India is set for it's first all-electric street race, as Formula E makes its debut in Hyderabad this weekend. It's a new city with a whole new circuit for the drivers to tackle.
After having a brief chat with DS PENSKE's Sporting Advisor and Reserve Driver, Oliver Turvey whilst at baggage collection, the former Formula E driver said that we can expect a very fast circuit with a nice flowing middle sector, with plenty of overtaking opportunities.
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For the win
From the first three races this season you'd be hard pressed to pick anyone other than TAG Heuer Porsche's Pascal Wehrlein or Jake Dennis in the Porsche-powered Avalanche Andretti.
Wehrlein dominated Diriyah with victories in both legs of the double-header, and after Dennis opened the season with a win it's been the same two drivers on the top two steps of the podium.
There gave been challengers for the win but no one has been able to overcome the sheer pace and energy management masterclasses on show by Porsche, the nearest manufacturer challenge came from Jaguar TCS Racing last time out in Diriyah. Sam Bird has the third most led laps in Season 9, the Brit is a Saudi Arabia specialist and bounced back in the floodlights.
Bird is also the most successful driver in Asia, a total of four coming from two victories in Diriyah, and one in both Hong Kong and Putrajaya, he's also got the scored the most points out of anyone in the continent, 200 to be exact. His resurgence has been motivating, and he could be a possibility of halting Porsche's momentum.
Podium potentials
It's been said that support from a home crowd is worth an extra couple of tenths a lap, and this is a big moment for Mahindra. The Indian manufacturer is one of the founding teams in Formula E and this is their first-ever home race.
Lucas di Grassi scored a podium on his debut with the Indian squad in the opening race in Diriyah, and much like Bird, the Brazilian has already had a lot of success in Asia - picking up nine podium finishes around this side of the globe. The most famous of these came at the very first Formula E race in Beijing, which he won. Can local support charge them to home success?
NEOM McLaren got their first podium last time out, it's been Jake Hughes who has been grabbing all the headlines for the British outfit, he's having a stellar rookie campaign.
But their first podium went to experienced hands, as it was Rene Rast who took third place after a road block of a drive holding off the advances of Bird. The German has been quietly plugging away in his return to Formula E, on top of that podium he's led more laps than Hughes and picked up a TAG Heuer Fastest Lap (aka the Rast-est Lap) in Diriyah.
One-lap pace
Rast may have been the first papaya-adorned driver to take to the podium, but it is his rookie teammate Hughes who has been picking up those aforementioned plaudits.
In his debut season the 28-year-old Brit has, so far, been the best qualifier in Season 9. From the first race he's had an unmatched sequence of results in Qualifying, starting with third, then second and finally scoring pole.
The next best qualifier has been Sebastien Buemi. Since moving to Envision Racing, the Swiss driver has been looking more like his old self and even scored a record-equalling 15th pole in Diriyah.
It was an emotional return to the head of the grid, as the former champion exclaimed that he'd 'still got it'. As part of his comeback story, Buemi also has the next best finishing average behind Wehrlein and Dennis.
However, what we've seen is that pole doesn't necessarily translate to a win. The GEN3 car has shown that it's opened the door for overtaking opportunities - and with the scene set for Hyderabad we could be in store for another exciting race.
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