F1 champion Lewis Hamilton founds X44 Extreme E race team

Six-times Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has launched his own motorsport team, X44, which will make its debut in the inaugural season of Extreme E.

The move marks a huge coup for the new electric off-road racing series, which is scheduled to begin its first season in early 2021, while it is also Hamilton’s first foray into team ownership.

Hamilton will not drive for his team – which is named X44 in reference to the Briton’s own racing number he has used in F1 since 2014 – which must feature one male and one female driver as per the series’ regulations.

“Extreme E is an exciting new sustainability initiative, and this is a great opportunity to be involved from the outset as a team founder,” Hamilton said.

“Of course, my ambitions and commitments with Mercedes in Formula 1 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.

“Not only will we visit remote locations facing the front line of the climate crisis, we will also work closely with these locations and leading climate experts to share our knowledge and leave behind a positive legacy in each location which goes far beyond the race track.

“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.”

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!”