Formula E makes its long-awaited return tomorrow night with the streets of Riyadh coming alive under the lights for the all-electric grid’s first ever night races – and the opening weekend of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship’s seventh season!
Held under the glow of eco-friendly LED technology lighting – plus the shine of the moon and stars above – the night races will be the first of their kind in Formula E and are guaranteed to bring even more electric spark to Riyadh’s now world-famous 2.495km Diriyah street circuit.
Snaking round the ancient mud walls of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Ad Diriyah, the Diriyah E-Prix has delivered on-track thrills in each of its two previous race weekends, crowning three deserving champions following three unforgettable e-prix.
However, for 2021 the excitement is turned up yet another notch as next weekend’s Friday-Saturday dual-races see drivers fly out in the dark.
While both will be held without spectators live and in person, fans still have plenty of opportunity to get involved from the comfort of their own home – either by watching live on television, or by joining in online…and influencing the outcome of the race!
The highly anticipated race days will be broadcast live, with each race’s qualifying laps available to watch live on KSA Sports from 4pm, with coverage continuing through until 8pm lights out and the races themselves.
Fans of the racing series can also watch a live online stream via the KSA Sports YouTube channel and Twitter page.
If fans follow Formula E’s social media channels, then they can even directly impact the on-track action through FANBOOST: an online voting system that allows viewers to vote for their favourite driver and award them an extra boost of power during the race, giving them a potentially e-prix winning advantage!
Formula E’s seventh season will feature 12 teams and 24 of the best drivers in world motorsport, arguably the most competitive line-up in the history of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
The Saudi Arabian leg of the Formula E season kicks-off the race calendar and will be followed by race weekends across the world, held in cities such as Rome, Monaco, Marrakesh and Santiago.
The Riyadh double header will be held under the glow of low consumption LED technology lighting that uses up to 50 per cent less energy to non-LED lighting. This is a vital aspect to Formula E, with its very inception being focused on reduced carbon emissions – and being the first sport to have net zero carbon since it launched seven years ago.
The Diriyah E-Prix was first held as a single-race weekend back in 2018 where Portuguese Antonio Felix da Costa, driving for BMW I Andretti Motorsport, edged out reigning champion Frenchman Jean-Eric Verne, of the Formula E team, by just 0.462 seconds to claim Diriyah’s inaugural top spot.
The Diriyah track opened the season the following year with a Friday-Saturday double header. The Friday saw victory for Britain’s Sam Bird driving for Envision Virgin Racing. His countryman Alex Sims of BMW i Andretti Motorsport climbed to the top of the winners’ podium on Saturday.
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