Sébastien Loeb will drive for Lewis Hamilton’s Extreme E team

The most successful driver in WRC history, with nine consecutive championships to his name, will drive for Lewis Hamilton’s Extreme E team next season. France’s Sébastien Loeb will partner 29-year-old Spanish racing driver Cristina Gutiérrez for the all-electric off-road series’ first season.

Loeb said joining Hamilton’s team, X44 (after the seven-time champion’s race number), “is an opportunity for me to continue to do what I love, which is race”. Gutiérrez, who Hamilton calls an “upcoming talent with a great future ahead of her”, said joining X44 is “is a dream come true”. Hamilton and Loeb, she says, are two of her motorsport heroes.

The pair have already driven the Odyssey 21 – the 550bhp all-electric off-road racer all teams must use for the sport’s inaugural 2021 season – in a test at Donington Park.

Extreme E races will be held in five remote locations already damaged by climate change. The first event is set to take place in Saudi Arabia in March. The series will travel around the world on a specially outfitted ship called the RMS St. Helena, which is said to cut emissions by two thirds compared to air freight.

Drivers such as Carlos Sainz (Snr) and Jamie Chadwick have also signed-up to compete in Extreme E’s first season. Looking forward to it?