Gunther goes lights-to-flag in Monaco Race At Home Challenge

Maximilian Gunther secured a lights-to-flag victory on the streets of Monaco in the debut race for Formula E’s UNICEF-supporting Race At Home Challenge series, ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne and Andre Lotterer to provide an entertaining show to a barren racing landscape.

Maximilian Gunther secured pole, after Stoffel Vandoorne initially held the advantage. Vandoorne and Lotterer rounded out the top three, while the remaining places in the top ten were claimed by Jean-Eric Vergne, Nick Cassidy, James Calado, Oliver Rowland, Felipe Massa, Mitch Evans and Nico Mueller. Jann Mardenborough impressed in 11th, while Daniel Abt qualified 19th and Edoardo Mortara failed to set a time.

Gunther maintained his lead, while Lotterer lost a podium place after being rear-ended at the first turn. The lap proved to be incredibly chaotic, with barges into the walls and other cars which resulted in Mardenborough working his way up to 7th, Turvey shooting up into the top ten and a hefty fall for Calado down to 13th.

The tempo calmed down from there onwards, with Gunther beginning to consolidate his position at the front and Lotterer clawing his way back to third. Cassidy got the jump on Vergne, who then fell behind Mueller after losing control. Robin Frijns worked his way into 8th, while Brendon Hartley worked his way past an eliminated Felipe Massa, who joined the likes of FE debutant Sam Dejonghe, Season 6 race winner Alexander Sims and championship leader Antonio Felix da Costa in the dropzone.

di Grassi toiled in 17th, falling victim to the drop after a fight with Hartley, while Calado’s qualifying promise dissipated into a fight to keep in the race. Mardenborough attempted to overtake Evans at the first turn but overshot it, and lost his 8th place to Vergne. Ma Qing Ha hassled Calado for 12th and safety, but ultimately failed.

Daniel Abt, starting 19th, still remained in contention of safety as Calado was finally eliminated, penalised due to a corner cut, while Vandoorne sought to pass Gunther for the lead. He was unable to, and the BMW race winner won again in a virtual space. Lotterer secured third, ahead of Cassidy, Mueller, Rowland, Evans, Vergne, Nissan e-dams debutant Mardenborough and finally Turvey in a thrilling debut race for the Race At Home Challenge series.