Formula E hits a milestone race this weekend in more than one way, as the all-electric racing championship makes its debut in India and marks the quarter-point for the 2023 season.
So far the campaign has been one of excitement, possibility and for some, such as Andretti and Porsche, real positivity - but so much can change across any given weekend at this stage that even those waiting to kick-start the season have reason to for optimism heading to Hyderabad.
Among those who will be looking for rapid improvements are Maserati MSG Racing, who thrived in pre-season testing but quickly hit the wall thereafter, both literally and figuratively.
So far, Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Guenther have recorded two DNFs, one DNS and one top ten finish between them - despite Maserati dominating in Valencia with many of the quickest times across the board.
As team principal James Rossiter told the Independent, though, even that fast start - false start, as it turned out - was cause for concern at the time.
“Pre-season went maybe too well! We were exceptionally fast but didn’t understand why which was a bit concerning in the analysis,” he said. “We weren’t expecting the awakening in Mexico where we were struggling; with the guys both crashing in Saudi qualifying it put us on the back foot.
“We spent the entire night rebuilding Max’s car. I was there with the mechanics at three in the morning; they had it ready to roll at six. Everyone pulled together, it was a real show of unity and strength in the face of adversity and the cars we put out [in the second Diriyah race] were fast.
“The safety car caught us out on the strategy and the result didn’t fully showcase the step forward we made, but we feel we’re in a much better place now heading into India.”
In Hyderabad, drivers will be facing a brand new street circuit, with plenty of overtaking opportunities expected and longer straights before turns one and three. The circuit is just over 2.8km in total, the longest of the season so far.
The fourth round event offers an opportunity to bring the lessons learned from the double in the desert last time out - and there were plenty of them for Maserati to take on board.
It all means it has been a hectic opening spell for Rossiter, who joined from DS Techeetah in October.
Between the new Gen3 car, getting up to speed in his new role and learning plenty about the off-track requirements of the job, few can have had as up-and-down a time as the Maserati chief.
Even so, the lure of “personal growth” and a big challenge made it “an easy decision” to make the move.
“The first two months I had a lot to learn; I immersed myself completely in the operational side and luckily had the support of some great people but the off-track things like budget caps was something I had to get up to speed with quickly,” Rossiter said.
And even before getting up to speed with those around him, he had a more immediate task: find an even newer recruit for the team than he was.
“My first challenge was to go and find a driver; we went through the list of candidates and very quickly narrowed in on Max Guenther.
“We had a very quick meeting on the first day and who would be the right fit; we interviewed a few drivers and it became apparent the hunger for success in Max was very high. He feels he has a huge amount to prove, his work ethic came across instantly. He shone in front of us and he hasn’t fulfilled his potential yet - he has an exceptional amount of talent.”
The challenge for Guenther - and new teammate Mortara - is now to find a route back to the top ten of the grid in the short term, and greater consistency on the track in the mid-term.
But for Maserati themselves, there’s a longer-term lure behind a return to single-seater racing - the first time they have done so in decades.
That is, of course, the increasing adoption of electric vehicles and utilising the power of FE to showcase what they are capable of, and hone their products.
“[Returning] is an important milestone for Maserati and what they are trying to achieve in the future, how they are trying to position the brand and what we want to showcase to the world: the electrification of Maserati,” Rossiter explained.
“There’s a huge amount of synergy between what they are trying to achieve with their road cars in the future. The information from Formula E is being fed back and there’s a very close collaboration throughout Maserati.”
Ultimately, though, for Rossiter and his team it’s still all about the here and now, competing in an elite championship and finding solutions to early season problems.
And, as he says, there’s every reason to believe they can do so this weekend in India - but this time with a much greater confidence that good form can be retained.
“We’re optimistic we’ll turn it around, find the pace we had in Valencia...and this time know where it comes from!”
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