HYDERABAD: The excitement for the Formula E in 2023 and the upcoming Formula Regional Indian Championship in February this year is unparalleled. The announcement of the races has left fans elated.
“I’ve never watched a formula race live. The thrill of the sport and understanding of it makes it all the more exciting. Although I’ve never watched a Formula race live, I have been following Formula 1 season after season,” says a fan and city-based architect Purvi Modi.
“There is more to the fact that the race is going to happen in Hyderabad, that too near our scenic Durgam Cheruvu. I am really excited to see the Formula machines live, moving close to each other with the speed that is faster than the blink of an eye.”
Zohair Ahmed, a city based biker and motorsport enthusiast, has been into race machines for a while now. It started with motorcyles, then ATVs followed by go karting. “But Formula cars are different engines, they are dyanamic and extremely powerful. It would be exciting to see them race.”
Three friends Ashish, Abin and Alisha are new, yet die-hard fans of Formula. They credit the Netflix series Drive To Survive for getting them hooked to the race. “Earlier, cars going round in circles meant nothing to me until I watched the show. I learnt so much about what goes behind the actual race — from the crew, driver, companies and all the politics behind it. It made the game even more real to me,” says Ashish Nag, who works for an advertising company.
Alisha Fernandes, a content strategist, binge-watched the series that ended in December last year. “I thoroughly enjoyed learning all about the engineering of these cars, the strategy of the pits and all the other context that the show had to offer. We often meet to watch the race on TV — from Friday (practice), Saturday (qualifiers) to Sunday (finals). It’s a fun ritual when drivers are so close on the points table and the drama that ensued between fans of Max (Verstappen) and (Lewis) Hamilton was crazy.”
Abin Thangamani loves to go go-karting with his friends to live those moments of competition and rivalry. “The other two bully me because I support Lewis and they love Max,” he laughs. The trio that got excited over the trial runs that took place in the city, can’t wait to watch the show live in March.
Peter Shreyas is no amateur fan. The 20-year-old student has been following Formula racing since he was a kid. “While there weren’t as many fans in India of the race back then, social media has helped to a great extent. My love for the race started with my love for cars. I was always intrigued about how they worked. Funding and sponsorship have always been the biggest roadblocks for the race here. I’m excited to see Hyderabad finally stand ahead of many cities as we host the race,” says the ardent fan of team Ferrari.