Maserati MSG not yet "consistently fast" with Gen3 FE car – Mortara

Although Maserati MSG showed well in pre-season testing, as Maximilian Guenther was a near-permanent fixture at the top of the timesheets at the Valencia circuit, the team came back to earth with a bump in Mexico.

There, the team struggled to switch the tyres on in qualifying, and struggled to replicate its pace in December testing as it failed to trouble the scorers.

Guenther finished 11th at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, while Mortara crashed out at half-distance at Turn 1 in a challenging season opener for the Monegasque squad.

Asked if he was getting to grips with the Gen3 car with a race weekend in the books, Mortara felt that there were still unanswered questions within the team in how to unlock more pace from the new machinery.

"Obviously [it's] not enough because we were not quick enough in Mexico," Mortara said. "We still need to understand how to be consistently fast with this car.

"Mexico proved to be quite challenging for us, and we hope that we understand what we did wrong there. And hopefully, we'll be more competitive here this weekend."

Edoardo Mortara, Maserati Racing

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Ahead of the race at Diriyah in Saudi Arabia, Mortara explained that the circuit brought fond memories thanks to his victory last season, which kickstarted his ultimately unsuccessful title bid last season.

The Geneva native added that confidence in the car was key to success around the tight and undulating course around a UNESCO World Heritage site, and hoped that the work Maserati MSG had carried out after Mexico would offer him that confidence.

"I've got some nice memories, especially last year winning this race," he said. "What is important here, as it's a city street course, where obviously as a driver you've got to be extremely precise and confident with the car.

"That was the case for me last year, and hopefully that's going to be the case with the new car this season."

Asked if his wealth of experience and success around Macau - where Mortara has amassed seven overall victories across Formula 3 and GT disciplines - had lent him that comfort at Diriyah, he replied that the Formula E car was too different to make a true comparison with the famed Guia Circuit.

"It's difficult to make this comparison, because we know the cars are not the same and the speeds also are not the same.

"Obviously, if you look at the racing track, I can see the kind comparison that you're looking for.

"But in the end we are driving cars that are actually quite different to the ones we race in Macau. And I think that is something that has quite a big impact. You need to drive how you need to drive."