RIYADH: Formula E has confirmed races will take place in China and India next year, the milestone 10th season of the world’s first electric motorsport series.
The announcement means the one-seater competition is the only motorsport to stage events during 2024 in the three biggest countries in the world by population: China, India and the US.
Shanghai and Hyderabad were confirmed as host cities in season 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, following approval at a FIA World Motor Sport council meeting.
Alberto Longo, co-founder and chief championship officer, Formula E, said: “Without doubt our Season 10 calendar is the most compelling yet for drivers, teams, fans and viewers around the world. We are taking Formula E to Shanghai for the first time and are honored to return to India thanks to the support of the Telangana Government and Minister K. T. Rama Rao.
“The combination of street circuits, which is in Formula E’s DNA, and established race tracks will allow drivers to push the capabilities of the GEN3 car harder and further after a first season that beat all expectations with triple-digit overtakes in most races and the world championship titles decided on the final weekend.”
Formula E will race for the first time in Shanghai with a doubleheader of races on May 25 and 26, 2024. The first-ever Formula E race was held in Beijing on Sept. 13, 2014, with Sanya and Hong Kong also hosting a total of seven races in China to date, the most recent in March 2019.
Hyderabad will host Formula E again on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024, following the 31,000-capacity sold-out debut race in February this year. The event delivered an uplift of almost $84 million to the Hyderabad economy.
Formula E already made history with the season 10 calendar when Tokyo was confirmed to host a race on Saturday, March 30, the first time a motorsport world championship race will be held on the streets of the Japanese capital.
There are two further updates to the season 10 calendar. The event planned for Jakarta on Saturday, June 8, will not go ahead following the announcement of a campaigning period in the Indonesian presidential elections during most of June. This would impact the logistics of delivering a race on the streets of the capital city at the same time. Formula E and the authorities in Jakarta are exploring the feasibility of racing in the city on an alternative date.
The second update is a likely venue change in Italy for rounds seven and eight. This follows a review by experts at Formula E and the FIA into the season nine races in Rome, where the new faster, more powerful GEN3 car reached the limits of the narrow, sharp-turning circuit in Rome’s business district. Formula E is exploring alternative venues, including permanent circuits, to maintain an event in the key Italian market.
Jeff Dodds, CEO, Formula E, said: “Formula E will lead global motorsport next season as the only world championship to race in the three biggest markets of China, India and the USA. Together with our debut on the streets of Tokyo and races in other major global markets like Brazil, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the UK, we have built a calendar that has the potential to engage billions of people in the exciting, entertaining, electric future of motorsport.”
