Formula E: Racers set to scorch Hyderabad streets

Focus on Porsche’s Wherlein who eyes hat-trick of victories

Hyderabad: It was not the kind of start Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein, who is gunning to win a hat-trick of races, was expecting at the inaugural the Hyderabad E-Prix which is being held for the first time in country.

The German driver was on a roll winning back-to-back races in the last two races in Diriyah to take the championship lead. The Formula E is coming to the country for the first time and Hyderabad is set to host the Round 4 on Saturday. The 28-year-old driver wanted to make a grand start to the race on the 2.83km street circuit built on the NTR Marg.

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However, he suffered a crash in the Free Practice 1 on Friday after losing control of the car on Turn 18. It was revealed later that the reason for the crash was mechanical failure. But when Wehrlein takes the track on Saturday eyeing for his third straight time, the will surely play on his mind.

Speaking on his chances of a hat-trick, he said, “Every race is a new race and new situation, everyone starts from zero. Pressure is always there. We hope to give our best.”

All eyes will also be on the team Mahindra Racing who are racing on their home track for the very first time. The hosts’ drivers Lucas di Grassi and Oliver Rowland would want to make their debut on a grand one. Di Grassi already has silverware to his name this season, sealed on his debut for Mahindra at the Mexico City season-opener.

“It is important for us to have a good race in India – not only for the fans, but for the championship as well. It’s a new track for us, as it is for everyone up and down the grid. It needs to be a good weekend for us. We are going to try very hard and push to the limit to get the best out of the car. We can’t wait to see all the Indian fans out in force to support us and we want to give them a good show,” said Lucas di Grassi.

But the hosts are set to face stiff competition from two Porsche-powered teams in TAG Heuer Porsche and Avalanche Andretti as they have dominated the season so far with the Stuttgart manufacturer’s 99X Electric Gen3 cars finishing one-two in every race so far.

Andretti’s Jake Dennis took the top honours in Mexico City with the first win in newly introduced Gen3 cars while Wehrlein took victories in the next two races. There would be much interest in the Jaguar TCS Racing team as well which is owned by Indian company Tata Group. The team principal James Barclay termed the race as their second home race and wanted to have a memorable outing.

On the whole, with 11 teams, including the likes of Maserati and McLaren, and 22 drivers vying for the top honours in cars that can hit a maximum of 300 kmph, the race is sure to pump the adrenaline for motorsport fans in the city.