Maximilian Günther (born 2 July 1997) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

currently competing in

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, w ...

for Maserati MSG Racing. Günther has previously driven in

Formula 2 Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name r ...

with Arden and for

Dragon Racing Dragon Racing (formerly Luczo-Dragon Racing) is an American auto racing team that is involved in many areas of motorsport. Dragon Racing was founded in 2007 by Jay Penske and Stephen J. Luczo. The team competed in the IndyCar Series from 200 ...

, BMW i Andretti and Nissan e.dams in Formula E. He achieved his first win in Formula E at the 2020 Santiago ePrix.

Career

Born in

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf (Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in Germany and one of its highest towns. At the&nb ...

, Günther began his racing career in karting in 2007. He remained in karting until 2010. In 2011, Günther competed in open-wheel racing, in Formula BMW Talent Cup. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

, Günther competed in ADAC Formel Masters from ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg e.V., he ended the season second. In

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, he also finished second. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, Günther débuted in the European Formula 3 with kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport.

FIA Formula 2 Championship

Günther made his Formula 2 debut in with Arden., partnering Nirei Fukuzumi, who graduated from GP3. He scored his maiden podium in only his second race and went on to claim his first F2 victory in the Silverstone sprint race. For the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi, he was replaced by Red Bull junior driver Dan Ticktum.

Formula E

Dragon (2018–2019)

2018–19 season

Günther joined the

team as test and reserve driver, participating in the Marrakesh rookie test in 2018 and pre-season testing for season five. After

Jerome d'Ambrosio Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is comm ...

departed to move to

Mahindra Racing Mahindra Racing is a motor racing team based in Banbury, United Kingdom, competing with an Indian racing licence. The team is currently competing in the electric FIA Formula E Championship since the inaugural season in 2014. The team formerly co ...

, Günther was promoted to a race seat and made his debut in the Ad Diriyah E-Prix in December 2018. He was replaced by

Felipe Nasr Luiz Felipe de Oliveira Nasr (born 21 August 1992) is a Brazilian racing driver. He is the 2018 IMSA Sportscar champion and won the 2019 12 Hours of Sebring. After a year as the official test driver for Williams in 2014, he joined Sauber a ...

after the Santiago ePrix. However, Günther returned to the team for the Rome ePrix, and he completed the season with the team. He scored his first points in

with a 5th-place finish at the Paris ePrix. He finished 5th again at the

Swiss ePrix The 2019 Swiss ePrix (formally the 2019 Julius Baer Swiss E-Prix) was a Formula E electric car race on the streets of Bern, Switzerland, on 22 June 2019. It was the eleventh round of the 2018–19 Formula E Championship, and was the first and o ...

, meaning that he finished his rookie season 17th in the Drivers' Championship.

BMW i Andretti Motorsport (2019–2021)

2019–20 season

For the 2019–20 season, Günther was signed to race for BMW i Andretti Motorsport after Antonio Felix da Costa moved to reigning champion team

DS Techeetah DS Techeetah (, ) is a Sino-French motor racing team under ownership of SECA - China Media Capital that competes in the electric racing series, Formula E. Formula E Team Aguri principal Aguri Suzuki announced he would leave the team in April 201 ...

. The second race of the season in Diriyah saw Günther take a maiden podium in second place behind teammate Alexander Sims, but was demoted to 11th after passing Lucas di Grassi under safety car conditions. At the next race in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...

, Günther claimed his maiden Formula E victory after a last lap pass on da Costa. He finished second at the Marrakesh ePrix after starting second on the grid. He won his home race at the

Berlin ePrix The Berlin ePrix is an annual race of the single-seater, electrically powered Formula E championship, held in Berlin, Germany. It was first raced in the 2014–15 season. Circuits Tempelhof Airport The 2015 Berlin ePrix took place at a tempor ...

after starting second. He finished the season with three points finishes, all of which were podium finishes.

2020–21 season

Günther was retained by BMW for the following season. He won the New York City ePrix, taking advantage of a collision between

Jean-Éric Vergne Jean-Éric Vergne (born 25 April 1990), also known as JEV, is a French racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula E Championship with Dragon Racing. He became the 2017–18 ABB Formula E Champion, after clinching fifth in the New York ePrix ...

and

Nick Cassidy Nick Cassidy (born 19 August 1994) is a New Zealand racing driver, currently competing in Formula E for Envision Racing, and in the World Endurance Championship and Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with AF Corse. He has won the 2017 championship ...

Nissan e.dams (2022)

2021–22 season

Günther moved to Nissan e.dams for the 2021–22 season. He scored his first points for the team at the Mexico City ePrix.

Maserati MSG Racing (2023–)

2022–23 season

Günther is set to move to Maserati MSG Racing for the 2022–23 season.

FIA World Endurance Championship

In 2022 Günther drove an endurance racing car for the first time, driving the Peugeot 9X8

Le Mans Hypercar A Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) is a type of sports prototype race car that competes alongside LMDh entries in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. It will also compete in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA Spor ...

during the post-season test at the

Bahrain International Circuit The Bahrain International Circuit ( ar, حلبة البحرين الدولية, Ḥalba al-Baḥrayn ad-Dawliyya) is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series (now FIA Formula 2), and the annual Formula One Ba ...

, describing it as "fantastic".

Personal life

Günther currently resides in Monaco. He holds dual

and Austrian nationality. In addition to his native

, Günther also speaks English,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

Racing record

Karting career summary

Racing career summary

Complete ADAC Formel Masters results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Macau Grand Prix results

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) ^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete Formula E results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunther, Maximilian 1997 births Living people German racing drivers ADAC Formel Masters drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers FIA Formula 2 Championship drivers German people of Austrian descent Formula E drivers Mücke Motorsport drivers Prema Powerteam drivers Arden International drivers Dragon Racing drivers BMW M drivers Andretti Autosport drivers DAMS drivers People from Oberstdorf Sportspeople from Swabia (Bavaria) Racing drivers from Bavaria Formula BMW drivers Nismo drivers