Formula E, a motorsport championship format for electric cars, is on its way to set foot in India for the very first time. The organisers have confirmed that a race has already been scheduled on February 11, 2023 in Hyderabad for its 2022-23 season.
The country hosted its last major international event in 2013 as the Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida played host to three Formula 1 sessions of the Indian Grand Prix, following which the motorsport had to drop its Indian venture in back of a tax dispute between the Indian organisers Jaypee Group and the state government.
ABB FIA Formula E said that the championship, which will feature 18 races between January and July 2023, will see two new hosts, Hyderabad, India and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
A Letter of Intent (LoI) had already been signed with the Telangana government earlier this year as the state pushes to achieve its ambitious target of becoming a hub for electric vehicles (EV) in the country.
The inclusion of Hyderabad as hosts of Round 4 of the Formula E ‘22-23 season has excited the motorsport fan base in India, which has witnessed a robust growth lately following a thrilling 2021-22 Formula 1 season that had a rather controversial end in Abu Dhabi.
Alberto Longo, Co-Founder and Chief Championship Officer, Formula E said: “The Season 9 calendar of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is our most expansive and dynamic racing schedule yet and I cannot wait to get started,”
“We will continue to push the international boundaries of all-electric street racing with the E-Prix in Hyderabad and Sao Paulo, while maintaining the hugely-popular races in Diriyah, Mexico City, Berlin, Monaco, Rome and London with Jakarta and Seoul now established on the calendar.”, he concluded.
The Gen3, world’s first net zero carbon race car, is also set to debut in the next Formula E season.
On the other hand, Formula 1 recently announced that it is developing a 100 per cent sustainable fuel to power its next-gen hybrid cars, which will debut in 2016 as the motorsport aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Source: financialexpress.com