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HYDERABAD E-PRIX PREVIEW: FIRST TIME IN INDIA FOR ENVISION RACING

8 February 2023

ENVISION RACING WILL HIT THE STREETS OF HYDERABAD AND SEEK TO EXTEND A PROMISING START TO THE GEN3 ERA

Envision Racing heads to India, for round four of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, and after a strong start to the season, the team’s new boy Sébastien Buemi sits third in the Drivers’ Championship standings.

Following three races on more familiar territory, the inaugural Hyderabad E-Prix is an exciting and challenging new prospect for the entire Formula E paddock. Held within India’s sixth-most populous metropolitan area, It is also the first of three consecutive races being run in new cities, with Cape Town and São Paulo to follow.

India has provided the backdrop for top level motorsport before as home to the Indian Formula One Grand Prix between 2011 and 2013, and now is the turn for the exciting world of Formula E, and time for the faster, more efficient GEN3 era to take centre stage.

THE CHALLENGE IN HYDERABAD

The Hyderabad Street Circuit is the only venue on the Formula E calendar that can boast a giant Buddha monolith statue observing the action, which will have a perfect view of the opening practice sessions as the drivers grapple with the new track.

Designed by a company associated with ex-F1 driver Karun Chandhok, the 18-turn, 2.935km lap starts with a dramatic, top-speed straight, which runs alongside the Hussain Sagar lake, before hitting the heavy-braking hairpin, all under the watchful gaze of the giant Buddah. Get through there unscathed, and it is a tight left-hander, followed by a tricky, tree-lined sequence.

As the drivers head through the picturesque Lumbini Park, this is where crucial time will be won or lost in qualifying, before the final sector is negotiated. The final sector features a short run into a second, sharp 90-degree right-left chicane, followed by a right at the roundabout before the high-speed sprint to the finish line.

LAST TIME OUT IN SAUDI ARABIA

There was plenty of drama, and a lot to be happy about for Envision Racing at the previous Diriyah E-Prix in Saudi Arabia.

Sébastien Buemi, in just his third race for the team, and ahead of his 100th E-Prix start, scored a sensational pole position for the opening race of the weekend. The Swiss driver came home fourth, to follow his solid sixth place achieved at the season-opening Mexico City E-Prix.

In a measured and calculated second race at the Diriyah E-Prix double-header, Buemi claimed sixth at the flag, following one of the most dramatic finishes in recent Formula E history. Running seventh, with just a few metres of the race remaining, Jake Hughes’ fifth place McLaren suddenly lost power, boxing in the pursuing Jaguar of Mitch Evans, allowing Buemi to cannily dash past the compromised Evans, almost claiming fifth at the flag in the process.

Buemi will start round four of the championship in Hyderabad third in the standings. The Envision Racing driver lies 31 points behind Jake Dennis, and will be in the hunt to close that gap, and consolidate third place by the time Saturday’s action is over, and the attention turns to South Africa, and Cape Town.

ENVISION RACING GUNNING FOR TOP THREE

Whilst Buemi has established a strong points base in the Drivers’ Championship order, the Envision Racing team are sitting pretty in the Teams’ Championship.

Buemi’s team-mate Nick Cassidy has endured some challenges in the opening three races of the GEN3 era, but despite this, the Kiwi has managed to bag some vital points for both his championship aspirations, and helped boost the team’s points total.

With a ninth place in the Mexico City E-Prix and a strong sixth in the first race of the Diriyah E-Prix weekend, Cassidy helped cement Envision Racing’s fourth place in the Team’s Championship standings as the action heads to India. With rivals Mclaren just 12 points ahead, the team will be looking to grab as many points at the Hyderabad E-Prix and leap into the top three.

Drivers’ standings (after Rd 3):
1. Pascal Wehrlein, 68pts
2. Jake Dennis, 62pts
3. Sébastien Buemi, 31pts
4. Sam Bird, 28pts
5. Jake Hughes, 27pts
10. Nick Cassidy, 10pts

Teams’ standings (after Rd 3):
1. Avalanche Andretti, 76pts
2. Porsche Formula E Team, 74pts
3. McLaren Formula E Team, 53pts
4. Envision Racing, 41pts
5. Jaguar TCS Racing, 39pts

DID YOU KNOW?

Source: Alosh Bennett, CC BY 2.0

It is safe to say that the Hyderabad E-Prix will be the first top level motorsport event with Buddha in attendance. And that’s not all. Hyderabad’s Buddha statue squares up to a height of 18 metres, making it the biggest single rock statue in the world.

WHERE AND WHEN TO WATCH

For viewers in Europe and the UK, it is an early start to catch qualifying for the Hyderabad E-Prix. Drivers will battle it out for grid positions at 05.10 BST on Saturday 11 February, and the race action will kick off at 09.33 BST, just in time for breakfast!

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