Formula E: Maserati finishes with both cars in the points at the Jeddah E-Prix (round 1)

The first Formula E in Jeddah lived up to its promise for the Maserati MSG Racing team, which left the Saudi Arabian city circuit with a double points finish. Jake Hughes, who started from 7th on the grid, exploited every opportunity to finish 5th and score 10 points, while team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, after starting 14th, took 10th place and 1 additional point.

Promising qualifying campaign for Jake Hughes

The day started well for Maserati MSG Racing: Jake Hughes distinguished himself in the qualifiers by making it all the way to the duels. Opposed to Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche), he made a small mistake which prevented him from advancing to the semi-finals. Nevertheless, his time enabled him to start 7th on the grid, the ideal starting point for a top 5 finish in the race.

His teammate Stoffel Vandoorne, meanwhile, struggled in the same qualifying group. In Formula E, the gaps are often very close: only three tenths separated him from Jake. Stoffel therefore found himself 14th on the grid, a position that forced him to make a comeback.

A race punctuated by Pit Boost

For this round, Formula E inaugurated the "Pit Boost", new rule allowing drivers to make a compulsory stop once the 60% energy mark has been reached, with a view to gaining power. The two Maserati drivers adopted different strategies: Jake came in as early as possible to attempt an undercut, while Stoffel waited a few more laps.

Jake Hughes' strategy paid off: a quick start, he was able to hold on to 5th place through the compulsory stops, and even finished 2nd for a time. He then had to deal with tight energy management, while resisting the attacks of Taylor Barnard (McLaren). Despite the pressure and a slight energy deficit, Jake held on to cross the finish line in 5th position.

Stoffel Vandoorne, for his part, took advantage of his Pit Boost and two Attack Mode activations to move up in the pack. His main objective was to break into the top 10. Thanks to his incisive driving and good race-reading, the Belgian managed to climb back up to 10th place, collecting a well-deserved point.

Progress confirmed in the championship

With these new results, Maserati MSG Racing takes a step forward in the hierarchy. Jake Hughes is now 12th in the drivers' standings with 11 points, while Stoffel Vandoorne is 13th with 8 points. In the teams' championship, Maserati moves up from 8th to 7th place, showing steady progress since the start of the season.

Jake Hughes was satisfied with the day: "It was a stressful race with the introduction of the Pit Boost, but I'm proud to have been able to manage the energy and bring big points to the team."

Stoffel Vandoorne was delighted with his 10th place, despite a lacklustre qualifying performance: "It was a real strategic challenge. I had to fight hard to recover positions and I'm happy to score another point."

On the management side, the importance of these results for the team's confidence was underlined. Cyril Blais, Team Principal of Maserati MSG Racing, praised the "strong execution of the race plan", and Maria Conti, Head of Maserati Corse, was delighted to see "the lessons learned from Pit Boost and energy management already transposed to the future of the Maserati Folgore range."

See you in round four

Formula E doesn't stop here in Jeddah, as the fourth race of the season takes place today, on the same urban circuit, but without the Pit Boost this time. This new format could reshuffle the deck and offer a more traditional approach to strategy. Maserati MSG Racing hopes to capitalize on the progress made to continue climbing the hierarchy.