The winners, the losers, the midfielders. What did the drivers have to say about their time on track in Jakarta? Let’s find out.
Photo Credit: Formula E Media Bank / Simon Galloway
Although Jakarta was not the most spectacular Formula E race ever, it did provide some great racing over the course of the weekend. What did the drivers have to say about their performances during Jakarta E-Prix?
Maximilian Günther, Maserati MSG Racing:
For Günther, this weekend couldn’t finish on a better note. Maiden pace throughout both Saturday and Sunday led him to a win, and what a win it was – Maserati’s first single-seater victory since Fangio in 1957. The Italian marque waited long enough to claim the top spot of the podium, and this time, Günther proved he has what it takes inside to win. We just hope the Maserati team would do it more often, but that’s a discussion for another day. Nevertheless – fantastic weekend by the German driver, and well deserved results.
I’m absolutely over the moon with this victory. It is a fantastic moment for us as a team, and a great milestone for Maserati. We have shown good progress over the past couple of races, and I felt really good from FP1 onwards, so I knew that the package was working well here. It was just a case of executing both races and continuing to head in the right direction. Yesterday’s podium was great, but we didn’t have quite enough for the top spot – today we did. In Formula E you need to keep your feet on the ground because the championship can change so quickly, but for now, I’m just enjoying this moment. There will be some tracks that suit us more this season, and some that suit us less. We just need to focus on maximizing our package which is what we’ve been doing in the past few races. I’m very proud.
Photo Credit: Formula E Media Bank / Sam Bagnall
Jake Dennis, Avalanche Andretti:
Although this weekend wasn’t perfect in the eyes of Dennis, he’s walking away with two P2 finishes over the course of Round 10 and 11. These results put him back in the second place in drivers standings, and intensify the battle for the world championship title between him, Wehrlein, Cassidy and Evans. The winner from Mexico City who had a bit of a rough time after that, gained his momentum back in Berlin in Round 7 and 8 and shows no sign of stopping now. Funny enough, it seems like things sometimes get a bit wonky between the factory teams and their customers (cue the last sentence below). Here’s what he said after the race on Saturday:
I’m pretty annoyed to be honest. Obviously, the start lost me the race. Ultimately, we had too much wheel spin on the dust and dropped back to fourth. Then the manoeuvre with Pascal was ridiculous. I had to hit so much pressure to avoid hitting the back of him. I don’t know how he got away with that, to be honest, it’s ridiculous. The other two guys did it perfectly. They left just enough space for one car, which is the rule. Then Pascal completely swerved up to the wall, and I had to slam the brakes halfway down the straight. He’d already committed to lifting, and at that point, you have to leave space, and he didn’t. But we can’t protest against them because they have a Porsche powertrain.
Photo Credit: Formula E Media Bank / Sam Bagnall
Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing:
A mixed weekend for the Kiwi, with a DNF on Saturday and P3 on Sunday. Evans keeps his eyes on the championship fight, but without sugarcoating things – additional good result on Saturday could’ve been beneficial for his position in the championship standings. Nevertheless, after a heartbreak on Saturday the sunshine came through – and provided a trophy and the lowest point of the podium. Both Jaguar and Envision seemed to unusually struggle here in Jakarta, but we doubt these struggles will continue for the remaining of the season.
After yesterday’s race, to go home with a trophy and a smile, is a huge relief and feels good. We lacked a lot of pace in the race and didn’t have as much energy as Max and Jake ahead, but I was able to hold off those behind me to come home on the podium. Looking forward to racing at the Portland E-Prix for the first time.
Photo Credit: Formula E Media Bank / Simon Galloway
Sam Bird, Jaguar TCS Racing:
We don’t want to kick the one laying on the floor, but it’s been a tough weekend for Sam Bird this time in Jakarta. First, a contact with his teammate on Saturday that eventually ruled the latter out of the race, and second, an issue on Sunday just before the start of the race seen Bird rolled back to the pitlane, and eventually not start the race of Round 11.
The contact between him and Evans during Round 10 is not a singular incident this season, since the same happened a bit earlier this year in Hyderabad. We know Sam can deliver remarkable results, which is something he already proved this season. But will that be enough? Here’s what he said after the incident on Saturday.
I take full responsibility for the incident today on track and want to apologise to the team for the mistake. We had a difficult qualifying and race, and unfortunately so far this weekend, the car hasn’t been performing at the level we would hope. We’ll regroup tonight and come back stronger tomorrow.
Photo Credit: Formula E Media Bank / Simon Galloway
Roberto Merhi, Mahindra Racing:
The newest Rookie on the grid who only now jumped into the Mahindra seat as a replacement of Oliver Rowland who departed from the team had a bit of a rocky learning curve this weekend. On Saturday, he finished P18, and P17 on Sunday – but its not an easy task to just strap yourself inside of a Formula E car with no prep. Especially since Gen3 proves difficult to drive at times, something that many of the drivers said across Season 9. The baptism of fire wasn’t the easiest on Merhi, but we respect the fact he managed to finish both races without putting the car into the wall (something a few of more experienced FE drivers could learn from).
It was a tough to start a race in the middle of the season because everyone is already at a certain level, so I had a lot of catching up to do coming here with no experience and no testing. It has been a good weekend with Mahindra though, who have really helped me get to grips with the championship and the car. I made a big improvement from yesterday to today. My qualifying today was much more positive. I can see that the team is pushing things forward.
Photo Credit: Formula E Media Bank / Simon Galloway
This pretty much sums up Round 10 and 11 in Jakarta. Once again we’ve got a bit of a break now until the race in Portland by the end of June, but don’t forget to check Pitdebrief every week as we’ve got some things lined up for you. Until then, don’t forget: enjoy the race, wherever you are ✨
