Formula E is keen to return to India but is waiting for an Indian city to make the first move, championship co-founder Alberto Longo said, three years after the all-electric series made a promising Hyderabad debut but was dropped from the calendar amid contractual and political issues.
“We would love to go back to India. The all-electric world championship made its India debut with the Hyderabad E-Prix in February 2023, but the race was dropped the following year after a change of government in Telangana, with the new administration deciding not to fulfil the Host City Agreement signed by the previous dispensation.
Longo said Formula E remains eager to return to what he considers one of the world’s most important markets for electric mobility. Unfortunately, I have to tell you that we don’t have any live conversation at the moment, but it’s such an important market for Formula E that we would absolutely love to be back there,” Longo told PTI in an interview during the London season finale. Asked what needed to happen for India to return to the calendar, Longo said Formula E was ready to engage but wanted an invitation from an Indian city or authorities.
“We have a number of very, very high profile Indian partners. Obviously Mahindra up there, Infosys is a big partner of ours, Tata obviously own the Jaguar racing team, Tata and TCS Jaguar. “And the growth coming out of India and the EV potential in India is absolutely enormous. So India remains a priority market for us. Our ambition is to return to race in India.
So we have a number of very important Indian partners,” Dodds said. We have to find the right opportunity between the street circuit,” he said. Longo said the economic impact of a Formula E race was another reason Indian cities could consider bringing the championship back.
