By Carlo Platella
Maserati’s second season in Formula E ended with the double E-Prix in London. There was no shortage of satisfaction for the Trident in its first two years in the electric championship, with the most notable Maximilian Gunther’s victories in Jakarta and Tokyo. Next year, Maserati will take to the track with a new driver line-up, with Vandoorne and Hughes taking over from Gunther and Daruvala. The Modena-based company’s participation is confirmed for another two seasons, while we wait to learn about Stellantis’ plans for the Gen4 regulatory cycle. The head of Maserati Corse talks about these and many other topics John Thomas Sgromet by FormulaPassion at the end of the Formula E season.
A two-year period of satisfaction
Sgro takes stock of Maserati’s first two years in the full-electric championship: “Formula E was a natural choice for us. and it continues to be so, with many goals achieved. Among these I think back to those of last year, with Max’s first podium [Gunther] in Berlin, the first victory in Jakarta or even the podium at home in Rome. We have moved this inertia from 2023 to 2024, almost always arriving in the points with Gunther in the first part of the season and sometimes also with Jehan [Daruvala]. And then there is the historic victory of Max and Maserati in Japan, the first time Formula E has been held in this country that is absolutely involved in technological innovation”.
The highlight of the season just ended is certainly Gunther’s success in Japan, which however Sgro does not want to compare to the first victory in Jakarta: “The thrill of winning never gets oldit almost seems like I’ve never won before. Then in Tokyo the last laps were extremely exciting, with a continuous exchange of positions between Nissan and Maserati, in which Max managed to keep the lead and take home the victory. For me it’s an emotion comparable to no other, almost as if it were the first time: seeing Max climb onto the podium and take the trophy, while all of us hugged each other on stage in front of an extremely excited audience. These are things that you should never take for granted and that we hope there will always be more of”.
The importance of change
Gunther himself said goodbye to Maserati at the end of Season 10, as did the other Trident driver Jehan Daruvala. Giovanni Tommaso Sgro thanks both of them, spending words of affection especially for the German driver: “As I always say, once you are part of Maserati and you wear the Trident on your chest and back you will always be part of the Maserati familyregardless of whether you are still in the team or not. Max will always be that driver who gave us the first podium and the first victory in many years”.
Stoffel Vandoorne and Jake Hughes will take their place next year. The head of Maserati Corse explains the reasons for such a decision: “Choices are made for good reasons. In this case we decided to take this step forward with Stoffel and Jake to bring new opportunities to the team, without forgetting of course the effort and commitment of Jehan and Max, whom we thank. […] Sometimes change can also bring new energy. With Vandoorne and Hughes we have an extremely effective pairing. Stoffel won the championship in Season 8, while Jake proves to be an extremely prepared driver. I believe that both can help each other and bring important results to the Maserati MSG Racing Team”.
The return on investment
The most important achievement of this first two years in Formula E remains having brought the Modena brand back to racing: “It’s always great to see Maserati on the track, where we were born. When you see the Trident racing again and returning to its origins, net of performances it’s always positive for all of us and for our fans. […] Beyond the results and having set foot on the podium, these have been two positive years. We have reported the story of a Maserati born on the trackwith a truly unique story. We have once again managed to present this narrative to both historic fans and those who discovered us thanks to the 100% electric circuit“.
“We have had an enthusiastic response both from those who already knew us and from those who were not aware of the Maserati history, the victories at the Indianapolis 500, in Formula 1 with Fangio or in the GT class with the MC12 and Andrea Bertolini, to which we now add the victories in Formula E. Putting this whole package together we are very happy, because on the media front the strength of Maserati has been brought back to the public all over the world”.
The return on investment, therefore, is promoted with flying colours: “From the point of view of general visibility, the feedback was very favorable. We managed to have a media response not only from the motorsport sector press, but also from the one more attentive to the mobility of the future, allowing us to communicate the message to our followers of our Folgore range, 100% electric. […] We produce some of the most iconic cars in the worldlike the Gran Turismo Folgore, which we also took to the track during some stages of the Formula E with hot laps”.
Gen4 Node
Despite the positive impact that Formula E has had for Maserati, the Stellantis group has not yet made a decision on whether to join the next cycle of fourth-generation cars. However, Sgro promises that news will arrive soon: “It is not a non-decision. When there is a group as large as ours, not only Maserati, but Stellantis motorsport in general, the evaluations are made very carefully. Many details are considered and many levers that have to do with motorsport are measured. A decision will be announced shortly. We can imagine that before the Valencia tests in November we will already have something to communicate.”
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