Lewis Hamilton has launched his own racing team with the six-time Formula 1 world champion announcing that X44 will be competing in the inaugural season of Extreme E in 2021.
Extreme E is an electric off-road racing series in which teams will compete in five remote locations; the arctic, desert, rainforest, glacier, and coastal in an attempt to raise awareness of environmental issues that have affected these terrains.
Hamilton, Founder of X44 commented: “Extreme E is an exciting new sustainability initiative, and this is a great opportunity to be involved from the outset as a team founder. Of course, my ambitions and commitments with Mercedes in Formula One mean that I won’t be operationally involved in X44, but I’m excited to play a different role in this new series, one that brings my vision for a more sustainable and equal world to life.
“Extreme E really appealed to me because of its environmental focus. Every single one of us has the power to make a difference, and it means so much to me that I can use my love of racing, together with my love for our planet, to have a positive impact.
“As Founder of X44, I am looking forward to building my team around important values such as sustainability and equality. None of us are perfect and we all have improvements to make, but I am excited to use our platform to highlight the most serious issues facing our planet and the solutions we can all be part of.”
X44 joins a growing line-up of teams including Chip Ganassi Racing, Andretti United, Abt, HWA, Techeetah, QEV Technologies, and British owned outfit Veloce Racing. Despite not having a single race the event has also been picked up by a multitude of broadcasters from around the world including the BBC, FOX Sports and Eurosport.
Alejandro Agag, Founder and CEO at Extreme E added: “We are thrilled to welcome Lewis Hamilton and his X44 team to Extreme E. Like us, Lewis is hugely passionate about motorsport, but also shares our belief that we can use sport to highlight subjects which are vital to the world, such as climate change and equality.
“Lewis is one of the most successful drivers of all time, and we’re all excited to see how his X44 team performs on and off the race track under his incredible guidance. A huge welcome to the Extreme E family Lewis!”
