Andrea PerilliAfter taking part in Janaury’s Marrakesh Rookie Test, Maximilian Günther was announced as Dragon Racing’s Test and Reserve Driver earlier this month. We caught up with the young German to discuss this new venture on his career.
This season, Formula E had the first rookie test on its history. Each team would line up two drivers to give them a taste how the electric machines worked.
The test was held the day after the Marrakesh ePrix, in January 14th. Some teams decided to announce their lineups before the official entry list was launched. Dragon Racing would have Italy’s Andrea Caldarelli and Germany’s Maximilian Günther racing the number 7 and 6 cars, respectively.
Günther was able to take his car to P3 overall, just behind session leader Nico Müller, driving for Audi; and Jaguar’s Pietro Fittipaldi.
The German did leave a good impression on the team and two months later the American outfit would announce him as their official Test and Reserve Driver through an Instagram post, where Günther appears with Team Owner and Team Boss Jay Penske.
“I was really interested in the Championship and watched many races, especially because they have always been very exciting”, comments the 20 year-old when asked about his views on the series before he joined the test.
“It was nice to see the different approach from the series compared to any other racing categories and that’s why I was really honoured to get my first taste of the whole ABB FIA Formula E series at Marrakech”.
As mentioned above, the test aimed to give drivers from a variety of series the chance to test the cars. The Formula E car differs from common formula cars, given that it has a battery instead of an internal combustion engine, among many other aspects a driver has to take care of such as energy and temperature management.
“Right from the beginning, it was very nice and fun to drive. The most impressive thing was the response of the power that you get immediately from the car”, he enthusiastically told Just Electric.
“Comparing to the single seaters I drove so far you get many new challenges. I think it’s a lot up to the drivers’ skills to make the difference”, he adds.
Down at Dragon Racing, he will work in the development of a series of aspects of the Penske EV-2; some of those new for him. “In my opinion, the biggest new challenge is the energy management. That’s definitely something I want to focus a lot during my time with the team this season”.
With López and d’Ambrosio gaining more consistency when it comes to scoring points, having Günther helping with the development will be key to get Dragon Racing to the battle at the front as it used to be in Seasons 1 and 2. “From now on I mainly want to support the team as much as I can with the car development”.
Besides from his role at the American team, Günther will make his Formula 2 debut with the Arden International team this 2018 season. He arrives in the F2 Championship, after three seasons racing at the FIA European Formula 3 Championship, where he finished 2nd in 2016 and 3rd in last year.
Bethonie Waring
