Extreme E begins life at the inaugural ‘X Prix’ in the Saudi Arabian desert today as Jenson Button and 17 other drivers take to the sands of AlUla. The new motorsport series sees nine teams field one electric SUV each, all of which are the revolutionary ODYSSEY 21 which is powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Each team consists of one male and one female driver, who complete one lap of the 9km lap each with a quick switch of driver in between.
Button will drive for his own team against teams founded by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, and against drivers such as rally legends Carlos Sainz and Sebastien Loeb as well as rising British stars like Jamie Chadwick and Catie Munnings.
Qualifying sees two round of time trials. Each team will take on two laps of the track, one from each driver, in any order the team chooses. After both rounds are completed, the average time across the two will be used to rank each team.
Interestingly it was Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton renewing their old rivalry, with their teams leading the way. Rally legend Sebastien Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez set the early mark for Hamilton’s X44, but Molly Taylor starred with an aggressive lap to take top spot by five seconds.
German driver Claudia Hurtgen walked away from a horror crash unhurt, while Stephane Sarrazin also rolled his car meaning two teams did not finish.
Desert X Prix Qualifying 1 results
1. Rosberg Extreme Racing (Johan Kristoffesson/Molly Taylor) 10:43.56
2. X44 (Sebastien Loeb/Cristina Gutierrez) 10:48.067
3. Acciona Sainz (Carlos Sainz/Laia Sanz) 11:16.231
4. Andretti United Extreme E (Catie Munnings/Timmy Hansen) 11:31.603
5. JBXE (Jenson Button/Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky) 12:22.426
6. Hispano Suiza Xite (Christine Giampoli Zonca/Oliver Bennett) 13:09.038
7. Chip Ganassi Racing (Kyle LeDuc/Sara Price) 13:33.674
8. ABT Cupra (Mattias Ekstrom/Claudia Hurtgen) DNF
9. Veloce Racing Extreme E (Stephane Sarrazin/Jamie Chadwick) DNF
