Andretti BMW’s Guenther drives to victory again

Maximilian Guenther
Maximilian Guenther

Maximilian Guenther secured his second win in succession to extend his lead in the ABB Formula E Race at Home Challenge in support of UNICEF at Electric Docks circuit. The BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver put on another dominant display and fended off pressure from Pascal Wehrlein to take top honors in round two.

Following in second was Envision Virgin Racing's Robin Frijns with Geox Dragon's Nico Mueller in third .

Poleman Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-Benz EQ) led the way into the first corner before meeting with the wall in the opening seconds of the race. With significant damage, former winner Max Guenther took the lead while Vandoorne managed to hold third with Mahindra Racing's Pascal Wehrlein in second.

Dropping down the order, Vandoorne slipped to fifth, letting Envision Virgin Racing's Robin Frijns through to third and Geox Dragon's Nico Mueller through to fourth.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Four laps in, Guenther maintained the lead. At the back of the pack, Rokit Venturi Racing's Felipe Massa clipped the chicane on Turn 1, spinning out of the race.

Despite making his debut here in the second round, Envision Virgin Racing's Sam Bird was out the running by lap six. Moments later, both the Panasonic Jaguar Racing drivers James Calado and Mitch Evans collided through Turn 1, putting an end Evans race.

Back at the front, Guenther continued to hold off an ever-advancing Pascal Wehrlein who followed just three tenths of a second behind. Under pressure, the two Germans battled for the top spot with five laps to go.

Coming through Turn 1 close behind Guenther, Wehrlein clipped the wall and spun while Guenther broke away into a ten second lead.

Advancing on Wehrlein, Frijns and Mueller slipped into the second and third while Wehrlein – still carrying significant damage – dropped down to fourth.

Rounding off the points with one lap to go was double Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne, who advanced on Jaguar's Calado in ninth. Nose to tail, Calado and Vergne went through Turn 1 to start their last lap.

Now on his last lap, Guenther held the lead 15 seconds ahead of Frijns in second. Crossing the line of the Electric Docks circuit, the German driver celebrated his second points win of the competition, cementing his position as the leader of the Race at Home Challenge. Following in second was Frijns, while Geox Dragon's Nico Mueller rounded off the podium in third.

Results

Pos Driver Time/Behind Pts
1 Maximilian Guenther 21:06.243s (25)
2 Robin Frijns +15.253s (18)
3 Nico Mueller +16.251s (15)
4 Neel Jani +22.299s (12)
5 Stoffel Vandoorne +30.193s (11)
6 Oliver Turvey +30.358s (8)
7 Nyck de Vries +39.162s (6)
8 James Calado +43.199s (4)
9 Jean-Eric Vergne +43.271s (2)
10 Pascal Wehrlein +44.841s (2)
11 Sebastien Buemi +45.254s (0)
12 Jerome D’Ambrosio +50.801s (0)
13 Lucas di Grassi 12 Laps (0)
14 Alexander Sims 12 Laps (0)
15 Oliver Rowland 10 Laps (0)
16 Edoardo Mortara 7 Laps (0)
17 Andre Lotterer 5 Laps (0)
18 Mitch Evans 5 Laps (0)
19 Sam Bird 3 Laps (0)
20 Felipe Massa 2 Laps (0)
21 Antonio Felix da Costa 1 Lap (0)
DNF Ma Qing Hua (0)
DNF Daniel Abt (0)

Quotes

BMW I ANDRETTI MOTORSPORT
MAXIMILIAN GUENTHER

"The first one or two turns were so chaotic with so much contact and pushing from the side, from behind, from everywhere! I was happy I got through it unscathed and really glad I was in front after three corners, because it was difficult to survive the mess on the opening lap."

Driver Standings

Driver Team Pts
Maximilian Guenther BMW i Andretti Motorsport 50
Robin Frijns Envision Virgin Racing 30
Stoffel Vandoorne Mercedes-Benz EQ 22
Nick Cassidy Envision Virgin Racing 19
Pascal Wehrlein Mahindra Racing 17
Nico Mueller GEOX DRAGON 15
Oliver Turvey NIO 333 14
Neel Jani TAG Heuer Porsche 12
Oliver Rowland Nissan e.dams 8
Nyck de Vries Mercedes-Benz EQ 6
Felipe Massa ROKiT Venturi Racing 4
James Calado Panasonic Jaguar Racing 4
Jerome D’Ambrosio Mahindra Racing 2
Jean-Eric Vergne DS TECHEETAH 2
Alexander Sims BMW i Andretti Motorsport 1
Lucas di Grassi Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 0
Daniel Abt Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 0
Antonio Felix da Costa DS TECHEETAH 0
Brendon Hartley GEOX DRAGON 0
Ma Qing Hua NIO 333 0
Sebastien Buemi Nissan e.dams 0
Mitch Evans Panasonic Jaguar Racing 0
Andre Lotterer TAG Heuer Porsche 0
Edoardo Mortara ROKiT Venturi Racing 0
Sam Bird Envision Virgin Racing 0

Team Standings

Team Pts
BMW i Andretti Motorsport 51
Envision Virgin Racing 49
Mercedes-Benz EQ 28
Mahindra Racing 19
GEOX DRAGON 15
NIO 333 14
TAG Heuer Porsche 12
Nissan e.dams 8
ROKiT Venturi Racing 4
Panasonic Jaguar Racing 4
DS TECHEETAH 2
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 0