Then I tried to attack, because it was fundamental for our race. Rowland had an excellent race from the point of view of managing his pace and energy, but I managed to surprise him in turn 10 and that changed our race.”

A tactical competition on energy management

In fact, in the moments following the neutralization phase, Gunther then found the decisive overtake on Rowland during the twenty-fifth lap, when the Briton was trying to manage the battery. Although it was not a race decided only on energy management, an aspect that allowed us to partially fill the gap in terms of efficiency that the Stellantis Powertrain still suffers from Porsche and Jaguar, clearly having only 32 kW available still represented a limit.

Maximilian Gunther, Maserati Racing, Maserati Tipo Folgore, Oliver Rowland, Nissan Formula E Team, Nissan e-4ORCE 04

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

Spending so much time without a wake, as Rowland did, however had a negative effect in terms of energy management, so much so that towards the middle of the race he could count on approximately 1% less than Gunther, even if the latter had to yet to complete his second Attack Mode. With Gen 3 cars, which don't have the same body elements around the wheels as the old Gen 2, staying in the wake really makes a difference and saves battery.

The German made good use of the opportunity, completing the overtaking in turn ten, and then attempting the useful sprint to build that small treasure necessary to activate the second period of extra boost as per the regulations.

“In terms of pace, I had confidence all weekend, so I was looking forward to getting into the lead and understanding what I could do, because I felt comfortable from the start, even when I was in second and third. position. But the fact is, when you're not trailing, you use a lot more energy. So, when I took the lead it's true that I was stretching, but I was also consuming too much energy. It's like a kind of balance. We pushed to get Attack Mode and keep the lead, as we did, then from then on it was just a matter of surviving.”

Another test of efficiency in Misano

“Every victory is special in its own way. Obviously this one in Japan is special, because we started the season well, I think we've made some good changes in the last few weeks. We also went well in Sao Paulo, we were probably as fast as this weekend, but if you start last, you can do little.”

Maserati MSG Racing team members, Jose Aznar Botella, Maserati MSG Racing, Maximilian Gunther, Maserati Racing

Photo credit: Motorsport.com / Japan

“There we managed to get into the points and prepared for Japan. Already a top 5 or a podium would have been fantastic, but winning this race is fantastic”, said Gunther at the end of the race, highlighting not only the work put in by Maserati for the Tokyo stage, but also the work carried out in the last months, which has allowed us to make great strides forward, especially on energy management in the race, the real Achilles' heel of the Stellantis Powertrain compared to Jaguar and Porsche.

The city race in the Japanese metropolis presented itself as a challenge in which it was essential to put together various pieces of the puzzle, from the single lap to the strategic ability in the race: knowing how to read the various phases and understand what was the ideal moment to attack was an aspect key. On the contrary, Misano will be a different test, where energy efficiency will once again count above all. Gunther revealed that he has not yet tried the track on the simulator, he will do so in the next few days, but the layout designed for Formula E still seems very fast.

Apart from a few chicanes designed to allow for a few more opportunities in terms of recharging the battery, the track also features long straights, albeit not to the extremes of Brazil. From a certain point of view, Misano is more reminiscent of the opening ePrix in Mexico, where Maserati did well: for the Trident brand it is the home race, one more reason to try to aim high. The championship remains open, especially in terms of values ​​in the field race after race: in five events, five different teams, with five different drivers, triumphed.