Formula E is set to add Rome to the season four calendar after plans to bring a race to the Italian capital in 2018 were approved by city authorities today, according to reports in Italian media.

Along with the mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, the Capitol Assembly unanimously voted “to take appropriate steps” to enable a Formula E race to be held in the city, with an initial date of 28 April 2018 suggested.

The vote is understood to have included an agreement in principle for an ePrix to be held on the streets of Rome over a three-year period from 2018 until 2020, ensuring “a strong visibility and promotion of the city of Rome”.

Chairman of the Sporting Committee, Angelo Diario, said: “The event takes advantage of what it is and improves it: the streets will be rebuilt at the expense of the organisers and will improve the services for the neighbourhood with electric charging columns, electric bike sharing points, wifi points.”

Last September, Formula E launched the selection process for new host cities to express an interest in joining the calendar from the 2017-18 campaign, as series promoters began planning the provisional schedule for season four. The announcement stated that successful hosts would be announced in June 2017.

In the statement, dated 20 September 2016, Formula E boss Alejandro Agag said: “We have enjoyed remarkable growth over the first two seasons of Formula E and now have partnerships with some of the most iconic cities in the world and cutting-edge automotive brands. There is now a unique opportunity for new cities to join our calendar and share in the continued exponential growth of the championship.”

It is not the first time a Formula E race in Rome has been mooted. In December 2012, the championship announced an Italian ePrix would feature on the inaugural calendar, though it was not included on the approved version that was announced by the FIA World Motor Sport Council in December 2013.

La Gazzetta dello Sport

Staff writer: Lewis Larkam