The story so far: International motorsport racing is set to come back to India with a major event in 2023. Hyderabad is scheduled to host a Formula E race on February 11, 2023, the organisers have confirmed.
The race will be held on a 2.37 km track in and around the Secretariat Complex, going through Lumbini Park near Hussain Sagar Lake.
The Telangana government had signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Formula E in January 2022 with the intention of hosting a future E-Prix. The race in Hyderabad will be the fourth in the season, after Mexico and a double-header in Saudi Arabia. Brazil is another country that will host a Formula E race for the first time in 2023.
India has earlier hosted Formula One races at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida from 2011 to 2013, all of which were won by German driver Sebastian Vettel.
What is Formula E racing?
Formula E is an international motorsport competition where teams and drivers participate in an all-electric street racing series. The competition’s founding mission was to “race through the streets of the most iconic cities in the world, to show just what sustainable mobility was capable of, driving electric vehicles to the fore in the race for a better, cleaner future.”
The first Formula E race was held at the Olympic Park grounds in Beijing, China, in 2014.
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the motorsport’s governing body which also oversees Formula One, World Rally Championship, World Endurance Championship, and other events, granted Formula E world championship status in December 2019, for the 2020/2021 season.
Popular Indian car company Mahindra Automobiles, owns the Mahindra Racing team that has been a part of the Formula E event since its inaugural season.
Telangana’s EV push
The event can be linked to the Telangana government’s plan to popularise electric vehicles (EV) in the state. In October 2020, the state government unveiled its electric vehicles policy to promote the usage, ownership, and manufacture of EVs in the state. Setting up of allied infrastructure such as charging stations was also announced as part of the government’s policy.
Triton EV, a New Jersey-based company and a subsidiary of Triton Solar, entered into an MoU with the Telangana government for establishing a manufacturing unit for electric buses at the National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ), Zaheerabad in June 2021. The company promised to establish an ultra-modern EV manufacturing unit with an investment of ₹2,100 crore in the State.
In June 2022, Special Chief Secretary (Energy) of Telangana Sunil Sharma launched the state’s first electric mobility awareness web portal. The portal has been developed by NITI Aayog under a collaborative knowledge exchange programme with the UK Government as part of the UK–India Joint Roadmap 2030 signed by the Prime Ministers of the two countries.
Formula E in Hyderabad
Hyderabad’s LoI, in a bid to host the race, was signed by the three parties – Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, and Commissioner, Information and Public Relations Departments; Greenko Chief Executive and Managing Director Anil Kumar Chalamasetty, and the Formula E Chief Championship Officer Albert Longo.
“The concept of Formula E racing aptly suits the huge importance given by our Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao for the environment. In seven-and-a-half years, the state government has successfully planted two billion saplings with 85 per cent of them surviving and more importantly the green cover has increased by 632 sq km across the State. So, we believe Hyderabad will be the natural choice to host this race,” Telangana IT and Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao had said.
Greenko, one of India’s leading renewable energy companies, has partnered with Formula E for the event.
“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 E-Prix in Hyderabad and São 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,” Mr. Lango said.
