This weekend saw the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship travel to India for the very first time with the Hyderabad E-Prix. The maiden electric race saw a lot of celebrities attend the event, including global cricket icon, Sachin Tendulkar, and Shikhar Dhawan. Sachin Tendulkar, a big automobile enthusiast took a ride in the Pininfarina Battista, an all-electric supercar being made by Italian design firm Pininfarina, owned by India’s Mahindra and Mahindra group. Mahindra is the only Indian brand to participate in the Formula E championship. 

Sachin Tendulkar, on his Twitter account, wrote, “The Pininfarina Battista had the perfect answer for “Are EVs the future?”. It was so fast, we defied time and landed in the future! A wonderful achievement by @anandmahindra & his team. Heartening to see Indian companies back cutting-edge, world class automobiles.” Anand Mahindra, the chairman of the Mahindra Group heaped praise on the former Indian cricketer for giving the electric car a brilliant tagline and taking a ride in Battista as the sidelines of the Hyderabad E-Prix.

You just gave us a brilliant tagline for the #Battista Sachin. A car that ‘defies time & lands you in the future!’ Wah! That makes it a Master Blaster on wheels. And what a pleasure to have you with us today.  @sachin_rt https://t.co/ZthdujQUg3
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) February 11, 2023

“You just gave us a brilliant tagline for the #Battista Sachin. A car that ‘defies time & lands you in the future!’ Wah! That makes it a Master Blaster on wheels. And what a pleasure to have you with us today.” Shikhar Dhawan also experienced a hot lap of the track in the Porsche Taycan Safety Car, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and reaching a top speed of 260 km. 

Dhawan said: “This was my first time attending a Formula E race and I am thrilled to have been part of this historic event. I have an affinity for fast cars and seeing these GEN3 cars racing on the street track was really exciting. The fact that this is the first sport certified as net zero carbon makes it even more appealing. It was amazing to see these world-class drivers zipping around the track and putting on a show for the crowd in Hyderabad!”

Fans attending the 2023 Hyderabad E-Prix saw home favourites Mahindra Racing and Jaguar TCS Racing compete against two iconic motorsport names – NEOM McLaren Formula E and Maserati MSG Racing – who join the Formula E grid for the first time this season.