Countryman Jake Hughes has been a revelation for NEOM McLaren Formula E Team in his rookie campaign in the fiercely-fought series, qualifying and racing consistently up at the sharp end. The 28-year-old stunned by taking his maiden pole position in only his third start last time out, and having displayed podium-challenging pace in every round to-date, he will be eager to make good on his palpable potential in India.

In the sister McLaren, Formula E returnee René Rast has also shown a strong turn-of-speed, taking the chequered flag third in Diriyah – the same result achieved by 2016/17 title-winner Lucas Di Grassi in Mexico following a defensive masterclass. The Brazilian and stablemate Oliver Rowland are sure to enjoy plenty of fan support this weekend on Mahindra Racing’s home soil.

André Lotterer (Avalanche Andretti) and António Félix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche) have struggled to match their pace-setting team-mates thus far, but with no fewer than 24 podium finishes between them over the course of their respective careers in the championship – including seven wins and the 2019/20 crown for the latter – it seems much more a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ they join the hunt for silverware.

Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans led the initial stages of the second Diriyah E-Prix only to subsequently slip down the order. The New Zealander – championship runner-up last season – has been better than his early results would imply, so will be keen to kick-start his title challenge this weekend.

In the same way, a quartet of other expected front-runners have yet to hit the high notes in 2022/23. DS Penske duo Jean-Éric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne – Formula E champions both – as well as Maserati MSG Racing pairing Edoardo Mortara and Maximilian Günther have endured a difficult start to the campaign for a variety of reasons, but signs suggest the two teams are now beginning to make progress.

Vergne fought hard to secure seventh in Saudi Arabia, with Mortara getting Maserati off the mark 24 hours later when he crossed the finish line ninth. Following his qualifying accident on the Friday that ruled him out of that evening’s race, team-mate Maximilian Günther bounced back with a top ten grid position the next day, and previous form proves that he and Mortara are more than capable of extracting the very best from the equipment at their disposal.

Series sophomore Dan Ticktum has had cause to feel under-rewarded, twice starting inside the top five for NIO 333 Racing – underlining his innate pace – but counting only one point to his name. Nissan Formula E Team’s Sacha Fenestraz, by contrast, opened his own account with an impressive eighth place in just his fourth outing in Diriyah – something the Frenchman will be bidding to build upon in India.

At ABT CUPRA Formula E Team, meanwhile, Kelvin van der Linde continues to stand in for Robin Frijns alongside Nico Müller, as the Dutchman recovers from the hand injury he sustained in Mexico City.

Event Map

The inaugural Hyderabad E-Prix will get underway at 15:03 local time (10:33 CET) on Saturday, 11 February.

ENDS

Included Images:
Header – Hyderabad Street Circuit, Turn 1/2 [Photo credit: Driven International]
Image 1 – Jake Hughes (NEOM McLaren Formula E Team) at the 2023 Diriyah City ePrix [Photo credit: DPPI / Grégory Lenormand]
Image 2 – 2023 Greenko Hyderabad ePrix event map [Credit: FIA]