ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will race in India for the first time this Saturday, 11 February
2023 Greenko Hyderabad E-Prix takes place on a street circuit constructed in the heart of the city
Driver Pascal Wehrlein leads the Drivers’ championship after Porsche power dominated the first three races for the all-new GEN3 race car – the fastest, lightest, most powerful and efficient electric race car ever built
Lucas di Grassi and Oliver Rowland set for the loudest cheers as Mahindra Racing competes on home soil for the first time in Formula E
Formula E will make history this Saturday (11 February) as the ABB FIA Formula E Championship comes to India for the first time with the 2023 Greenko Hyderabad E-Prix, Round 4 of the 16-race season.
The 2.835km street circuit, constructed around the shores of the Hussain Sagar lake by the NTR Gardens, will see the first top-tier FIA World Championship motorsport in the country for a decade and will become India’s first elite electric motor racing event.
Pascal Wehrlein, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver, moved to the top of the Drivers’ standings after winning both races in the double-header in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, thanks to an overtaking masterclass.
But 2016/17 Formula E champion, Lucas di Grassi, and teammate Oliver Rowland are expected to attract the biggest cheers from passionate fans in the grandstand in the first home race for their team, Mahindra Racing. Di Grassi already has silverware to his name this season, sealed on his debut for Mahindra at the Mexico City season-opener, and no driver has been on the podium more than his nine in Asia.
Lucas di Grassi, driver, Mahindra Racing, said:
“It is important for us to have a good race in India – not only for the fans, but for the championship as well. It’s a new track for us, as it is for everyone up and down the grid. It needs to be a good weekend for us. We are going to try very hard and push to the limit to get the best out of the car. We can’t wait to see all the Indian fans out in force to support us and we want to give them a good show.”
Oliver Rowland, driver, Mahindra Racing, said:
“Heading into Hyderabad we know where we need to improve following a difficult weekend in Diriyah. Having the home fans behind us will add to the motivation we have racing on the team’s home ground. We know they will be fully behind us and supporting us, which will give us the extra push to perform well.”
AS IT STANDS
If Mahindra Racing are to take to the top step of the podium in Hyderabad, they will have two Porsche-powered teams in TAG Heuer Porsche and Avalanche Andretti to overpower, based on current form. They have dominated Formula E so far in Season 9, with the Stuttgart manufacturer’s 99X Electric Gen3 finishing one-two in every race so far.
Andretti’s Jake Dennis set the benchmark in Mexico City with the first win of the new GEN3 era, with Pascal Wehrlein following him home. The two fought hard in Rounds 2 and 3 in Diriyah, the last time out, but the German got the better of Dennis in both races to take the top prize and a dominant win-double in Saudi Arabia and the standings lead, while Porsche still narrowly trail customer Andretti in the Teams table by two points.
Jake Hughes (NEOM McLaren Formula E Team) sealed a maiden Julius Baer Pole Position last time out. The rookie has scored in all three rounds so far this season and has the best qualifying record of anyone on the grid. He couldn’t quite convert to silverware in the race but experienced teammate René Rast needed no second invitation to seal the team’s first podium in Formula E in Round 3.
Jaguar TCS Racing also attracted attention in Diriyah, with a resurgent Sam Bird returning to the podium after an uncharecteristically barren spell for the veteran of more than 100 Formula E races. No driver has won more than the Briton in Asia either, with Bird’s four the benchmark – two in Diriyah, one in Putrajaya, Malaysia and another in Hong Kong.
Before the season, some expected overtaking to be tough in the new GEN3 race car, with braking zones shortened thanks to the significant regen boost of the new car’s double powertrain. That theory was blown away in Diriyah with some 36 moves outside of ATTACK MODE position changes completed over two races.
Round 2 winner Wehrlein steered from ninth to the top step of the podium and Dennis followed with his own drive through the pack from 11th to second. On just three occasions has a driver won from further down the grid than Wehrlein managed and it was the first time consecutive Formula E races had been won from outside the top four since Zurich and New York City back in Season 4.
WHEN TO WATCH
Free Practice 1 for the 2023 Greenko Hyderabad E-Prix Round 4 gets underway at 16:30 IST (11:00 GMT) on Friday 10 February.
Free Practice 2 follows at 08:10 IST on Saturday 11 February with qualifying from 10:40 IST. Round 4 of Season 9 gets underway from 15:00 local (09:30 GMT).
FOLLOW LIVE!
Follow the action on-track as it happens in the brand new Race Centre. Keep across Live Timing – which includes a real-time interactive track map and the ability to follow drivers during every session of every E-Prix – plus highlights, detailed session reports, exclusive interviews, all the standings and results as well as data, insight and reaction from trackside.
WHERE TO WATCH
Find out how to follow the action live in every country by visiting: fiaformulae.com/en/ways-to-
INDIA: Star Sports Select 2 & Disney+ Hotstar will show all of the competitive action live from the 2023 Greenko Hyderabad ePrix, with Disney + HotStar the destination for all the Formula E action across the weekend.
EUROPE
GERMANY: the race will be live on Formula E’s home, ProSieben. Fans will also be able to catch free practice sessions and qualifying live on Ran.de.
UK: watch the race action live Channel 4 and catch up on all the racing via All4. Viewers will also be able to watch all sessions live on Channel 4 Sport YouTube. Eurosport 2 will also be covering both qualifying and race live, whilst Eurosport.com will also bring UK based fans dedicated coverage from all sessions.
FRANCE: fans can catch race action on La Chaine L’Equipe. Eurosport 2 will show the race live whilst Eurosport.com will be showing all sessions live.
ITALY: the race will be live on Mediaset’s Channel 20, with all sessions available live on SportMediaset.it Sky Sports will also show race sessions live across Sky Sports platforms, with dedicated news coverage across the weekend.
NETHERLANDS: watch on Ziggo Sport and Ziggo Sport Select. Eurosport 2 will also be providing live coverage across the weekend on linear and digital channels.
REST OF EUROPE
Across the remainder of Europe (excl. Italy), all sessions will be live across Eurosport’s linear and digital platforms. Eurosport will provide bespoke, live coverage of the opening race on Eurosport 2, whilst all sessions will be live on Discovery + / Eurosport.com and Eurosport Extra. These paltforms will also provide a one-stop destination for all Formula E fans’ catch-up needs.
AMERICAS
USA: watch the race live on CBS Sports Network. All sessions will be live on CBSSports.com and CBS Sports HQ.
CANADA: TVA Sports and TSN 5 will show all the race action from Hyderabad in French and English respectively.
MEXICO: complete coverage is on Fox Sports 3, Claro Sports, and Azteca Deportes, with Claro Sports providing further coverage across Latin America.
AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICA: catch all of the live action from qualifying and race sessions on SuperSport Motorsport.
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
Qualifying and race will be live on Saudi Sport Company’s (SSC) linear channel SSC 2 as well as their digital platform shahid.net.
Across the Middle East and North Africa, Dubai Sports will be showcasing qualifying and race.
ASIA
CHINA: Formula E’s digital partnerships continue with HUYA, BiliBili, Weibo, Kuaishou and Douyin covering all sessions live, with live race action on Guangdong Sports linear channel.
SOUTH EAST ASIA: SpoTV will be providing full coverage of practice, qualifying and the race.
JAPAN: Viewers will be able to catch all the action from qualifying and the race s on J-Sports 3, with BS Fuji providing dedicated highlights coverage.
INDONESIA: Catch the race live on iNews, with dedicated coverage across MNC platforms.
AUSTRALIA: Formula E continues the broadcast partnership with Stan Sports, who will bring live coverage of all sessions on the Stan Sports platform. 9GO will wrap up the weekend with highlights for fans in Australia.
NEW ZEALAND: catch all of the action, live on Sky Sports 5.
