Maximillian Günther: "I'll just have to do it again"

Now racing for Maserati MSG Racing in Formula E, Maximillian Günther has an array of motorsport successes to his name. Involved in motorsport since 2005, Max has climbed the racing ladder in European and global championships, as well as occupying the role of Mercedes’ simulator driver in F1.

Max has raced in Formula E since 2018 and, having joined the Monégasque outfit for season nine, he isn’t stopping now.

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Max’s earliest memories of motorsport date back to when he was four or five years old when he would watch Formula 1 on television with his dad. At six years old, he started karting.

“Straight away, I fell in love with the sport,” Max says. “It became my passion and it has always been my dream to become a professional racing driver since my very early days.”

Photo Credit: Max Günther

As well as having fun, Max started to have some success in his early karting days. In 2010, Max became ADAC Kart Masters Champion. It wasn’t long until he moved from karting to single seater racing categories.

In 2011, he was the Vice Champion of the Formula BMW series, before racing in the ADAC Formula Masters series in 2013 and 2014. In his second year, he was Vice Champion. Max spent three years racing in FIA Formula 3 and was DTM test and reserve driver for Mercedes AMG for two years. With the experience as an F1 simulator driver for Mercedes, Max secured a seat in F2 with BWT Arden, and despite not having the most competitive package, he won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 2018.

By 2018, Max had already secured his super licence and had multiple options for his racing that year.

“I realised that to race in F1, having talent is one thing but there are also other factors,” he says. “I always tried to give my very best on track and do what I could to influence from my side.

“I did the F2 season and at the same time, I was reserve driver for GEOX Dragon.”

Photo Credit: Max Günther

Max has been a fan of Formula E since it began in 2014 and was watching the development of the series very carefully. The level of racing for both driver and team was so high that Formula E was always an interesting option for him. He moved to Formula E in season five of the championship.

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Jay Penske, founder of Dragon Racing (now DS Penske), first called Max at the beginning of 2018 and asked him to take part in the Rookie Test in Marrakesh. Known as GEOX Dragon at the time, the team gave Max his first drive in a Formula E car. Shortly after the Rookie Test, Max became their Reserve Driver.

His role as Reserve Driver was crucial in helping him prepare for his full-time race seat because Formula E is so specific as a championship compared to others. He did most of the development of the Gen2 car with the team.

Photo Credit: Fat Factor Creation / Max Günther

“I had a combined role in 2018 with Formula 2 and Formula E,” he says. “I still had to do a good job in all the testing and in pre-season to earn myself a seat.

“That’s what I did and I became the full-time driver for Penske.”

Max made his debut at the 2018 Saudia Ad Diriyah ePrix with GEOX Dragon.

In 2019, Max joined BMW i Andretti Motorsport alongside Alexander Sims. He took his maiden win in at round 3 in Santiago and it is a day he can remember very well. After ticking off becoming a professional racing driver, the next box to check on Max’s list was to win a race. When he took the chequered flag, Max became Formula E’s youngest ever race winner.

“It was a dream come true,” he says. “To become a Formula E race winner was super special and I am very proud of it.”

Photo Credit: Max Günther

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Max has been a member of the Stellantis family since the beginning of this year, due to his ties with both Maserati and Peugeot. In November 2022, Max tested a hypercar for Peugeot in the World Endurance Championship Rookie Test.

“The hypercar was a really cool test and opportunity,” he says. “It was a short day with just a few runs but it was still really cool to experience it.

“The car had very similar technologies to Formula E so it was, in a way, a pretty cool combination of the two, from what I’ve learnt in the past and what I’m doing full-time now.”

Image Credit: Max Günther

Many Formula E drivers have also raced in WEC in previous years, sometimes combining their calendar so that they can compete in both categories simultaneously. Although it’s difficult for Max to say whether that would be a possibility for him right now, competing in WEC as well as Formula E is definitely on his radar.

“As a driver, you speak about the 24 Hours of Le Mans or Daytona; those are very special races and at one point in my career, I would love to compete there,” he says. “In an ideal world, you could do both but it’s not as straightforward as that so I will see what time brings.

“Formula E is clearly my priority and that’s where I’m very happy to be.”

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Joining Maserati MSG Racing ahead of the 2022/2023 FIA Formula E World Championship, Max built a strong role with the team from the beginning. Having resided in Monaco for three years already and with Maserati MSG based in the principality, Max’s transition into his new team was seamless.

“I spent a lot of time with the team to get up to speed with everything and learn everything about the new Gen3 car,” Max says. “The start of the season has been very tough for us but we are moving in a very good direction and I’m really positive about what’s coming next.”

Max has a great relationship with his teammate, Edoardo Mortara, after working together in the past. The pair have known one another since 2016; at the time, Edo was the full-time driver for Mercedes AMG in DTM, whilst Max was their reserve.

Photo Credit: Maserati MSG Racing

“We’ve always had a very respectful and good relationship on and off the track,” Max says. “To share the garage with him is cool; we exchange a lot, we both push for the same things and it’s great.”

Max, Edo and the rest of the Maserati MSG Racing team are heading to the German capital this weekend for the Berlin ePrix – Max’s home race. Although he grew up in the very southern part of Germany, Max has many friends and family heading to the capital to support him throughout the weekend.

“To be racing at Tempelhof is super cool, it’s a very historic place,” he says. “It’s always a big challenge to race there because you have to get everything right.

“There aren’t so many corners, but the corners you have need to be perfect and overtaking is possible in the race, so energy management is important; it’s always a new, but really good challenge.”

Preparation for Berlin is different opposed to new tracks, like the last three in the championship: Hyderabad, Cape Town and São Paulo. When drivers head to a new track, their only reference point is the simulator.

“You fully rely on the sim, you hope it’s a good correlation and that you can apply all your knowledge from the sim,” Max says. “Just doing a few laps in FP1 helps a lot more than three days of simulator preparation so it gives you an idea of how important the track time still is for us.”

However, returning to Berlin this year is a little different for drivers on the grid because of the new Gen3 car. Drivers have previous experience of all the data, the setup, what works and what doesn’t work, but they still have to rely on their time in the simulator.

“When we go to Berlin, we arrive with higher levels of preparation compared to the new tracks,” Max says. “This is the same for everybody.

“Berlin is going to be a good weekend because we have the double header and we have to put everything perfectly together.”

Photo Credit: Max Günther

In 2020, Max won at his home race with BMW i Andretti, and he is looking forward to returning this weekend.

“It was a great feeling, very special,” he says. “Since then, I knew what everyone was talking about… to win on home soil.”

There was one downside to Max’s win in Berlin: there were no fans to cheer him on as he took the top step on the podium. His response?

“I’ll just have to do it again.”

Photo Credit: Maserati MSG Racing

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To stay updated with Max’s racing endeavours, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Maserati MSG Racing are competing in the Berlin ePrix on the concrete at Tempelhof Airport this weekend.