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Maximilian Günther (Maserati MSG) perfectly managed the second free practice session of the 6th Monaco E-Prix and set the best time in 1:29.269. That’s only 7/1000 ahead of Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS), who was the fastest in the first session earlier this morning.
This nice performance marks the return of the Italian brand in the Principality, over fifty years after the last participation of Maserati in a Monaco Grand Prix, with an engine placed in 1969 in the Cooper of Vic Elford. Since then, the Monegasque circuit has seen many vintage Maseratis pass on its track during its historic event, but Formula E is a new adventure that looks pretty encouraging from the start, judging by the performance of the drivers entered by the former Venturi team, still based in Monaco.
Behind Günther, who has already won three times in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, and Evans, who just won two races out of three in Sao Paulo and Berlin, 3rd place in this session was taken by Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti). The Briton finished ahead of Sergio Sette Camara (NIO 333), Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske), the reigning world champion, Sam Bird in the other Jaguar, and Sébastien Buemi aiming for a third success in the Principality.
Günther‘s time in his brand new GEN3 electric single-seater is already six tenths of a second better than Evans‘ pole position mark last year (1:29.839). This is very promising for the next big event of the day, from 10.30 a.m. onwards: a 2-phase qualifying session for the 6th Monaco E-Prix.
The man in form at the moment, Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS), was the fastest in the first of the two free practice sessions for this 6th Monaco E-Prix. The New Zealander, who has just won two of the last three races, set the fastest lap in 1:30.361, ahead of the reigning world champion, Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske).
By way of comparison, Evans, who finished second last year behind Vandoorne, managed to go almost one second faster than Nyck de Vries‘ time in the first free practice of the 2022 edition. Proof, once again this season, that the new GEN3 electric cars are more efficient, thanks to higher power and a radical design, among various assets.
Behind Evans and Vandoorne, the first surprise of the day came from the Maserati MSG drivers, Maximilian Günther and Edoardo Mortara, who immediately showed the ambitions of the former Venturi team, still based in the Principality. They were ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne, winner here in 2019, in the other DS Penske, and René Rast, the new kid on the block at NEOM McLaren. Two serious customers, Sébastien Buemi (Envision Racing), in 8th place, and Sam Bird in 10th, in the other Jaguar, also made their mark.
The only minor incident in this session was when Lucas di Grassi, the former FIA Formula E champion, lost the rear of his Mahindra at Sainte-Dévote and prematurely interrupted his session.
Next free practice session, from 9:10 am on Circuit de Monaco.
My first is the reigning world champion and has already won in Monaco, in GP2 and Formula E.
My second has just won two races out of three this year and is a Monaco resident, just like my first.
My third lives very close to the Principality and has driven for Monegasque team Venturi.
Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske), New Zealander Mitch Evans (Jaguar) and Cannes-born Norman Nato (Nissan) have fond memories of Monaco races, so they talked about them in front of ACM cameras.
In a long format posted on the ACM YouTube channel, Vandoorne recalls his first visit to Monaco, in 2013, racing in the World Series by Renault. For Evans, it was for a GP3 race, in 2012, in his debut season concluded by the championship title. For Nato, it was at the Monaco Kart Cup, then a prestige race for all the young kartmen of the region. In the last edition of the event, Charles Leclerc also won, just like Nato, but in a different category.
“It’s a special place, everything is clean, there are beautiful cars in the streets, and it’s a great place to relax between races,” says the Belgian. When the Mercedes EQ team left the sport, after four consecutive world titles (drivers and constructors, two years in a row), Vandoorne started a new adventure with DS Penske, alongside Jean-Eric Vergne. He really appreciates the Monaco circuit and will enjoy it even more on Saturday at the wheel of a more powerful, lighter and therefore faster GEN3 single-seater.
For Evans, one of the major players in Formula E, Monaco has become a second home, several thousand kilometers from his native country. Like Vandoorne, he especially likes the Bureau de Tabac section on the harbour, because it is “very fast” and “difficult to get it right from start to finish.” For Nato, the favorite section is the Place du Casino, because “it’s an incredible feeling to pass there, very fast, with a race car”.
“It’s a perfect circuit for Formula E, you can be very creative and overtake just about anywhere,” adds Evans, pointing out the number of overtakes at any Monaco E-Prix, compared to other categories racing every year in May in the streets of the Principality. The other interest of Monaco, for the three local drivers, is that the asphalt is always of good quality, and often new, which ensures a very good grip.
For Nato, the Monaco E-Prix is always an “exciting” race and for Evans it is above all “unpredictable”. So the Kiwi driver does not make any prediction for Saturday, but he would like to do slightly better than usual: he almost won in 2021 and finished second in 2022, behind a Belgian guy called… Stoffel Vandoorne!
In order to make the Monaco stop even more special, ABB, the global title partner of the FIA Formula E World Championship, announced this week that it was going to honour the extraordinary level of intelligent and efficient driving on display in the most innovative motorsport series in the world.
The ABB Driver of Progress award will recognise the driver who successfully balances the demands between pace, overtaking and energy efficiency to ultimately make up the most positions in a race. A league table recording the positions gained by every driver will be revealed immediately after each of the eight remaining races. The driver finishing the season with the most positions gained across all 16 races will be named the ABB Driver of Progress for Season 9.
Rewarding intelligent, dynamic and efficient racing
The new award will spotlight Formula E drivers who demonstrate the highest degree of skill and efficiency, regardless of starting position on the grid or where they finish on the podium and is sure to reveal powerful examples of outstanding competitive driving performance.
Positions gained per driver will be added over the 16-race season to produce an overall winner who will be named ABB Driver of Progress. Losing places or failing to finish a race for any reason will result in a zero score.
Lotterer in the lead, ahead of Wehrlein
Heading into Round 9 in Monaco, Andre Lotterer (Avalanche Andretti) tops the ABB Driver of Progress table with 46 positions gained in eight races to date, ahead of Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche), the current leader of the Drivers’ World Championship, with 43 positions gained.
Monegasque schoolboys and girls had an unforgettable day, on Thursday, meeting Formula E drivers before Round 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. A unique experience to discover first hand some of the secrets of electric motorsport.
Students from Charles III College, FANB and St Charles School had the chance to meet Formula E drivers on Thursday: Jean-Eric Vergne, Pascal Wehrlein, Antonio Felix da Costa, Oliver Rowland, Lucas Di Grassi, Andre Lotterer, Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Günther were present to answer the questions of the novice journalists and to discuss their passion in a simple and friendly atmosphere.
To make this experience unforgettable, the drivers then took part in a signing and photo session for the greatest pleasure of the youngsters, who left with a lot of memories. They had been able to discover the world of Formula E and to better understand the ecological and sustainable aspects of electric motorsport. It was also an opportunity for the drivers to share their passion with the new generation and to make them aware of environmental issues.
The visit of the drivers to Monegasque schools was, again, a great success. It is now part and parcel of the official calendar of events during a Monaco E-Prix. And it makes the Monaco stop on the Formula E world tour much more than a simple race. It is also a moment of sharing for young and old in the Principality.
One year after their official presentation in Monaco, the new single-seaters of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, named GEN3, will finally be on track this Saturday. More powerful, lighter and faster, they break records and ensure more overtaking in races. The show will therefore be intense on Saturday for this 6th visit of the most innovative category of modern motorsport. Not to mention a line-up of top drivers who will try to reach the Holy Grail: a prestigious win in the Principality.
Since the beginning of this Season 9, the GEN3s have been breaking records. We are already halfway through the season and the numbers are staggering. During the South African round in Cape Town, rookie Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan) achieved the highest average speed in the history of the discipline, at 154.987 km/h, to obtain his first pole position in his first full season. In Berlin last month, at the atypical Tempelhof Airport circuit, the record for the number of overtaking maneuvers in a single race was broken (190), as was the number of lead changes (20, over 43 laps) and the number of different leaders in the same race (8).
With this GEN3 “made for Monaco”, as can be seen on banners all around the circuit, Formula E is more animated, more disputed, more open, and therefore a greater number of drivers have a chance to win. The proof is in the pudding: six drivers have won in the first eight rounds of this Season 9, and many more can follow suit in Monaco. As for the quest for the world title, it will be fierce right up to the end, judging by the lengthy CVs of the candidates for the crown.
Wehrlein and Cassidy lead the championship
Pascal Wehrlein (TAG-Heuer Porsche) is leading the way, but Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) is only four points behind. The Kiwi has just scored 68 points in four races, compared with 20 only for Wehrlein, who started the season on a high. And 20 other drivers are ready to take advantage of the Monegasque stage to score big points and move up the championship standings, starting with Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske), the only two-time champion in the category, who has already won in 2019 on the streets of the Principality.
On the list of winners of an electric single-seater race in Monaco, we also find Sebastien Buemi (Envision Racing), the only one to have won here twice. The Swiss driver has already won the FIA Formula E championship with Nissan and the World Endurance Championship with Toyota (three victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans). He has been one of the major players of the category since its creation (16 pole positions) and has only one desire: to win again, for his new team.
Vandoorne wants to bounce back
On the grid at 3.03pm on Saturday, there will be five championship winners, starting with Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske). The Belgian, world title holder and Monaco resident, won the 2022 edition, but has not yet managed to climb on a podium in 2023. There will also be Antonio Felix da Costa (TAG-Heuer Porsche), crowned in 2020 and Monaco winner in 2021. Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske), Sebastien Buemi (Envision Racing) and Lucas di Grassi (Mahindra Racing) round out the list of champions.
Maserati and McLaren, 54 years later…
Among the many challenges of this 6th Monaco E-Prix, there is also the reunion at the highest level of Maserati and McLaren, two mythical brands of motorsport. The former Venturi team is back in Formula E under new colors, thanks to an already successful partnership with the Monaco Sports Group. The Maserati MSG driver duo is made up of Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Günther, who just finished on the podium in Berlin.
On the McLaren side, the Woking-based team has put together a very promising tandem with Jake Hughes and René Rast. This Saturday, for the first time since the 1969 Monaco Grand Prix, McLaren and Maserati will be on the same starting grid in the Principality. And their reunion promises to make sparks fly.
Last but not least, two other drivers have to be watched closely this weekend: Mitch Evans and Sam Bird, in the fast-growing Jaguar TCSteam. Evans, the other Kiwi on the grid, has just won two of the last three races, making a spectacular recovery in the championship standings. To be continued?
6th Monaco E-Prix, 9th round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Saturday at 15:03 CET
Your tickets: www.monaco-eprix.com
The 6th edition of the Monaco E-Prix has kicked off! To mark the start of an exceptional weekend, the Place du Casino in Monte-Carlo welcomed the world of Formula E for an electrifying evening on Wednesday.
The celebrations began with the presentation of the cars of the 11 Formula E teams at the foot of the famous steps of the Casino de Monte-Carlo. A symbolic place in the Principality, the new GEN 3 single-seaters posed in front of the lens of speed enthusiasts, allowing fans and the international press to get up close and personal with the electric single-seaters that will take to the streets of Monaco this Saturday.
Since 2015, the Monaco E-Prix has become a staple event of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Spectators have been able to admire the cars’ details, bright colors, and futuristic designs, which highlight the technological innovation of the discipline.
The drivers of the Avalanche Andretti team (Jake Dennis / Andre Lotterer) and the local Maserati MSG Racing team (Edoardo Mortara / Maximilian Günther) also took part in the evening, dressed in their best tuxedos for the occasion.
This foretaste announces an exciting program to come, by way of conclusion the race that will take place from 3:04 p.m. this Saturday, May 6 in Monaco.
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For two days, the ACM Marshals’ Corps facilities, where all the equipment required by the volunteer teams is stored and maintained throughout the year at the gates of the Principality, were in a state of ebullience! The 698 stewards of the 2023 events (6th Monaco E-Prix / 80th Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco) were invited to collect their equipments. Suit, helmet, gloves, belt… The volunteers of the Automobile Club de Monaco received their outfits which will enable them to ensure safety during the practice sessions and races.
This year, as part of the commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Prince Rainier III, a symbolic patch will be worn by all our Marshals on their chests in tribute to his memory.
In a few days’ time, the guardian angels of the Monegasque track will be at work to ensure the smooth running of the races and the safety of the drivers on the occasion of the 6th Monaco E-Prix (6th May) and the 80th Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco (25th-28th May).
Heading for the Monaco E-Prix! On Saturday 6th May, the Principality of Monaco will be hosting the FIA ABB Formula E World Championship for the 6th edition.
A dense and varied programme awaits you throughout this unique day: free practice sessions, qualifications, race, on-track demonstration
For the occasion, a unique price of 30€ is set up. Children aged between 6 and 15 years old will benefit from free seats.
Enjoy and discover the world of Formula E at the Allianz Fan Village.
Where to buy your tickets?
Online: www.monaco-eprix.com (until Friday 05 May)
On site: ACM Official Ticket Office – 44, rue Grimaldi – Monaco
Other points of sale in Monaco:
