Maximilian Gunther left Sao Paulo delighted to be carrying on his points-scoring streak after receiving a 40-place grid penalty, as well as a ten-second stop-go penalty.
The Maserati driver received these penalties after changing his gearbox and inverter. These changes were worth 20 grid spots each.
Since Gunther couldn’t drop 40 places, he was given a ten-second stop-and-go penalty that had to be served in the race.
The German driver admitted that the safety cars helped him massively to get back into the race, but was still delighted about what he and the team achieved.
“Today, we made the impossible, possible,” said Gunther. “Starting from last with the grid penalty, and then serving the 10-second stop-go was a big task, but we did the best job we could.
“I tried to save energy at the start, and then we got the safety car which was very important for our race and strategy.
“From there on, we attacked to go to the front. We did some good overtakes, I had a good feeling in the car, and we were always moving forward at a really good pace. The car felt good over the whole weekend, and I think we showed that in qualifying and again in the race.
“To finish ninth with points from such a circumstance is just an amazing feeling. I think we can all be very proud. It was the best possible recovery and outcome from this strategic penalty, and this will put us in a good position for the rest of the season.”
Gunther’s teammate Jehan Daruvala experienced the peloton style of racing for the first time in Sao Paulo and the Indian driver felt he learnt a lot throughout the 34-lap race.
“Today’s race wasn’t easy at all,” stated Jehan Daruvala. “It was my first experience of Formula E’s peloton style, and it isn’t what I expected, but it was good to get some more laps under my belt and I feel like I learned a lot.
“After four races, I feel quite confident in the car, especially in qualifying. My goal now is to improve my long-run pace. If I can do that, I think we could be in with a shot at points in Tokyo, which will be a new circuit for everybody.”
