| Maximilian Günther | |
|---|---|
 Günther in 2023 | |
| Nationality |  German |
| Born | (1997-07-02)2 July 1997 (age 28) Oberstdorf, Germany |
| FIA Formula E Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2018–19 |
| Current team | DS Penske |
| Racing licence |  FIA Platinum |
| Car number | 7 |
| Former teams | GEOX Dragon,BMW i Andretti,Nissan e.dams,Maserati |
| Starts | 99 |
| Wins | 7 |
| Podiums | 12 |
| Poles | 4 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| Best finish | 7th in2022–23 |
| Finished last season | 10th (85 pts) |
| Previous series | |
| 2018 2015–17 2013–14 2011 | FIA Formula 2 Championship FIA Formula 3 European Championship ADAC Formel Masters Formula BMW |
Maximilian "Max" Günther (born 2 July 1997) is aGerman-Austrian racing driver currently competing under the German flag inFormula E forDS Penske. Günther has previously driven inFormula 2 withBWT Arden and forDragon Racing,BMW i Andretti,Nissan e.dams andMaserati MSG Racing. in Formula E. He achieved his first win in Formula E at the2020 Santiago ePrix.
Born inOberstdorf, Günther began his racing career in karting in 2007. He did not win any titles, but he placed second in the 2007 ADAC Kart Masters and the Southern German ADAC Kart Cup.[1][2] Günther remained in karting until 2010.
In2011, Günther competed inopen-wheel racing, inFormula BMW Talent Cup.[3] He took only one win throughout the campaign at theAlgarve International Circuit, which placed him runner-up in the standings to the dominant Stefan Wackerbauer, the only other race winner of the season.[4][5]
After not racing in 2012, Günther competed in theADAC Formel Masters in2013 forADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V..[6] He was consistent throughout the first half of the season, managing multiple podiums as he put up a title charge.[7] He then secured his first victories at theLausitzring, which proved to be his only ones of the season.[8][9] He finished the season second in the standings, with 240 points as well as nine other podiums.[10]
Günther remained in theADAC Formel Masters for2014.[11] He took three wins in the opening three rounds,[12][13][14] However, he would go winless during the next three rounds as eventual championMikkel Jensen racked up five wins to build a sizeable lead.[15] He earned one more win at theSachsenring,[16] meaning Günther would finish runner-up for the successive season, this time scoring two more wins but one less podium.[17]
In 2015, Günther stepped up to theFIA Formula 3 European Championship withMücke Motorsport.[18] He scored points in his first race inSilverstone with ninth place,[19] before taking his first podium during the third round at thePau Grand Prix.[20] After more regular points finishes, Günther finally claimed his maiden victory at theNorisring.[21] However, after finishing seventh place during the secondZandvoort race,[22] he failed to score points in the next two rounds.[23] Ahead of theNürburgring round, Günther parted ways with Mücke Motorsport, causing him to miss the aforementioned round.[24] However, he would joinPrema Powerteam for theHockenheim season finale,[25] in which he finished in the points in all three races.[26] Despite missing one round, he finished his rookie Formula 3 season eighth in the standings, with 152 points.[27]
Günther would remain withPrema Powerteam for the2016 FIA Formula 3 European Championship.[28] He took a double pole position for thePaul Ricard opener,[29] before winning the final race despite a last lap clash with teammateNick Cassidy.[30] The second round inMonza was a mirror of Paul Ricard, as Günther again won whilst scoring a double pole, allowing him to take the championship lead.[31][32] Over the next three rounds, Günther manage three third-places, as his title rivalLance Stroll snatched the standings lead with a handful of wins.[33] He would win once again atZandvoort from pole.[34] Despite a fourth and final win at theNürburgring, he would be 68 points behind leader Stroll with two rounds remaining.[35] After dropping out of contention by failing to score inImola,[36] a podium in theHockenheim season finale secured him as runner-up for the season, having taken four wins, thirteen podiums and 320 points.[37]
At the end of the season, Günther raced in his debutMacau Grand Prix with Prema, which went unrewarded as a broken suspension following contact with a rival forced him to retire.[38]
Günther continued in theFIA Formula 3 European Championship for 2017, once again forPrema Powerteam alongsideCallum Ilott,Guanyu Zhou andMick Schumacher.[39] He took two podiums in the opening two rounds,[40][41] but opened his account with two wins at thePau Grand Prix.[42] He followed this up with another win the next round at theHungaroring during the first race.[43] Another win, which included a triple podium at theNorisring saw him take the championship lead.[44] Despite collecting more podiums following that, Günther only won again during the final race of the season inHockenheim, by then he had dropped out of title contention as eventual championLando Norris sealed six more wins.[45] Despite a more successful season than in 2016, with five wins, sixteen podiums and 383 points, Günther finished third in the drivers' standings, missing out on runner-up toJoel Eriksson by five points.[46]
Günther returned to theMacau Grand Prix with Prema.[47] He had a strong performance, finishing fifth in the main race.[48]
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Günther graduated toFormula 2 in2018 withBWT Arden partneringNirei Fukuzumi, who graduated fromGP3.[49] He had an impressive start to the season inBahrain, scoring points with ninth place in the feature race before taking his maiden podium during the sprint race.[50] He would then have to wait until the fourth round inMonaco to score points again, in which he finished sixth in the sprint race.[51] Günther would take his first Formula 2 win during theSilverstone sprint race, having controlled the lead from reverse pole.[52][53] He finished ninth for theSpa-Francorchamps feature race, which proved to be his final points finish of the campaign.[54]
After signing withGEOX Dragon inFormula E, Günther vacated his seat at BWT Arden for theYas Marina season finale and was replaced byRed Bull junior driverDan Ticktum.[55] He finished 14th in the championship standings, with 41 points.
In January 2018, Günther made hisFormula E debut withDragon Racing during theMarrakesh rookie test.[56] He was later appointed as the test and reserve driver for the team during the2017–18 Formula E season.[57]
AfterJerome d'Ambrosio departed the team to move toMahindra Racing,[58] Günther was promoted to a race seat and made his debut in the2018 Ad Diriyah ePrix.[59] Following three races where he achieved a best finish of 12th, he was replaced byFelipe Nasr after theSantiago ePrix.[60] Despite this, Günther returned to the team for theRome ePrix, to complete the season with them.[61] He scored his first points inFormula E with a fifth place finish at theParis ePrix.[62] He would finish in fifth place again at theSwiss ePrix, meaning that he finished his rookie season 17th in theDrivers' Championship with 20 points.[63]
For the2019–20 season, Günther was signed to race forBMW i Andretti Motorsport to replaceAntonio Felix da Costa after he moved to reigning champion teamDS Techeetah.[64] The second race of the season in Diriyah saw Günther take a maiden podium in second place behind teammateAlexander Sims, but was demoted to 11th after passingLucas di Grassi under safety car conditions.[65][66] At the next race inSantiago, Günther claimed his maiden Formula E victory after a last lap pass on da Costa, becoming the youngest Formula E winner in the progress at just 22 years old.[67][68] After finishing 11th at theMexico City ePrix,[69] Günther returned to the podium at theMarrakesh ePrix as he finished second after starting in the same position.[70] During the first race at theBerlin ePrix, Günther was set to score points with eighth place after good energy management, but was disqualified for exceeding the energy limit.[71] Despite that, he would win the third Berlin race after starting second, which included a battle for the lead withJean-Éric Vergne.[72] He would not score points again for the final three races courtesy of two retirements, Günther finished ninth in the standings with 69 points, with his three points finishes being all podium finishes.[73]
Günther was retained byBMW i Andretti Motorsport for the2020–21 season, partneringJake Dennis.[74] He endured a double retirement during theDiriyah ePrix,[75] but earned his first points of the year with ninth and fifth place the next round inRome ePrix.[76] Günther secured his first front row start for the first race at theRome ePrix, but took himself out of the race after sliding and beaching himself into the gravel.[77] A strong race inMonaco meant he collected another fifth place finish.[78] Günther took his sole win of the season theNew York City ePrix, taking advantage of a late-race collision betweenJean-Éric Vergne andNick Cassidy.[79] He would finish in tenth place the following day during the second race.[80] Two more points finishes, came with sixth place inLondon and eighth at theBerlin ePrix.[81][82] In a tight championship, Günther finished 16th in the championship with 66 points, albeit only 33 off the champion.
Günther moved toNissan e.dams for the2021–22 season, where he partnered2015–16 Formula E championSébastien Buemi.[83] His first points for the team at theMexico City ePrix would prove to be a red herring, as the German struggled to finish close to teammateSébastien Buemi throughout the races.[84] At theMonaco ePrix, Günther ran in eighth place for most of the race, but ran out of energy and dropped to 17th place.[85] The second and final top-ten finish of his campaign would come at theLondon ePrix, during a weekend where a collision withNick Cassidy earned Günther critical comments from the New Zealander.[86][87] Günther ended the season 19th in the standings, having scored just six points throughout the season.[88]
Günther switched toMaserati MSG Racing for the2022–23 season, partneringEdoardo Mortara in a seat vacated byNyck de Vries' decision to switch to theAlphaTauri team inF1.[89][90] His campaign started out disappointingly, as an eleventh place inMexico City was followed by a crash in qualifying for the first race inDiriyah, after which the car could not be repaired in time for the race.[91][92] He qualified fifth at theHyderabad ePrix after he was boxed in by the colliding twoJaguar cars.[93] More disappointment followed inCape Town as he crashed out of the race on lap 21 after starting second.[94] He finally broke his points duck during the first race at theBerlin ePrix, where a last-corner overtake onSébastien Buemi earned him a place on the rostrum.[95][96] He finished sixth the following day having started from 21st,[97] before retiring atMonaco as a result of a collision withDan Ticktum.[98][99]
InJakarta, the German experienced his best Formula E weekend to date, scoring his maiden pole for both races,[100] finishing third on Saturday ahead of a dominant win on Sunday; Maserati's first in single-seater competition since the1957 German Grand Prix.[101][102][103] At thePortland ePrix, Günther was once again in podium contention until he got forced off track bySam Bird, dropping him to sixth at the flag.[104] Günther scored another third-placed podium during the first race of theRome ePrix after good energy management;[105] he would finish in sixth place the following day.[106] He had a difficult end to the season inLondon as he placed below points in both races.[107] Günther finished the season seventh in the drivers' standings with 101 points, one win, two poles and four podiums, his best Formula E campaign to date.[108]
Günther remained withMaserati MSG Racing for the2023–24 season alongside a new teammate,Formula 2 driverJehan Daruvala who replacesEdoardo Mortara who went over toMahindra.[109] He started the season with a strong fourth place at theMexico City ePrix,[110] and scored more points at theDiriyah ePrix with seventh and ninth, setting him off to a great start.[111] At theSão Paulo ePrix, Günther recovered from a 40-place grid penalty from changing engine parts as well as an early ten second stop-go penalty to finish in ninth place.[112] Starting on the front row for the2024 Tokyo ePrix, he was engaged in a battle for the lead withOliver Rowland, but Günther emerged victorious to secure his first win of the season.[113][114] He scored a third place podium during the first race of theMisano ePrix, being promoted to the rostrum post-race after winnerAntónio Félix da Costa was disqualified.[115] The following day however, Günther recorded his first non-points finish of the season as a post-race penalty demoted him from ninth to 12th place.[116]
The second half of the season would prove to be more difficult for Günther, as a ninth place inMonaco was followed by a double retirement in his homeBerlin ePrix.[117][118] He took two more eighth places inShanghai andPortland,[119][120] before suffering another double retirement in theLondon season finale; a technical issue causing him to retire from second place in the first race.[121] He finished the season eighth in the standings with 81 points, having scored one win and two podiums. After two successful seasons with the team, Günther departed Maserati at the end of the season.[122]
Günther would move toDS Penske for the2024–25 season, partneringJean-Éric Vergne and replacingMaserati-boundStoffel Vandoorne.[123]
Günther's teammate atDS Penske for the2025–26 season would beTaylor Barnard, who replacedJean-Éric Vergne.[124]
At the end of 2016, Günther partook in theDTM Young Driver Test atJerez where he tested theMercedes-AMG C63 DTM car withMercedes.[125] Soon after, he was announced as the test and reserve driver for Mercedes for the2017 season.[126] He completed a test programme with the team in October, where it took place at theLausitzring.[127]
In December 2017, Günther took part in aSuper Formula test withTeam LeMans at theSuzuka Circuit.[128]
In 2022 Günther drove anendurance racing car for the first time, driving thePeugeot 9X8Le Mans Hypercar during the post-season test at theBahrain International Circuit.[129] He stated that it was "fantastic" and that he was "grateful for the experience".[130]
Günther currently resides in Monaco. He holds dualGerman andAustrian nationality. In addition to his nativeGerman, Günther also speaksEnglish,French, andSpanish.[131]
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Southern German ADAC Kart Cup — Bambini A | Ebert Motorsport | 2nd |
| ADAC Kart Masters — Bambini A | 2nd | ||
| 2008 | ADAC Kart Masters — Bambini A | Ebert Motorsport | 7th |
| 2009 | ADAC Kart Masters — Bambini A | Valier Racing | 11th |
| 2010 | ADAC Kart Masters —KF3 | 1st | |
| Werner-Grossevollmer-Memory-Trophy | RS Motorsport | 10th | |
| German Karting Championship — Junior | 6th | ||
| Monaco Kart Cup —KF3 | 16th |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. | OSC 1 5 | OSC 2 3 | OSC 3 5 | SPA 1 3 | SPA 2 3 | SPA 3 6 | SAC 1 2 | SAC 2 16 | SAC 3 13 | NÜR 1 3 | NÜR 2 2 | NÜR 3 4 | RBR 1 4 | RBR 2 2 | RBR 3 3 | LAU 1 1 | LAU 2 1 | LAU 3 7 | SVK 1 Ret | SVK 2 Ret | SVK 3 7 | HOC 1 2 | HOC 2 Ret | HOC 3 9 | 2nd | 240 |
| 2014 | ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. | OSC 1 2 | OSC 2 1 | OSC 3 8 | ZAN 1 Ret | ZAN 2 1 | ZAN 3 10 | LAU 1 1 | LAU 2 2 | LAU 3 5 | RBR 1 5 | RBR 2 2 | RBR 3 4 | SVK 1 Ret | SVK 2 4 | SVK 3 7 | NÜR 1 7 | NÜR 2 3 | NÜR 3 3 | SAC 1 5 | SAC 2 8 | SAC 3 1 | HOC 1 2 | HOC 2 4 | HOC 3 9 | 2nd | 262 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport | Mercedes | SIL 1 9 | SIL 2 12 | SIL 3 21 | HOC 1 5 | HOC 2 4 | HOC 3 5 | PAU 1 4 | PAU 2 18 | PAU 3 2 | MNZ 1 Ret | MNZ 2 Ret | MNZ 3 10 | SPA 1 13 | SPA 2 7 | SPA 3 8 | NOR 1 4 | NOR 2 1 | NOR 3 Ret | ZAN 1 29 | ZAN 2 7 | ZAN 3 12 | RBR 1 20 | RBR 2 14 | RBR 3 19 | ALG 1 14 | ALG 2 14 | ALG 3 Ret | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | NÜR 3 | 8th | 150 | |||
| Prema Powerteam | HOC 1 4 | HOC 2 4 | HOC 3 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Prema Powerteam | Mercedes | LEC 1 5 | LEC 2 Ret | LEC 3 1 | HUN 1 5 | HUN 2 1 | HUN 3 Ret | PAU 1 3 | PAU 2 14 | PAU 3 13 | RBR 1 3 | RBR 2 6 | RBR 3 3 | NOR 1 Ret | NOR 2 3 | NOR 3 5 | ZAN 1 4 | ZAN 2 2 | ZAN 3 1 | SPA 1 2 | SPA 2 7 | SPA 3 6 | NÜR 1 2 | NÜR 2 2 | NÜR 3 1 | IMO 1 12 | IMO 2 Ret | IMO 3 12 | HOC 1 2 | HOC 2 8 | HOC 3 9 | 2nd | 320 | |||
| 2017 | Prema Powerteam | Mercedes | SIL 1 3 | SIL 2 4 | SIL 3 4 | MNZ 1 7 | MNZ 2 4 | MNZ 3 3 | PAU 1 3 | PAU 2 1 | PAU 3 1 | HUN 1 1 | HUN 2 6 | HUN 3 6 | NOR 1 1 | NOR 2 3 | NOR 3 2 | SPA 1 3 | SPA 2 3 | SPA 3 Ret | ZAN 1 3 | ZAN 2 7 | ZAN 3 3 | NÜR 1 12 | NÜR 2 13 | NÜR 3 7 | RBR 1 3 | RBR 2 7 | RBR 3 5 | HOC 1 10 | HOC 2 2 | HOC 3 1 | 3rd | 383 | |||
| Year | Team | Car | Qualifying | Quali Race | Main race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Prema Powerteam | Dallara F312 | 7th | DNF | DNF |
| 2017 | Prema Powerteam | Dallara F317 | 4th | 4th | 5th |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | BWT Arden | BHR FEA 8 | BHR SPR 2 | BAK FEA Ret | BAK SPR 15† | CAT FEA Ret | CAT SPR 12 | MON FEA 11 | MON SPR 6 | LEC FEA 12 | LEC SPR 11 | RBR FEA 15 | RBR SPR 12 | SIL FEA 8 | SIL SPR 1 | HUN FEA 16 | HUN SPR Ret | SPA FEA 9 | SPA SPR 16 | MNZ FEA 12 | MNZ SPR 16 | SOC FEA 16† | SOC SPR 10 | YMC FEA | YMC SPR | 14th | 41 |
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Powertrain | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | GEOX Dragon | SparkSRT05e | Penske EV-3 | ADR 15 | MRK 12 | SCL Ret | MEX | HKG | SYX | RME 19† | PAR 5 | MCO Ret | BER 14 | BRN 5 | NYC Ret | NYC 19 | 17th | 20 | |||
| 2019–20 | BMW i Andretti Motorsport | SparkSRT05e | BMW iFE.20 | DIR 18 | DIR 11 | SCL 1 | MEX 11 | MRK 2 | BER DSQ | BER Ret | BER 1 | BER Ret | BER Ret | BER 12 | 9th | 69 | |||||
| 2020–21 | BMW i Andretti Motorsport | SparkSRT05e | BMW iFE.21 | DIR Ret | DIR Ret | RME 9 | RME 5 | VLC Ret | VLC 12 | MCO 5 | PUE 12 | PUE 7 | NYC 1 | NYC 10 | LDN 18 | LDN 6 | BER 8 | BER 15 | 16th | 66 | |
| 2021–22 | Nissan e.dams | SparkSRT05e | Nissan IM03 | DRH 12 | DRH 14 | MEX 9 | RME Ret | RME 11 | MCO 17 | BER 18 | BER 16 | JAK 14 | MRK Ret | NYC 12 | NYC DSQ | LDN 8 | LDN 15 | SEO 11 | SEO Ret | 19th | 6 |
| 2022–23 | Maserati MSG Racing | Formula E Gen3 | Maserati Tipo Folgore | MEX 11 | DRH DNS | DRH 19 | HYD 13 | CAP Ret | SAP 11 | BER 3 | BER 6 | MCO Ret | JAK 3 | JAK 1 | POR 6 | RME 3 | RME 6 | LDN 12 | LDN 18 | 7th | 101 |
| 2023–24 | Maserati MSG Racing | Formula E Gen3 | Maserati Tipo Folgore | MEX 4 | DRH 7 | DRH 9 | SAP 9 | TOK 1 | MIS 3 | MIS 12 | MCO 9 | BER Ret | BER Ret | SHA 21 | SHA 8 | POR Ret | POR 8 | LDN Ret | LDN Ret | 8th | 73 |
| 2024–25 | DS Penske | Formula E Gen3 Evo | DS E-Tense FE25 | SAO 11 | MEX 6 | JED 1 | JED Ret | MIA 17 | MCO 10 | MCO 8 | TKO Ret | TKO 10 | SHA 1 | SHA Ret | JKT Ret | BER 6 | BER Ret | LDN Ret | LDN 7 | 10th | 85 |
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.* Season still in progress.
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