The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race is taking place in the city today. Ahead of the event, The Pioneer interacted with 25-year-old Maximilian Gunther, who is the youngest Formula E winner. He will race for Maserati MSG Racing this year.
Amartya Smaran
After several months of meticulous planning and preparation, ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race is taking place in the city today. The 2.8-kilometer Hyderabad E-Prix circuit built alongside the Tankbund-Necklace Road stretch entails 18 technical corners and several high-speed stretches. The track also features one of the longest straightaways on the calendar for the 22–23 season. Almost after a decade, an FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) recognised race event is being organised in India, and it’s indeed a proud moment for Hyderabadis.
The Pioneer interacted with race driver Maximilian Gunther of Maserati MSG Racing on February 9. The 25-year-old is the youngest Formula E winner, and he couldn’t be more excited to be on the grid for the Greenko Hyderabad E-Prix. Stoli Group, the world’s leading premium vodka and spirits producer, announced its official partnership with Maserati MSG Racing ahead of the upcoming ninth season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, in which the German driver will race for Maserati MSG Racing.
Right off the hook, Maximilian Gunther spoke to us about how excited he is for the big event, “It’s great! first time for me in India. We experienced a little bit of the city yesterday, and today was preparation day. So tomorrow, first time in the car! One free practise session and we’re looking forward to hitting the track for the first time.”
In conversation with Max, we asked him to share his insights on the Hyderabad street circuit, and he enthused, “I’m going to walk the track for the first time tomorrow. There are a lot of cool corners around this track. It’s actually difficult to pick one part, but sector 2 has got a very good flow; very nice and quick sections as well. So yeah, as I said, I think it’s fantastic to race for the first time in India, and we’ll try to make an exciting race for you guys.”
Maserati MSG racing has traditionally performed well on new circuits. Does the young driver think he’s going to do well on the Hyderabad track? “Sure, we try to prepare in the best possible way. We have a lot of trust in the team. I believe the first two races taught us valuable lessons. It’s a new car, and we’re all feeling great now about performing here in India. Hopefully, we’ll score many points. That’s the goal for Edoardo and myself. And, yeah! Let’s see what happens on Saturday,” remarked Maximilian Gunther.
Letting us in on the camaraderie that he shares with his teammate Edoardo Mortara, Maximilian shared, “It’s our first year of working together. We both met for the first time in 2016. We had some training camps together, and I came to a few races. It’s really cool to share the garage now with Edoardo. He has great experience in Formula E. Both on the professional and human sides, it’s great to work together.”
The viewership for the pinnacle of the electric sport—Formula E—is gradually inching upward. “The future of Formula E is very bright,” Maximilian asserted. “All the big car manufacturers are joining Formula E exactly for this reason; you can develop all these technologies. It’s very important for all of us to be sustainable. I think it’s great to be a role model in racing and for the car industry. I definitely think that Formula E has a very bright future.”
Ending on a splendid note, giving us a sense of how competitive he is on the track, the driver concluded, “We are facing other brands like Porsche, Jaguar, Mahindra, and McLaren, and there are a lot of big brands in Formula E. We are trying to be the brand on top.”
