RIYADH: The eighth season of the FIA Formula E World Championship gets underway in Saudi Arabia with a double-header race weekend on Jan. 28 and 29.
The latest season of the electric racing competition starts in Diriyah with two night races around one of the calendar’s most unique and challenging circuits.
Last year’s Diriyah E-Prix season seven opener was the first all-electric night race and used renewable lights with the latest low-consumption LED technology, which reduced energy consumption by up to 50 percent.
The inaugural night race further added to Formula E’s ongoing commitment to support environmental, economic, and social sustainability initiatives around the world, and the Kingdom’s ambitions on its own sustainability journey as part of its Vision 2030 reform plan.
Mercedes-EQ driver Nyck de Vries took a first Formula E win in the opening round one at Diriyah last year, while Sam Bird secured the second victory in his debut race with his new Jaguar TCS Racing team.
It was the start of a stellar year for De Vries, who won the world championship title at the Berlin E-Prix ahead of ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara and Jake Dennis from BMW i Andretti Motorsport in third.
His Mercedes-EQ team also won the teams world championship with 183 points, with Jaguar TCS Racing and DS TECHEETAH rounding up the top three in the standings.
Tickets for this year’s Diriyah E-Prix weekend start from SR150 ($40) and can be purchased online at https://diriyah-eprix.com/en.