FIA president invited to attend inaugural Formula E race in Hyderabad

Formula E is the first FIA world championship-status event to take place in India since the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix in 2013.

BySouth First Desk

Published Feb 01, 2023 | 4:41 PMUpdatedFeb 01, 2023 | 4:42 PM

FIA Formula E Hyderabad test run held.

Mohammad Bin Sulayem, president of the world governing body for four-wheel racing FIA, has been invited to attend the inaugural Formula E race in Hyderabad on 11 February.

Bin Sulayem, who took over the reins of the FIA from Jean Todt in December 2021, is expected to attend the race of the all-electric series alongside many other dignitaries from within and outside India.

“He has been invited to attend the race and he is expected to attend,” a Formula E source told PTI on Wednesday, 1 February.

The organisers of the race — Greenko and Telangana government — are racing against time to ready the 2.83 km-long street circuit.

Most of the infrastructure will be temporary but final touches are being given to the team garages, which will be a permanent structure around the track.

First FIA event since 2013 F1 race

Formula E is the first FIA world championship-status event to take place in India since the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix in 2013.

MotoGP, the pinnacle of two-wheel racing, is scheduled to host its first round in India in September.

The Formula E Prix motorsport championship is exclusively for electric cars running on EV technology, of which the Indian auto market has seen a massive influx lately.

the Hyderabad E-Prix will be the fourth round of the ninth season of the Formula E championship. A total of 11 teams with 22 cars will participate in the Hyderabad Formula E race at India’s first street circuit.

On 4 January, the sales for the 22,500 tickets for the Hyderabad Formula E event went live.

Related: Trees relocated by HMDA to hold Formula E

Traffic diversion to be in effect

The authorities have informed the public that a traffic diversion will be in effect around the venue starting from 5 February. Telangana Special Chief Secretary (Municipal Administration and Urban Development) Arvind Kumar tweeted the same on 31 January.

“Inspected Formula E track today alongwith all concerned officials, @FIAFormulaE & @AceNxtGen team. It’s on track & partial closure of road will come in force in next few days – to the extent possible, Pl take alternate routes until Feb 11. @KTRBRS @hydcitypolice, [sic]” he tweeted.

The seven-month world championship, with 16 races, kicked off on 14 January in Mexico City (Mexico) and will finish in London (England) on 30 July.

Some of the prominent teams at the Hyderabad Formula E event are McLaren, Maserati, Mahindra, Jaguar, Nissan, and Porsche.

The Telangana government, along with the private firm Ace Nxt Gen, has decided to live-stream the event on big screens across the city.

“The dream of hosting a Formula E racing event in an Indian city will be a reality soon. Proud that Hyderabad and Telangana got the opportunity to beat other prominent world cities. It’s an achievement for the country,” Telangana IT and Industries Minister KTR said on an earlier occasion.

With a total of 18 turns, the venue of the race is a 2.8-km track hugging the Necklace Road, considered to be the heart of the city, on the banks of the Hussain Sagar lake.

(With inputs from PTI)