Riyadh, January 11, 2022, SPA -- An electrifying Season 8 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is set to kick off in Diriyah with a double-header from 28-29 January 2022, with a pair of spectacular night races around the historic desert surroundings – lauded as one of the sport’s most unique and challenging circuits. Last year’s Championship proved to be the most thrilling yet, as the all-electric series continued to lead the way towards a sustainable future in racing. The Diriyah E-Prix Season 7 opener hosted the first all-electric night race as part of the 2020/21 calendar. The spectacular double – header in the dark used renewable lights with the latest low-consumption LED technology, which reduced the energy consumption by up to fifty percent compared to non-LED technologies. The inaugural night race further added to Formula E’s ongoing commitment to support environmental, economic and social sustainability initiatives around the world, as the Kingdom is embracing its own sustainability journey as part of Vision 2030. In Season 7 Diriyah E- Prix, Mercedes-EQ's Nyck de Vries took a first Formula E win in the opening Round 1 at the Diriyah Circuit. Sam Bird took the second victory at his debut event with Jaguar Racing in Round 2, beating Robin Frijns from Envision Virgin Racing with DS TECHEETAH’s Antonio Félix da Costa in third. The new season brought new faces, as three rapid rookies join the grid: Nick Cassidy (Envision Virgin Racing), Norman Nato (ROKiT Venturi Racing) and Jake Dennis (BMW i Andretti Motorsport). Jake Dennis had a stellar start to his Formula E career, as he was named the most successful rookie the championship had yet seen, in terms of trips to the top step. Nick Cassidy scored a maiden podium in the Puebla ePrix in Mexico. Shortly after, he signed off in New York City with a second career podium, as he finished behind race winner Sam Bird. After missing out on silverware twice, Norman Nato finished on the podium with a dominant victory in Berlin, taking Venturi's third win in Formula E. With this result, and outside of Formula E's inaugural campaign, Nato became only the third driver to win a race in their rookie year after Felix Rosenqvist in 2016 and Jake Dennis in 2021. Mercedes-EQ’s Nyck de Vries won the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship title at the 2021 BMW in Berlin E-Prix presented by CBMM Niobium. ROKiT Venturi Racing's Edoardo Mortara finished second in the Drivers' standings with Jake Dennis from BMW i Andretti Motorsport in third. Mercedes-EQ won the Teams Championship with 183 points, followed by Jaguar Racing and DS TECHEETAH rounding up the top three in the standings. Tickets start from 150 SAR and are available at https://diriyah-eprix.com/en/. --SPA 15:37 LOCAL TIME 12:37 GMT 0011 www.spa.gov.sa/w1676762