Formula E Hyderabad e-Prix: India is all set to host its first-ever Formula E race. The Round 4 of Season 9 will take place on a racetrack in Hyderabad, Telangana, near Hussain Sagar. The state government anticipates over 20,000 fans from all over the world attending the event on February 11. A total of 11 teams and 22 drivers will compete in the event. These include Avalanche Andretti Formula E, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, Envision Racing, Jaguar TCS Racing, Mahindra Racing, DS Penske, Nissan Formula E Team, Maserati MSG Racing, NIO 333 Racing, and ABT CUPRA Formula E Team. Let's have a quick look at all the participating teams, their respective drivers, and the most recent team developments.
Avalance Andretti Formula E team
Avalance Andretti confirmed last year that its full Formula E line-up for the 2023 season will include Jake Dennis and Andre Lotterer. It was announced that Lotterer, an eight-time Formula E podium finisher, would not race for Porsche in 2023. Along with his Porsche World Endurance Championship commitments, he joined Dennis in the Andretti team. Commenting on the development, Lotterer said, ‘I’m excited to join Avalanche Andretti FE for Season 9 and the start of the Gen3 era. Working together with Jake will be a great combination to continue to push the team to the front of the field in Formula E.’
NEOM McLaren Formula E Team
Rene Rast, the triple DTM and Porsche Supercup champion, is McLaren's first Formula E racing driver. Rast combined that contract with a season racing for McLaren in Formula E, becoming the British team's first driver following its takeover of the reigning champion Mercedes outfit.
Rast has competed in three different Formula E seasons. First, for Team Aguri, he made a one-time appearance in 2015-16. In the six races in Berlin that concluded the 2019–20 season, he competed when Audi dismissed Daniel Abt. In 2020–21, for Audi's final season in the championship, he was signed as a full-season driver.
Jake Hughes is competing in Formula E alongside Rene Rast for McLaren. The 28-year-old has already competed in the series for Venturi and served as a test driver for the now-McLaren-owned Mercedes team, which won the championship.
Also Read: Formula E: Format, Rules and Regulations Explained
Maserati MSG Racing Formula E Team
The newest Formula E team has announced Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Guenther as their drivers for season nine. Until the end of the 2021-22 season, Mortara continued to compete for the Venturi team, where he was a contender for the drivers' championship at the season-ending race for the last two years.
In response to the news, Mortara commented, ‘Since I joined the team in Season 4, it has become home for me, and I’m really happy to continue my journey with such a collection of hard-working and talented individuals into Season 9 and beyond.’
ABT CUPRA Formula E Team
This year, Cupra joined the Formula E grid in collaboration with Abt. The German team had participated in the championship from the start, first operating Audi's factory effort and later working in partnership with the automaker but was compelled to forgo the 2022 campaign after Audi decided to leave. The Spanish company Cupra, which was created from Seat, has been participating in Extreme E and the Pure ETCR championship over the past few years.
The brand's focus on an all-electric future complements its move to compete in Formula E because both are still niche categories. The collaboration will result in Robin Frijns and Nico Müller, who were named as Formula E Abt drivers, competing for Cupra in the ongoing event.
DS PENSKE Formula E Team
In addition to joining forces with Penske Autosport to form the DS Penske Formula E Team, DS officially announced that Jean-Eric Vergne, a two-time champion, and Stoffel Vandoorne, the current champion, will compete for the team in 2023. Penske is the third team that DS collaborated with; the other two were Virgin and Techeetah when DS first entered Formula E. During the partnership, the French manufacturer would take home two Formula E Drivers' Championships and two Constructors' Championships, but a split between the two was announced last year.
NIO 333 Racing Formula E Team
By extending his contract with the Nio 333 Formula E team, Dan Ticktum continues to compete for the Chinese team in the 2022-23 season alongside Sergio Sette Camara. Following his switch from Formula 2 to Formula E, the British driver had a promising first season with the team, earning a point at the Rome e-Prix and performing well against his more seasoned teammate Oliver Turvey.
Sergio Sette Camara, a Brazilian racer, is also competing for Nio 333 this season. In the middle of 2020, Sette Camara, a driver for Dragon Racing, entered the series. He took Brendon Hartley's place for the final six races in Berlin. He was kept on at the now-named Dragon/Penske Autosport for the next two seasons, who were impressed by his ability to salvage point-scoring finishes from a subpar package and outperform his teammates significantly.
Nissan Formula E Team
The driving team for Nissan's Formula E team underwent a complete makeover. Maximilian Gunther followed Sebastien Buemi out the Nissan eDams door since it was already made known that the Swiss racer was leaving the team. Instead, the all-French pairing of Sacha Fenestraz and Norman Nato is driving for Nissan in the 2023 Formula E season. Nato is back full-time. The F2 race winner completed a full season with Venturi in 2020-21, winning the season finale, but was unable to secure a drive for 2022. He did race in the 2021-22 season, filling in for the injured Sam Bird at Jaguar in Seoul for the final two races of the season.
Fenestraz, who currently leads the Super GT championship, made his Formula E debut in the season finale of 2022, replacing Antonio Giovinazzi at Dragon. His move to Nissan marked his first full Formula E season.
Envision Racing Formula E Team
Last year, Former Formula E champion Sébastien Buemi signed a two-year contract with Envision Racing beginning in 2023. Buemi announced his departure from the struggling e.dams team at the Seoul e-Prix in August 2022, which he has competed for since the first Formula E season in 2014 in both Renault and Nissan guises. He won three consecutive championships in addition to the drivers' championship in the 2015-16 season.
TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team
At the brand-new track in the Telangana state capital, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team will race two Porsche 99X Electric race cars, which were developed by Weissach. As the driver's champion in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Pascal Wehrlein is headed to Hyderabad. He is equally as eager to take on this new challenge as his teammate, António Félix da Costa. The Hyderabad E-Prix will be the Portuguese driver's 100th career Formula E contest.
Also Read: Formula E Hyderabad e-Prix: Tickets, Venue, Schedule and Other Details
Mahindra Racing Formula E Team
Mahindra Racing participated in the Championship as one of the original ten teams in the 2014-15 season. The team designed its own electric drivetrain, the M2Electro, to power their quartet of electric racing cars beginning with the second season of Formula E (2015–2016). Nick Heidfeld secured the team's first podium for the M2Electro right out of the gate in the opening round of Beijing. Mahindra revealed the new M7Electro car on October 29, 2020, and Alexander Sims and Alex Lynn were confirmed as the drivers for the 2020-21 Formula E season.
For the 2021-22 Formula E season, Lynn was replaced by Oliver Rowland. Sims announced that he would not be returning to the team for the 2022-23 season and was replaced by Lucas di Grassi. Dilbagh Gill, the team's principal, left in September 2022, allowing Frédéric Bertrand to take his place.
Jaguar TCS Racing Formula E Team
As a result of its partnership with Tata Consultancy Services, the team now competes in Formula E under the name Jaguar TCS Racing. The team announced their latest rebranding to Jaguar TCS Racing on November 2, 2021, along with confirming the same driver line-up of Bird and Evans. Thierry Bolloré was named the team's new chairman. Norman Nato was announced as Jaguar's new reserve and simulator driver on January 17, 2022, replacing Sacha Fenestraz.
On February 8, 2022, it was announced that Jaguar would become Envision Racing's powertrain supplier for the duration of the Gen3 era of Formula E, which began with the 2022-23 season. After a shaky start to the season, Jaguar bounced back at the Rome ePrix, where Evans won both races. Bird was aiming for a double-point finish, but he was forced to withdraw from the second race. Evans won the inaugural Jakarta ePrix, securing fourth place in the championship and getting closer to his title rivals, who gained ground on him after a less successful Berlin ePrix double-header.
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