FE | Maserati triumph: Gunther beats Rowland and wins in Tokyo

Porsche, Andretti, Jaguar, McLaren and now Maserati. The start of Season 10 of Formula E offers emotions and many different winners, with five teams capable of achieving success in as many events. The Italian dawn opens with the colors of the Trident, because in Japan it is Maserati who achieves the stage triumph with a well-managed race by Max Gunther, capable of repeating last year's victory in Indonesia by giving the second success in category to the team after the change of identity.

A race masterfully managed by the German, despite the position he lost to Edoardo Mortara when the lights went out after starting from the dirty side of the grid. On a winding track where qualifying and track position are decisive, battery management and the ideal timing in which to exploit the attack modes were equally fundamental. From this point of view, the Maserati garage read the race perfectly, especially after the Safety Car intervened after about twenty laps.

Gunther, who at that moment was second after overtaking Mortara again on the first lap of attack mode, then found the decisive overtake on poleman Oliver Rowland during the twenty-fifth lap, when the Briton was trying to manage the battery. The German immediately attempted to move forward and that little treasure was fundamental, because it allowed him to create the gap necessary to take advantage of the second period of attack mode and still remain in the lead.

If before the second activation the Maserati standard bearer had tried to push to build the necessary delta to stay in the lead, in the subsequent phases we instead saw the opposite approach, i.e. maximum management to save battery and recover the energy previously expended. A careful race conduct which then allowed him to cross the finish line ahead of everyone with around seven tenths of a second over Rowland.

Nissan clearly leaves the home event with a lot of satisfaction, thanks to the pole and the third consecutive podium, but there are also some regrets because the victory was only a few tenths away. The one set by Rowland was a very tactical ePrix, aimed at keeping the group compact after the pole achieved in the morning, particularly in the first part of the race: the only moments in which he attempted to push forward were those necessary to activate the boost of extra power, building the gap needed to stay in the lead.

However, remaining in the lead for so long, even on a city track, had a negative impact on the residual charge, so much so that towards the middle of the race the Briton could count on a lower battery percentage than Gunther. It was precisely in a management phase after the Safety Car that the Maserati driver was able to surprise Rowland and take the lead of the race, building the foundations for the stage success. Aside from the disappointment of missing out on victory after taking pole, this is still the third consecutive podium for the Nissan driver after those in Saudi Arabia and Brazil.

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

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

Third step of the podium for Jake Dennis, who did well to immediately recover a position at the start by starting from the clean side of the grid. Despite some borderline duels, Andretti also took advantage of the presence of teammate Norman Nato very well, particularly after the Safety Car. The Frenchman, who was right behind Dennis at the time, opened the gap so that the reigning world champion could activate attack mode and stay in fourth place. Then taking advantage of a duel between Rowland and Antonio Felix da Costa, Dennis then recovered the position on the Portuguese Porsche, thus gaining the last step of the podium.

Fourth and fifth place went to the two cars of the German brand, with Da Costa ahead of his teammate Pascal Wehrlein. The German, who now finds himself tied on points at the top of the world championship together with Nick Cassidy, was the author of a fluctuating race. Although he was in a position of relative advantage in managing the attack mode, a duel with Dennis caused him to lose several positions and also damaged the front wing. Wehrlein then attempted a comeback, but only finished in fifth place.

Mortara, who had taken second place from Gunther at the start by starting from the clean side of the grid, had finished in sixth place, but was disqualified after the race for excessive energy. The disqualification promoted Nico Muller of ABT to sixth position, author of a good performance since qualifying, bringing home important points for the German team. Seventh was a two-faced Nick Cassidy: negative in qualifying, so much so that he started from the back rows of the grid, excellent in the race, recovering to seventh place, even though it was a day in which the Jaguars did not impress.

Jake Dennis, Andretti Global, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3, Nick Cassidy, Jaguar TCS Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

It was a difficult day for teammate Mitch Evans, who finished fourteenth after stopping to replace the front wing following contact with Robin Frijns in an overtaking attempt that was too close to the limit. The debris prompted the race direction to bring in the Safety Car, thus extending the race by another two laps. Robin Frijns was eighth, despite finishing the race without his front wing due to a contact with Norman Nato: the Andretti driver was given a five-second penalty which excluded him from the points.

Sergio Sette Camara did very well with the ERT who, on a more tortuous circuit where energy management matters less than in other events, took home a good points finish after a good fourth place in qualifying. Completing the points in tenth place is the second Nissan of Sacha Fenestraz.

Outside the top ten were the two DSs of Vergne and Vandoorne, as well as the two McLarens of Sam Bird, winner in Brazil, and Jake Hughes, with the latter, against his will, the protagonist of a long crash into the barriers after a contact with Lucas di Grassi.