Victorious Vandoorne maintains Maserati MSG Racing's winning streak in Tokyo.

ABU DHABI : Maserati MSG Racing continued their success from the last race in Tokyo by securing a victory. A well-timed Pit Boost allowed Stoffel Vandoorne to move up from 14th place, clinching the team’s first win of the season.

The heavy rain was a significant factor on race day, not only disrupting the second practice but also resulting in the cancellation of qualifying, marking a first in Formula E history. Consequently, the starting grid was determined based on the results of free practice two, positioning Stoffel and Jake Hughes in P14 and P15, respectively.

Prior to the race, the rain remained, leaving substantial standing water on the track. This led to the decision to start the race behind the Safety Car, traveling at a slower pace to help clear the water still present. Thanks to the rain stopping and a ten-minute delay before the start, the grid was able to take their positions for a standing start after four laps.

Both Jake and Stoffel managed the standing start effectively, battling against the surrounding cars and rain spray to safely navigate through the first corner. While they didn’t gain any positions, Jake lost a couple and incurred minor front wing damage, but both drivers continued racing.

The Maserati MSG Racing pair began strategizing on the optimal timing for their Pit Boost. Choosing a daring approach, Stoffel pitted first, which turned out to be the decisive moment that secured his victory in the Tokyo E-Prix.

As Stoffel re-entered the race, Max Guenther’s DS PENSKE stalled on the track, resulting in a red flag due to its position. This fortuitously allowed Stoffel to effectively take his Pit Boost without losing any time to his competitors, enabling him to ascend the rankings without necessitating risky maneuvers as other drivers came in for their Pit Boosts.

Jake remained close to Stoffel, acting as a supportive rear gunner while the duo progressed through the grid using a well-coordinated team strategy, reaching P3 and P4. Unfortunately, Jake still needed to complete his Pit Boost, which meant he couldn't take advantage of the same strategy as Stoffel. A problem with his Pit Boost caused him to lose significant time, dropping him down the timing tower, and he rejoined in P19, 28 seconds behind the nearest car. Jake required another incident to regain his position in the race, while Stoffel needed the race to continue without incidents to make the most of his perfectly timed pit stop.

There was a brief moment of worry when the rain returned, leading to Stoffel spinning on the track. Remarkably, he only lost five seconds from his 25-second lead over Nissan’s Oliver Rowland and sustained no significant damage to the car, despite brushing the wall. From that point, Stoffel chose not to take any further risks, easing off and focusing solely on keeping the car on track as he drove to Maserati MSG Racing’s first victory of the season.

The team will compete again tomorrow, hoping for an opportunity to showcase the Maserati Tipo Folgore's potential in qualifying and to have both cars contending at the front of the grid.

QUOTES

Jake Hughes, Driver, Maserati MSG Racing: “The biggest win today – aside from my teammate who I’m buzzing for – is the fact that we actually got a race on for the fans. There was a lot of today where it just looked like the rain was too much and we weren’t going to get to do any racing. To get a clean race was a job well done by the whole paddock. As for the race, a mega strategy by the team for Stoffel. It fell his way today but he still had to execute it, still had to get it to the chequered flag, so a fantastic job from him. We’ve had a difficult season so far; we haven’t had a lot of luck so it’s nice that we got a bit of luck and a good performance from Stoffel today with the win. My race was the complete opposite. Some damage early on which wasn’t the end of the world, but then we had a failure in the pit stop with the Pit Boost and I lost about 30 seconds. Then it’s basically game over. We go again tomorrow, hopefully get to complete a proper qualifying and can show the full potential of the Maserati Tipo Folgore.”

Stoffel Vandoorne, Driver, Maserati MSG Racing: “I forgot what it feels like to win! It feels weird because it’s a little bit unexpected, but at the same time I knew it was 100% possible. We had a very bold strategy: to spend so much energy in the beginning to open our pit window very early. Being able to be first into the pit lane and offset ourselves from the rest, which we managed to do. I love it when a plan comes really into play; every little thing that you discuss before the race actually happens. It’s very rare that it comes together like that in Formula E but today was one of those days. We execute a perfectly planned strategy. It was very ballsy! It made my life difficult at times; after the pit stop with such a low energy target and having to manage the battery of the car. There was a lot of communication between myself and Thibault, but he kept me very calm, managed to have good communication, kept me up to date with the gap behind to the other guys so I knew exactly how much I could back off and could do the saving that I needed to do.”

Cyril Blais, Team Principal, Maserati MSG Racing: “What an amazing result! We wanted to be a bit aggressive in this race because we couldn’t do qualifying. Not being able to show our pace, we started a bit further back than expected and knew we would need to try something different. The guys came up with a plan and so we tried a positive strategy on both cars to cover a variety of options. There was a bit of luck, and we needed it to get this great result, but it doesn’t change the fact that the team thought about all the outcomes, covered all the options. We felt like if there was an opportunity to get big points, we would be there to grab it and that’s exactly what happened. The execution was faultless. We are very happy with that win.

“It’s a team victory. For Jake, unfortunately the race didn’t fall the way we wanted. He switched focus to play rear gunner for Stoffel, let him pass when he had to. It was the perfect team game, so this victory is a team victory. I want to thank both drivers; Jake was a big part of it.

“Thanks to everyone – a job well done. We’ll celebrate the moment, but then we focus straight back to tomorrow. There’s still some work to do. Today luck was on our side but tomorrow I want to win on pure pace.”

Maria Conti, Head of Maserati Corse: “What an unpredictable and incredible day! Winning in Tokyo again after last year's triumph is an amazing feeling! This street circuit is extremely fascinating and technical, made even more unpredictable by the rain and the Pit Boost. We experienced unforgettable emotions in the heart of one of the most iconic cities in the world, surrounded by an extremely welcoming audience, which made the day wonderful. Today, we have written another memorable chapter to Maserati's almost 100 years of history in motorsport. The team's work, the perfect strategy and Stoffel’s determination made the difference. Today's result drives us ahead into a significant second half of the season and we can’t wait to get back on the track tomorrow to battle to be one of the best.”

Maserati S.P.A.

Maserati produces a full range of unique cars that are immediately recognizable because of their unparalleled personality. Through their styling, innovation, and inborn exclusivity, they meet the most evolved and refined tastes, establishing the benchmark for the international automobile industry. This heritage comprises a portfolio of successful cars, each of them redefining the concept of an Italian sports car in terms of design, performance, comfort, style, and safety, and now distributed in more than 70 global markets. The Maserati range includes the Grecale, an "everyday exceptional" SUV, the GranTurismo, the classic Italian grand tourer, and the GranCabrio, Trident's new convertible; all models marked by their premium materials and striking technical innovations. The range includes 4-cylinder hybrid powerplants in the Grecale and V6 petrol engines, with choices of rear-wheel and four-wheel drive, celebrating the performance DNA that is typical of the Trident brand. Sitting at the top of the range are the MC20 super sports car and the MC20 Cielo spyder, both of which employ the innovative 100% Maserati Nettuno V6 engine, combining F1-developed technologies for the first time ever into a production car's powertrain. The GranTurismo comes with both the high-performance V6 petrol engine, based on the Nettuno, as well as an all-electric variant: the GranTurismo Folgore, marking the first instance in the Modena-based brand’s history to embrace this technology. The fully electric range also currently features the Grecale Folgore, Maserati’s inaugural 100% electric SUV, along with the GranCabrio Folgore. Furthermore, the newest addition from the Trident House is the Maserati GT2 Stradale, the road-going version of the GT2 that saw Maserati return to competitive racing in closed-wheel championships. The heart of this new super sports vehicle is the V6 Nettuno engine, which delivers a whopping 640 hp (471 kW) in this configuration. As such, the GT2 Stradale is the most powerful road-going Maserati with an internal combustion engine. Maserati aims to define the future of luxury mobility while keeping its clients at the forefront of its priorities. This goal continues unabated as it moves forward, driving Italian luxury around the world, and Maserati is part of the Stellantis "Dare Forward 2030" strategic plan.