Maximilian Guenther has hailed his maiden victory in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship as “a dream come true” after winning the Santiago E-Prix.
After a difficult debut season in Formula E with GEOX Dragon, Guenther joined BMW i Andretti Motorsport for Season 6 and showcased strong pace in the season-opening Diriyah E-Prix.
Building upon this speed in Chile, Guenther secured second on the grid in qualifying for the Santiago race and despite dropping to third in Turn 1, fought forward to take the eventual victory.
Through the tactful and strategic use of Attack Mode, Guenther overtook rival racers Pascal Wehrlein and Mitch Evans to move into the lead, only to lose first place with two-minutes + 1 lap of racing remaining following an aggressive pass by Antonio Felix da Costa.
Closing in on the DS Techeetah driver, however, Guenther overtook da Costa on the final lap with only three corners remaining, becoming Formula E’s youngest winner to date and delivering BMW with back-to-back victories.
“[This] is a dream come true,” said the 22-year-old, who advances to fourth in the Drivers’ Championship following his win in the Chilean capital.
“For all of us, it was about managing the race in hot conditions and it was a straight fight to the finish. Having not made a great start on the dirty side of the track, which actually cost me position, we used the extra power for Attack Mode very cleverly.
“That ultimately allowed me to take the lead. In those temperatures, it was also important to keep an eye on the battery.
“We did that really well and on the final lap, Antonio had to coast a little earlier than me on the straight. I thought to myself it is now or never and went for the overtake. Fortunately, it came off!”
On the second side of the BMW garage, the Santiago E-Prix was not as successful for former championship leader Alexander Sims who retired from the race, slipping down to second in the standings still on 35 points:
“Firstly, I am incredibly pleased for Max and the team,” said the 32-year-old Briton. “Max had an outstanding qualifying, and he and the team did everything right in the race.
“I had good pace in the practice sessions too, but there was not much I could do in qualifying group one.
“The first laps of my race were pretty good. It was typical Formula E racing in the midfield; hard, but good. I then made slight contact with the wall, but damaged my car so severely that I had to retire from the race. As such, the result is obviously disappointing.”
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