Monaco E-Prix: DS Penske shows good performance despite missing points

– The Franco-American team DS Penske presented itself as one of the most competitive teams during the Monaco weekend. Despite good pace and the constant chance of points for both cars, they fell short of expectations in the second race.

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After third place in qualifying and the fastest race lap in the first race, Maximilian Günther had high expectations for the second run. Taylor Barnard, who finished seventh the day before, also wanted to carry that momentum forward.

From the Sunday morning practice onwards, both DS Penske drivers showed with third and fourth place what could be possible in qualifying and the race. In practice, they were four tenths behind the best time. Conditions under which anything was possible.

In qualifying, the temperatures were a bit warmer than the day before. Both drivers qualified this time for Group B, where only the top four drivers advance to the duels. Taylor Barnard immediately showed his class and dominated the session for a long time.

On the other hand, Maximilian Günther had his first time deleted. The reason was exceeding track limits. As a result, the conditions for his final run were no longer ideal, and the German missed the quarterfinal by seven hundredths.

The bitterest margin, however, hit Barnard. After an excellent lap, the Brit missed the semifinal by one thousandth of a second in the duel with Antonio Felix da Costa and his Jaguar. A frustrating example that shows how close the gaps were in Monaco.

Solid strategy without reward

The two DS Penske cars started the race from sixth and twelfth positions and hoped to benefit from a somewhat different race compared to Saturday. In the second run, there was no pit boost. However, the drivers had two opportunities to use the attack mode.

This allowed for more strategic options and made overtaking easier. The shorter race distance of 28 instead of 29 laps also made the previous day’s strategy obsolete. Accordingly, the engineers had to adjust their calculations.

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At the start, the two DS Penske cars were able to hold their positions and quickly settle into a good rhythm. Ahead of them, several collisions mixed up the field, but Barnard and Günther were able to avoid any incidents.

As often in Monaco, the activation of the attack mode phases was done via the outside lane on the Place du Casino. Thus, both drivers lost some positions before they could push forward again through the extra power and all-wheel drive.

For a long time, both DS Penske drivers were in the top 10, drove a smart race, and managed their energy perfectly. However, some incidents made the chances of a strong result more difficult.

Taylor Barnard went over a kerb on the possible way into the top 5. He had tried to pass an opponent before the tunnel. Günther also lost some places in the traffic jam before the end of the race. Both drivers finished outside the points. An ungrateful result considering the performance during the weekend.

Nevertheless, DS Penske leaves Monaco knowing that the package is competitive and both drivers are capable of fighting at the front. The next race of the Formula E World Championship will take place on June 20 in Sanya, China.

Transparency note: This article was made possible with the help of a production cost subsidy from DS Automobiles. There was no content influence from DS on the article.

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