Hyderabad loses spot in E-Prix, but all is not lost yet

The race could still return to India as two dates in February have been marked as ‘TBD’.
| Photo Credit: G. RAMAKRISHNA

Hyderabad, which hosted India’s first Formula E (fully electric single-seater championship) race earlier this year, does not feature in the provisional calendar released for the 2023-24 season unveiled on Tuesday. However, there is still a chance the race could return to India as two dates in February have been marked as ‘TBD’ (To be determined).

A top-level motorsport event returned to India earlier this year with the Hyderabad E-Prix, a round of the FIA Formula E championship.

The race was held on February 11 this year, and a slot is available on February 10, 2024. It is where Hyderabad will most likely slot in, with the other option being February 24.

Before this, India last hosted an FIA event ten in 2013 with the third and final Indian Grand Prix Formula One race.

The 2023-24 Formula E season will start on January 13 in Mexico City before heading to Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, for a double-header weekend.

For the 2022-23 season, the Hyderabad round was the third stop on the calendar after Saudi Arabia.

Alberto Longo, co-founder and chief championship officer, in a chat with a select group of Indian media, including The Hindu, during the Jakarta EPrix earlier this month, expressed confidence in returning to India next year.

When asked whether the race will be on the calendar, Longo said, “At the moment, it is not. We are still having some discussions and working on it even though everything was a massive success. Formula E is passionate about coming back, and that is a fact. But some work is still going on, and we need to finalise it.”

“For the June announcement (calendar), I am not confident, but for the October announcement, we will be fine to do the race for many years, hopefully,” he added.

Speaking about the inaugural race, Longo said, “It was a massive success. We had our challenges, obviously, on the way, and it always happened the first time we visited any location. But, in the level of attendance, the level of media interaction, the level of social media attention we got, the TV coverage; I mean, name whatever angle you can think of, it was a big success.”

“Having the support of the minister KTR (K.T. Rama Rao) and all his government and having a promoter like Grencko was also fantastic. Obviously, we would want to and will improve, but I would say, for a first year, it would be probably a 9 out of 10,” he added.